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Research Ode to an Etruscan Urn By Catherine Lee Shortly after she became CUA's library director in 1987, Adele Chwalek ventured into the seldom-visited vault in the basement of Curley Hall. Groping about in the semi-darkness of the cluttered room where university artifacts were stored, Ms. Chwalek spotted something on the floor. An urn — turned upside down and sitting behind a pillar — caught her eye. Reaching for it, she thought it was a geranium pot. Bringing it into the light and brushing away the cobwebs, Ms. Chwalek realized it was probably an antique. She put it in her office on the third floor of Mullen Library where in 1993 it drew the attention of two visitors who offered to pay for its restoration.   Like Sherlock Holmes, Professor Linda Safran, chair of the Greek and Latin department, left, and Library Director Adele Chwalek have sleuthed out the identity of this 4th century B.C. Etruscan vase. She commissioned the services of a conservator who removed hundreds or perhaps thousands of years of grime. The cleaning revealed orangy-red mythological figures on what the conservator said was a southern Italian calyx krater or vase that dated to the fourth century B.C. — an astounding discovery about a piece that had been gathering dust in the vault since about 1950. Determined to find out more about the vase — a gift to the university in 1938 — Ms. Chwalek turned for additional sleuthing to Linda Safran, then an assistant professor in the Greek and Latin department. In early 1994, Professor Safran, now department chair, was looking over photos of other ancient vases when — eureka! It dawned on her that the CUA vase was not southern Italian but Etruscan — Faliscan, to be precise. Among existing Etruscan red-figure pottery, Faliscan vases are the finest, according to an article by Professor Safran scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Etruscan Studies. The CUA vase, which has a long, vertical crack down one side, is typical of pieces made in an area north of Rome called the ager Faliscus. A type of container used by the ancient Greeks and Etruscans to mix water and wine, the vase takes its graceful shape from the calyx, the outer swirl of protective leaves on a flower. Professor Safran describes the CUA krater “as a high-quality addition to the existing corpus of Faliscan vases.” It brings to seven the number of calyx kraters attributed to a talented but mysterious craftsman known only as the Nazzano Painter, whose work dates to the first half of the fourth century B.C., according to the article. “Every time I think about it, I have to wonder where it’s been and who’s used it,” says Ms. Chwalek, who still marvels at the link to the past that sits in her office. “It was something utilitarian to someone else and here it is sitting in my office to be looked at and studied in connection with history.”  Freshman classics major Sarah Insley says she was astounded when she first saw the vase on a recent morning in the library. “Dr. Safran said she had a vase to show me,” the student explains. “She brought this thing out and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s a red-figure calyx krater.’ ” Professor Safran says that having the krater and other antiquities at CUA provides an excellent teaching tool for students. “In class, some professors make use of ancient vases, pottery shards and ancient coins to illustrate what they’re talking about,” she notes.   Professor Safran, right, points out a detail on the Etruscan vase to freshman classics major Sarah Insley. Interest in studying Latin and Greek is on the rise nationally, and CUA’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching these languages appeals to prospective students, the professor says. This year, the Greek and Latin department has 21 students enrolled in its undergraduate programs — more, for example, than the anthropology department, which has 10 undergraduate majors, and the math department, which has nine. The study of Latin, in particular, has seen a renaissance because of its proven ability to increase verbal SAT scores, she adds. Finding the krater in the Curley Hall vault prompted Ms. Chwalek to begin an ongoing inventory of CUA treasures. The vase is part of the university’s museum collection, which includes more than 1,500 artworks and artifacts representing many periods. Professor Safran’s research, conducted between 1994 and 1996, helps to explain the krater’s early history. Beyond that, little is known about the piece, which surfaced in 1893 during an auction at the Villa Borghese in Rome, where it was listed in an auction catalogue. At the auction, Stephen F. Moriarty, a devout Catholic who lived in Paris, purchased the krater, and in 1938, his sister donated it to CUA in his memory. In a 1938 letter to the vice rector of the university, Belle W. Moriarty wrote in a spidery hand that her brother was knighted by Pope Leo XIII. University Archivist Timothy Meagher believes that at CUA the krater probably first took up residence in a small museum in McMahon Hall even though, by then, the staff was struggling to maintain the exhibits in the wake of a fire in the building five years earlier. By 1950, workers probably had moved the krater to the vault along with other pieces in the CUA collection. It was entombed there until 1987 when Ms. Chwalek’s discerning eye gave it new life. “When I realized what was inside the vault I was stricken with an enormous sense of responsibility,” says Ms. Chwalek. “I was determined to give the krater and other pieces the respect they deserve. We accept gifts to the university with a sense of stewardship and a desire to honor the memory of our donors. We don’t have any way to reward them but we cannot forget them.”