Maxwell Sommerville
Maxwell Sommerville (born May 1, 1829 in Clarksburg , † May 5, 1904 in Paris ) was an American gem collector and researcher.
Life
The Sommerville family lived in Clarksburg until Sommerville's death in 1836. He then moved to Philadelphia with his mother to live with his grandfather James McAlpin. His grandfather's collection of Greek vases made him want to study and acquire antiques and works of art.
After graduating from Central High School in 1847, the son of Maxwell Sommerville and Mary Fulton McAlpin Sommerville moved to Bethlehem , where he was the editor of the local newspaper. Sommerville eventually returned to Philadelphia, where he married his first wife Anna Julia Sherman in 1863 (died 1890, then married Annie Marie Patten in 1891) and served as chaplain of the Commonwealth Artillery of Pennsylvania during the Civil War. During this time, Sommerville amassed considerable wealth working at the Sherman & Company printing company (founded by his father-in-law), which enabled him to travel extensively abroad. For more than 30 years, Sommerville traveled to Turkey, Syria, Egypt, China, Japan, India and other countries and collected many ancient gems.
In 1889, William Pepper, Provost of the University of Pennsylvania , became interested in Sommerville's collection of engraved gems and asked if the collection might be available for use in the university's new museum. Although the gems were on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the time, this marked the beginning of Sommerville's relationship with the University of Pennsylvania. In 1894, he was appointed professor of glyptology (the study of gems) at the university and helped install his collection in the purpose-built Baugh Pavilion of the Free Museum of Science and Art of the University of Pennsylvania.
He died in Paris on May 5, 1904, during one of his frequent trips to Europe. His body was returned to Philadelphia and buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery on May 20.
Publications (selection)
- Engraved gems. Their history and an elaborate view of their place in art Philadelphia 1889.
literature
- Dietrich Berges : Antique seals and glass gems from the Maxwell Sommerville Collection in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia PA . Zabern, Mainz 2002, ISBN 3-8053-2888-5 .
- Dietrich Berges: Supreme beauty and simple grace. Classicist gems and cameos from the Maxwell Sommerville Collection in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia PA . Publishing house Marie Leihdorf, Rahden / Westf. 2011, ISBN 978-3-89646-048-6 .
- Alessandro Pezzati: The eccentric Mr. Sommerville . In: Expedition 54, 2, 2012, p. 39 ( digitized version ).
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sommerville, Maxwell |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American gem collector and researcher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 1, 1829 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Clarksburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 5, 1904 |
| Place of death | Paris |