Unhidden treasures
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£31,704 from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
The Corsi Collection, housed in the University Museum of Natural History, consists of 1,000 polished blocks of marble, granite, serpentine and other decorative rocks obtained by Faustino Corsi from the ruins of ancient Rome and from working quarries. It was given to the University in 1827.
Over many years, Monica Price, Assistant Curator of the Mineral Collections, has been checking and updating Corsi’s information about the stones.
'The collection is highly prized because it’s a wonderful bridge between the arts and the sciences, and is the first of its kind to be organised in a geological manner. It is an invaluable identification aid for architects and archaeologists.'
The donation will enable Monica to collaborate with the Computing Service’s Web Design Consultancy to put the stones and their historic catalogue on the Museum’s website, as a beautifully illustrated resource for users worldwide.
This project is just a small part of the University’s long-term mission to make collections more accessible to the public.
