From the Vault: November 2021 Newsletter
Visit our exhibit, Samurai & the Cross, before December 8, 2021
All the busy airs of life in academia are in full force at SCU as we have begun to welcome SCU students back to Archives & Special Collections for class visits and research appointments. It is wonderful to share our collections with fellow Broncos again!
To all our external researchers: we continue to be unable to offer research appointments to non-SCU affiliates, and do not yet know what the SCU Library’s policy will be in winter quarter, which starts January 3, 2022. Please inquire in the new year as to whether you can make a research appointment with Archives & Special Collections by emailing SpecialCollections@scu.edu. Virtual assistance remains an option, as well.
This week is National First-Generation College Celebration week, and at SCU people are celebrating the LEAD Scholars. In support of first gen college students and in celebration of their accomplishments, Librarian Summer Shetenhelm created the SCU First-Generation Student Experiences Research Guide. Check it out if you’re interested in researching first gen history at SCU!
Keep reading for information about the current exhibit, the Samurai & the Cross, news of additions to the SCU Digital Collections, and two blog posts featured on Arthur’s Attic this month.
Exhibit: The Samurai & the Cross: Life and Death in Christian Japan, 1549–1650
Curated by Prof. M. Antoni J. Ucerler, S.J., Director of the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at Boston College, this exhibit explores the reality of Jesuit missionaries and martyrs in Japan in the late 16th and early 17th centuries through use of Japanese texts, European rare books, paintings, and other written and visual media.
The video above contains a preview of artifacts, art, and rare books on display in the exhibit. To watch a recording of Fr. Antoni’s Curator’s Talk, please visit the Samurai & the Cross exhibit webpage.
On view through December 8, 2021
Gallery Hours: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday
Closed Thanksgiving Break (November 22 - 26, 2021)
The Archives & Special Collections art gallery is located on the 3rd floor of the Learning Commons, next to the Norman Martin Reading Room.
New Digital Collection: SCU Artifacts
The SCU Artifact Collection is going digital! For Arthur’s Attic followers, this new digital collection will let you lay eyes on the awards discussed in the Origin of Senior Awards blog post from last June. But the contents of the artifact collection are not limited to awards alone!
Two series of the collection are live, with more to come:
Highlights from Series I range from the revered (the 1900 Donahue Medal to John Regan and the 1913 Nobili Medal to Louis Thomas Milburn) to the campy (the undated Communications Department Golden Johnny Award).
Highlights of Series VII also range from the revered (the Iron key reputedly to the 3rd site of Mission Santa Clara) to the campy (a beer stein with depiction of Mission Santa Clara).
Check out the collection and its organization at the SCU Artifact Digital Collection landing page. We’re hoping to see some of these artifacts in SCU digital humanities projects!
From the Blog, Arthur’s Attic
Cristo de Maíz in the Mission Church
In this blog post, Kelci Baughman McDowell, Research & Instruction Services Coordinator for Archives & Special Collections, describes the artistic method and techniques that most likely went into the creation of the Catalá Crucifix in the Mission Church here at Santa Clara. Using archival records from the Mission and some art history sources, she reveals the statue may have been made 200-300 years before it came to Santa Clara in 1803 and was most likely made from an indigenous method called caña de maíz rather than through Spanish/European artistic methods.
Marbled Books in SCU’s Archives & Special Collections
We all judge books by their covers, and Lucy Wilson '22 argues that books with marbled covers have a kind of beauty that other covers don't. In this Arthur's Attic blog post, Lucy explores the art form and some notable examples from the #SCUarchives.