Bonner, SMA – PDF, xii.

To Sir George Hill and Professor Sidney Smith I owe the privilege of making a prolcnged study — now more than twelve years ago — of the large collection of magical amulets in the British Museum. If I had availed myself of their liberality as freely as they would have readily permitted me to do, this book would be richer by many more illustrations. To my lasting regret, after obtaining a score of casts, the fear of seeming importunate led me to postpone further requests until the oncoming of war made it impossible for the authorities of the Museum to grant them; and because of the damage that the building suffered during the war, the minor treasures of this kind have not yet been reopened to general use.

Among other foreign museums and libraries to which I am under obligation, I would mention the following, together with the officers who were at the time concerned, or the friends who favored me with their mediation:

The Cabinet de Medailles (Jean Babelon); the Ashmolean Museum (D. B. Harden); the Victoria and Albert Museum (A. J. B. Wace, A. J. Koop); the Fitzwilliam Museum, and the authorities of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (C. T. Seltman); the University of London (S. R. K. Glanville and M. A. Murray); the Geneva Museum (W. Deonna); the Cairo Museum (O. Gueraud); the Universite St. Joseph, Beirut (Fr. R. Mouterde); the Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim (G. Roeder); the Gotha Museum (K. Purgold, A. Hundt); the Berlin Museum (R. Zahn).

My obligations to previous investigators are manifest throughout these studies, and I trust that they are adequately acknowledged in the frequent references to their writings. The works of several scholars merit special mention — Drexler, Delatte, Perdrizet, Preisendanz, Erik Peterson, and Mouterde.

Certain parts of this book have previously appeared as articles in the Harvard Theological Review, the American Journal of Archaeology, Hesperia, and the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. For permission to republish this matter my thanks are due to their editors or editorial committees.

Valuable advice and criticism about occasional problems have been given by A. D. Nock and H. C. Youtie. The work would have profited by a broader revision at the hands of these friendly critics had I thought it proper to ask of them so exacting a service.

John G. Winter, Director, and Enoch E. Peterson, Curator, of our Museum of Archaeology have forwarded the progress of these studies in many ways, especially by making possible the acquisition of new specimens, and by contributing the technical facilities of the Museum. Professor Winter has laid me under a further obligation by reading a set of proofs. Miss Louise Shier, Associate Curator of the Museum, has made a substantial contribution to this work by finding time, amid the duties of her office, to make most of the casts of the objects illustrated. The majority of the necessary photographs were made by the late George R. Swain, whose skill is well remembered by many American archaeologists.

The Director, the Associate Director, and several other members of our

<<previous     next>>