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The William R. and Clarice V. Spurlock Museum at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Spurlock Museum Centennial

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Happy Birthday!

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:15 AM CDT
By Beth Watkins, Education and Publications Coordinator
On July 9, 500 visitors joined the Spurlock Museum for a celebration of our 100th birthday.
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Centennial Exhibit Preview!

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:00 AM CDT
By Beth Watkins, Education and Publications Coordinator
To mark our 100th year as a vital part of educational and cultural missions of the University and as a resource to local communities, the Spurlock Museum celebrates the people, collections, voices, and ideas that have made our century of service meaningful. Collecting and Connecting: 100 Years at the Spurlock Museum (February 20, 2011 to February 26, 2012) will include several different sections exploring the Museum's history and collections, drawing on many archival sources and featuring artifacts not already on display.
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Curator, Collector, Author, and Educator: Lamissa Bangali

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:45 PM CDT
By Beth Watkins, Education and Publications Coordinator
Dr. Lamissa Bangali
Dr. Lamissa Bangali
One of the many benefits for the Spurlock Museum of being part of the University of Illinois is the close collaborative relationships we develop with scholars across campus. Professors and graduate students alike are critical ingredients in creating exhibits, researching collections, and presenting high-quality performances and lectures. In the 1990s, we were fortunate to meet Lamissa Bangali, a doctorate student in anthropology from Burkina Faso in western Africa.
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The Miniature Mannequins of Volkskunsthaus Wallach

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:30 PM CDT
By James Sinclair, Board Member, and Beth Watkins, Education and Publications Coordinator
woman's costume from Westphalia
woman's costume from Westphalia
One of the Spurlock's significant collections of European cultural artifacts is a group of over 200 pieces created or collected by Julius Wallach, a German-Jewish expert on traditional European folk arts and textiles. Among these are a group of 59 miniature mannequins dressed in small-scale replicas of traditional European clothing. In 1900, Julius Wallach and his brother Moritz, who had developed an interest in European folk cultures and arts as teenagers, started a small store in Munich to make and sell traditional costumes for theatrical and musical performances and costume balls.
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One Bull and the Battle of Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:30 PM CDT
By James Sinclair, Board Member, and Tandy Lacy, Director of Education
War hide record by Chief One Bull of the Hunkpapa Lakota, 1996.24.0509.
War hide record by Chief One Bull of the Hunkpapa Lakota, 1996.24.0509.
In the Spurlock's Americas gallery, visitors can see a first-hand account of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. This war hide record was drawn by Lakota Chief One Bull, a survivor of the 1876 battle. This painted hide fits within a long-standing tradition among Plains Indians of creating pictorial narratives on hides to document and depict dreams, visions, and significant events. During the latter half of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, while the Indians of the Plains suffered the confinement and cultural disruption of the reservation system, they continued this practice.
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Treasures of a Chinese Scholar

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:15 PM CDT
By Yu (Ian) Wang, Board Member
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Chinese scholars traditionally spent years studying the ancient classics and philosophical treatises while steeping themselves in the moral principles of Confucianism in hopes of passing the Civil Service Examination. Passing this examination was the first step to be selected to serve the emperor as a government official. The result of passing the Civil Service Examination was also the key to entrance into a life of privilege, social status, politics, and aesthetics.
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The Odyssey of Laocoon

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00 PM CDT
By Wayne T. Pitard, Museum Director
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The plaster cast of the Trojan priest Laocoon and his two sons struggling against the giant serpents that Poseidon sent to kill them greets our visitors as they enter the Workman Gallery of Ancient Mediterranean Cultures. The statue is one of the most beloved artifacts in the Spurlock Museum, but few people are aware of the significance of this cast in the history of our University and in the history of art in the state of Illinois.
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A Providential Discovery

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00 PM CDT
By Wayne T. Pitard, Museum Director
A deified king sits on a throne. A worshiper stands before him, with the goddess who presents worshipers to the king standing behind him. An upside-down figure has been carved later to obscure the name of the original seal owner.
A deified king sits on a throne. A worshiper stands before him, with the goddess who presents worshipers to the king standing behind him. An upside-down figure has been carved later to obscure the name of the original seal owner.
The Spurlock Museums artifacts have come into its possession in a wide variety of ways over the years. In some cases, we acquired artifacts through purchase; in fact, during the first several years of the Spurlock's predecessor museums (1911-1929), when the University provided them with modest acquisitions budgets, the curators often traveled to Europe specifically in search of artifacts.
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