Acknowledgments

The long period of research and writing has generated an equally long list of scholarly debts. The first and most important thanks go to the Antiquities Department at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Kenneth Lapatin, Claire Lyons, Mary Louise Hart, Jens Daehner, and David Saunders; and to former department staff Jiří Frel, Kenneth Hamma, Marit Jentoft-Nilsen, Karol Wight, and Marion True. Recently, Alexandra Sofroniew, an Antiquities Department assistant curator, with keen eye and deft hand, has greatly aided the transformation of the manuscript into the book and this online catalogue. In Antiquities Conservation, heartfelt appreciation goes to Jerry Podany, Jeffrey Maish, and former staff member Maya Elston. Michael Shilling and Herant Khanjian of the Getty Conservation Institute provided critical scientific analysis. In the director’s office, David Bomford, Stephen Garrett, and John Walsh in turn offered support at important junctures. The beautiful photography by Ellen Rosenbery speaks for itself. Benedicte Gilman and Mark Greenberg, the original supporters at Getty Publications, are owed more than appreciative words. Ann Lucke and Rob Flynn deftly picked up where they left off. The online catalogue is the result of the talents of designer Kurt Hauser, production coordinators Elizabeth Zozom and Elizabeth Kahn, assistant editor Ruth Evans Lane, and software architects Brenda Podemski and Roger Howard. The expertise of the Web Group, particularly Jack Ludden and Susan Edwards, has been invaluable. The anonymous reader offered priceless comments. Cindy Bohn, the manuscript editor, deserves commendation for her skill and patience, as do Laura Harger and Greg Dobie. Last, but certainly not least, without Marina Belozerskaya, guide and lantern, the project would have been benighted long ago.

Two great libraries and their staffs call for special mention, the library at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, my home institution, and that of the Getty Research Institute, where I have been a Reader since it opened. Neal Turtell, Lamia Doumato, Thomas McGill, Jr., and Ted Dalziel (in Washington), and Anne-Mieke Halbrook and Susan Allen (at the Getty) represent the best in art librarianship. I also recognize the help given to me over the years by the library staff of the American Academy in Rome; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Riverside; the University of California, Santa Barbara; the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; and Edinburgh University.

Throughout my tenure at the National Gallery of Art, I have had superb administrative support, and for it I thank Rusty Powell, Alan Shestack, Franklin Kelly, Elizabeth Pochter, and Lynn Russell. The help offered by colleagues while I was on sabbatical in Edinburgh during an Ailsa Mellon Bruce Curatorial Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art and during a Summer Fellowship at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute greatly affected the outcome of the publication. In Williamstown, special thanks are offered to Michael Ann Holly, Mark Ledbury, and Richard Rand; and in Washington, to deans past and present Henry A. Millon, Elizabeth Cropper, Therese O’Malley, and Peter Lukehart. The grants and fellowships supporting research abroad began with a Samuel H. Kress Traveling Fellowship. Summer grants from California State University, Long Beach, made possible the first Italian sojourns. Two Robert H. Smith Fellowships awarded by the National Gallery of Art were critical to research in Greek and Italian museums.

Any museum-based endeavor is a complex project, and institutions housing archaeological finds, especially fragile collections, present special challenges. I owe a debt of gratitude to the many people around the world who aided me in the firsthand study of amber objects. At museums in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany (once East and West), Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, curators, conservators, registrars, scientists, photographers, and other professionals were instrumental to the research. Particular appreciation is owed to Joan Mertens and Carlos Picón of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Denis Haynes and Dyfri Williams of the British Museum; Alain Pasquier of the Louvre; Mary B. Comstock, John Herrmann, and Cornelius C. Vermeule of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Jan Bouzek of the Classical Institute of Archaeology, Charles University, Prague; János György Szilágyi of the Fine Arts Museum, Budapest; Elena Khodza at the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg; and David Grimaldi of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Gavin Hamilton, Leon Levy and Shelby White, and Judy and Michael Steinhardt kindly welcomed study of their private collections. Without the generous help of specific scholars and curators in Italy, this project would not have progressed. Among Italian colleagues, I extend particular thanks to Sebastiano Bianco, Nuccia Negroni Catacchio, Giulia Rocco, and Marcello Tagliente.

Substantial recognition goes to my Doktorvater, Mario Del Chiaro, and to my former graduate students and research assistants in California and Washington. First on the list are the Angelenos Maureen Burns, John Tucker, René Ninaber, and Anna Zagorski. Alexis Castor and Bjoern Ewalt were ideal research associates at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts. In Washington, Patrick Resing and Jack Shepherd performed key editorial work. Lee B. Ewing, photographer, National Gallery of Art, offered new insights. Amber life and work were much ameliorated by my Academic Programs Department colleagues Ana Maria Zavala Kozuch, Ben Masri-Cohen, Ali Peil, Rachel Schulze, and Jennifer Wagelie.

Without the support of family and friends, this work would not have reached daylight. Selma Holo and Fred Croton read and listened to the unfolding story. Alan Conisbee and Marie Clarke offered more than engineering insight. My grandmother and parents, Elizabeth Lees, Willard Causey, and Catherine Causey-Lees, and my siblings C. Andrew Causey, Douglas Causey, Kay Marie Kuder, and Laurel Nelson provided not only encouragement over the years but also keen editorial eyes. Andrew’s contributions go far beyond art and anthropology. To my son, Jan, and to the memory of Philip, this book is dedicated.