Elfriede Knauer (''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...
'' Overhoff; 3 July 1926 — 7 June 2010
) was a German
Classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
and
Ancient historian
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
specialising in Greek vase painting, the survival of classical themes in Renaissance art, the history of cartography, classical influences on Central and East Asian art, and the
Silk Road.
Career
Knauer gained her PhD in 1951 on the subject of pre-Christian apsidal buildings in Greece and Italy from the
Goethe University Frankfurt
Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...
. It was supervised by
Guido Kaschnitz von Weinberg
Guido Kaschnitz von Weinberg (28 June 1890 in Vienna – 1 September 1958 in Frankfurt am Main) was an Austrian-German archaeologist and art historian. He was the husband of writer Marie Luise Kaschnitz.
He studied at the University of Vienna, ...
.
Elfriede, along with her husband
Georg Nicolaus Knauer (a noted
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
) lived in
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...
between 1954 and 1975; she worked as an assistant in the
department of Greek and Roman Antiquities of the
State Museums. The Knauers travelled widely together, particularly to the United States and in the Mediterranean countries.
The Knauers both joined the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...
in early 1975, though rules at the time prevented husbands and wives from lecturing together — Elfriede was thus able to lecture only twice for the Department of the History of Art, in 1979 and 1981. This obstacle, however, has been cited as an important factor in allowing Elfriede nearly unlimited time for research and writing and contributed significantly to her substantial publication record.
At the time of her death, Elfried had written seventy-six books and articles.
She was eventually appointed Research Associate in the Mediterranean Section at the
Penn Museum
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City nei ...
and latterly served as a Consulting Scholar.
In 1994, she was a visiting research fellow in classical archaeology and art history at the
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome.
The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.
History
In 1893, a group of American architects ...
and was elected as a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...
in 1999.
In 2002, she received the Director's Award for distinguished service to the Penn Museum.
Following her death, her archive of academic papers and photographs was donated to the Classical Art Research Centre at the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...
.
Personal life
Elfriede's grandfather
Edmund Kloeppel
Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings an ...
was a board member of the
Bayer
Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceutica ...
company. She has a twin-sister,
Sybille (a noted Etruscologist).
She married her husband Georg Nicolaus Knauer in 1951.
Selected publications
* Knauer, E. R. 1965. ''Die Berliner Andokides-Vase''. Stuttgart, Reclam Verl.
* Knauer, E. R. 1976.
Fragments of a cup by the Triptolemos Painter ''Greek, Roman and Byzantine studies'' 17 p. 209-216.
*Knauer, E. R. 1998. ''The camel's load in life and death – iconography and ideology of Chinese pottery figurines from Han to Tang and their relevance to trade along the Silk Routes''. Zurich, Akanthus.
See also
*
Triptolemos Painter
The Triptolemos Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter, belonging to the Attic red-figure style. He was active in Athens between 490 and 470 BC. His real name is not known. He started working in the workshop of Euphronios, where he was prob ...
References
External links
Inventory of the Papers of Prof Elfriede Knauer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knauer, Elfriede
1929 births
2010 deaths
German women archaeologists
Archaeologists from North Rhine-Westphalia
People from Leverkusen
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Members of the American Philosophical Society