Erich Pernice (19 December 1864,

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

– 1 August 1945, Freest) was a German classical

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. He was the son of the

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

Hugo Karl Anton Pernice (1829–1945). He studied

classical philology Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and classical languages, history and archaeology at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, where his instructors included

Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz (name at birth Kekulé, called Kekulé von Stradonitz only after 1889; 6 March 1839 – 23 March 1911) was a German archeologist. He has been called the founder of modern iconology (Langlotz). He served as director ...

and

Heinrich Nissen Heinrich Nissen (born 3 April 1839 in Hadersleben; died 29 February 1912 in Bonn) was a German professor of ancient history. Life Heinrich Nissen studied in Kiel under Karl Wilhelm Nitzsch and in Berlin under August Boeckh and Theodor Mommsen. ...

. In 1888, he obtained his PhD with a dissertation titled ''Galen et de ponderibus mensuris testimonia''. Through a travel grant from the Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts (DAI), he participated in the excavation at

Kerameikos Kerameikos (, ) also known by its latinization of names, Latinized form Ceramicus, is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, Athens, Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the ancient ci ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In 1895, he began work at the

Antikensammlung Berlin The Antikensammlung Berlin (Berlin antiquities collection) is one of the most important collections of classical art in the world, now held in the Altes Museum and Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. It contains thousands of ancient archaeologica ...

(Antiquarium), subsequently spending several years as a directorial assistant (1897-1903).Pernice, Erich Anton
at NDB/ADB Deutsche Biographie; Fischer, Jutta, "Pernice, Erich Anton", in: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' 20 (2001), S. 195 f. nlinefassung URL In 1903, he was named an associate professor of archaeology and philological auxiliary sciences at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...

, later attaining a full professorship (1907) and a directorate of the academic art collections. In 1908/09, he took part in two successful excavations at

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

. In 1912, he was instrumental towards the founding of the "Pompeii project", a project that is still continued by the DAI today. In the field of

metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of Unit of measurement, units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to stan ...

, he conducted research of ancient weights. After retirement in 1933, he continued to give lectures at Greifswald until 1940.

Selected works

He was responsible for continuation of the series ''Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeji'' (Hellenistic art in

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

), a multi-volume project begun by

Franz Winter Franz Winter (4 February 1861 in Braunschweig – 11 February 1930 in Bonn) was a German archaeologist. He specialized in ancient Greek and Roman art, being particularly known for his analyses of individual statues, such as the Apollo Belvedere. ...

. He also made important contributions as an editor to

Wilhelm Lübke Wilhelm Lübke (17 January 1826 – 5 April 1893) was a German art historian, born in Dortmund. He studied at Bonn and Berlin; was a professor of architecture at the Berlin Bauakademie (1857–61) and a professor of art history at the Polyte ...

's ''Die Kunst des Altertums'' and to Georg Lehnert's ''Illustrierte geschichte des Kunstgewerbes'' (1907–09). In Gercke and

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vill ...

's ''Einleitung in die Altertumswissenschaft'', he was the author of the section on Greek and Roman private life, titled "Griechisches und römisches Privatleben". Other noteworthy works by Pernice include: * ''Ein Attischer Friedhof'', (with Alfred Brueckner) 1893 – An

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

n cemetery. * ''Griechisches pferdegeschirr im Antiquarium der Königlichen Museen'', 1896 – Greek

horse harness A horse harness is a device that connects a horse to a horse-drawn vehicle or another type of load to pull. There are two main designs of horse harness: (1) the Breastplate (tack)#Harness, breast collar or breaststrap, and (2) the Horse collar, ...

es at the Antiquarium in the Royal Museum. * ''Hellenistische silbergefässe im Antiquarium der Königlichen Museen'', 1898 – Hellenistic silver vessels at the Antiquarium in the Royal Museum. * ''Der Hildesheimer silberfund'' (with Franz Winter), 1901 – The

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

silver trove. * ''Gefässe und Geräte aus Bronze'', 1925 –

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

vessels and implements. * ''Pompeji'', 1926. * ''Pavimente und Figürliche mosaiken'', 1928; In: Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeii, Bd. 6. – Pavements and figurative

mosaics A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

. * ''Hellenistische Tische, Zisternenmündungen, Beckenuntersätze, Altäre und Truhen'', 1932; In: Hellenistische Kunst in Pompeji, Bd. 5. – Hellenistic tables, cistern mouths, pedestals, altars and chests.WorldCat Identities
Most widely held works by Erich Pernice Pernice promoted regional archaeology (

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (; ), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania, located mostly in north-eastern Germany, with a small portion in no ...

) via establishment of the ''Mitteilungen aus der Sammlung Vaterländischer Altertümer''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pernice, Erich 1864 births 1945 deaths People from Greifswald Academic staff of the University of Greifswald University of Bonn alumni Archaeologists from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 19th-century German archaeologists 20th-century German archaeologists