For more than 50 years, the sculpted head of a Roman emperor has sat in seclusion in the archives of the Joslyn Art Museum. With the work of a Creighton senior, that unique item will be available for everyone to see.

Arts & Sciences senior Meghan Freeman worked with Dr. Gregory Bucher, associate professor of classical and near Eastern studies, to find out the history surrounding this small sculpted piece and discovered a unique treasure in the process.

Freeman’s work in uncovering the mystery behind the sculpture will be featured in a symposium entitled, “The Good, the Bad and the Altered,” in the Harper Center next Tuesday.

The focus of her research was a sculpted “portrait” of a Roman emperor that was sold to the Joslyn Art Museum in 1955. Since the museum was never able to prove who the actual sculpted image was supposed to represent, the Joslyn kept the portrait in their archives for decades.

Bucher saw the item during a tour he took five years ago, and he and Freeman began studying the history of the sculpted head last fall.

“This piece has been in their basement for 50-some years, but since there are some oddities because it’s been re-cut before,” Freeman said. “With the research that Dr. Bucher and I have done, they are now putting it on exhibit with the symposium.”

Freeman and Bucher discovered that the sculpted piece was originally a portrait of the emperor Nero, but when the Romans declared him an enemy of the state, the piece was altered to look like the emperor Augustus.

What began as a small, local project became a national symposium and a featured exhibit for the Joslyn.

“It snowballed into a much bigger and more ambitious project than we initially imagined,” Bucher said. “We first thought of just doing an honors thesis on it, but it ended up being this symposium on it and all kinds of stuff has come out of it.”

Penelope Smith, the registrar and assistant curator of prints and drawings for Joslyn Art Museum, said the discovery brings attention to what Omaha and schools like Creighton have to offer the community.

“I think something that people in Omaha forget is that we are a city in the middle of the country, and I think that one is surprised again and again by the things that you discover in [Omaha],” Smith said. “This head is one of those discoveries.”

Bucher said Freeman’s research is unique because she excelled to the work of graduate students.

“Without exaggerating, this is the type of work that you’d expect a graduate student of some standing to be able to do,” Bucher said. “Meghan was totally prepared for this kind of work. It’s just a fantastic opportunity.”

Freeman received many opportunities that aided her research, including working with experts and specialists in the field, a trip to Rome, an invitation to speak in Wisconsin and the Bisenius Award.

Last fall on her trip to Rome, she studied first-hand the art and history of the Roman Empire. Freeman said the experience gave her a better understanding of the culture and history of Roman portraits.

“Part of my research is needing to identify a lot of these imperial portraits on site. I spent the summer before I went to Rome just reading everything I could get my hands on and on these portraits in books, specifically on these portraits of Augustus and Nero,” Freeman said.

“Then, when I went to Rome, I went to every museum I could find and took pictures of the portraits and studied them on site.”

Freeman said her work was a rewarding experience that will benefit her as she begins a post-Baccalaureate program with the University of Pennsylvania this fall.

“It was interesting and a fun project to get involved with. We had no idea going in that it would turn out to be a re-cut portrait,” Freeman said.

“We really had no idea that it would garner this national interest from these scholars.

“It was really just a good experience to work on something that’s in the forefront of our field.”

Freeman also said the opportunity she was given is just one of many research possibilities for Creighton

students.

She said students should explore the variety of options they have and they may be surprised with the types of work they can do.

“Student research is a really amazing thing to get involved with. It’s just a great thing, that if you have the opportunity to do it, we have such supporting professors at Creighton that go for it,” she said. “I think Creighton professors are willing to reach out to students and they trust us in the work that we can do. We should take advantage of it.”

The symposium will be held in the Harper Center Room 3029 on Tuesday, April 21 at 9:30 a.m. and is open to students and the public.

There will be several lectures, including a lecture by Freeman, which will coincide with the premier of the sculpture’s display at Joslyn Art Museum. Shuttle services will be provided.