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Nagel, Alexander

Nagel, Alexander

National Museum of Natural History Research Associate

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Nagel, Alexander

National Museum of Natural History Research Associate

Humanities, Cultural & Natural Heritage Preservation, Ancient Iran, especially Achaemenid and Sasanian Persian Material Culture and Archaeology, Persepolis, Susa, Greek, Roman and South Arabian Material Culture and Archaeology, Ancient Ceramics, Polychromy and Conservation Studies, Archaeometry, Provenance Research, Plaster Casts and Creation and Development of Antiquities Collections in Washington D.C.

Geographic Focus

Background And Education

Education And Training

Professional Biography

  • I am actively involved in the research and publication of materials from fieldwork in Greece (Aitoloakarnania) and Iran (Persepolis, Susa, Pasargadae). My main research interests include the legacy of ancient materials from these sites and regions, the archaeology and legacies of ancient Old World sites, the history and development of modern polychromy studies and the role of surface decorations and paint on monuments in the Achaemenid Persian Empire (c. 520-330 BCE) and the ancient world in general, ceramic containers, coroplastic industries and technologies in ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, beyond the Zagros Mountains, and materials which have been excavated in South Arabia (Yemen). In Washington, D.C., I curated a number of exhibitions and research projects, and I am writing and teaching about the reception of ancient cultures in the New World.

Publications

Selected Publications

  • Article

  • Book

  • Chapter

    • Nagel, Alexander. 2024. "Contextualizing Achaemenid Persian Material Cultures in Berlin: Recent Investigations." In Kār-nāmag ī Pārsa. Studies from the Persepolis World Heritage Site. Delshad, S., Fadaei, H., and Bordbar, M., editors. 143–181. Tehran: Parthava. 2024
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2024. "The Colors of Persepolis: New Research on the Polychromy of Achaemenid Sculpture and Architecture." In For Shapur, whose Lineage was from the Gods. Proceedings of the Memorial to Alireza Shapur Shahbazi (1946-2006). Nagel, Alexander, Abdi, Kamyar, and Atayi, Mohammad T., editors. 151–166. Tehran: RICHT. 2024
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. "Achaemenid Persian Art and Architecture in the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin." In Achemenet. Vingt ans après. Ètudes offertes à Pierre Briant. Agut-Labordere, Damien, Boucharlat, Remy, Joannes, Francis, Kuhrt, Amelie, and Stolper, Matthew W., editors. 257–275. Leuven, Belgium: CT Peeters. In Persika, 21. 2021
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. "Farbe in Persepolis. Bildkraft und Polychromie achaemenidischer Palast-Architektur." In Die Perser – Am Hof der Großkönige. Eine Ausstellung im Badischen Landesmuseum Karlsruhe. Linke, Julia, editor. 60–65. Mainz und Darmstadt: Philipp von Zabern und WBG. 2021
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. "Past Panoramas and Qatabān Legacies: South Arabian Archives and Materials in Washington, D.C." In Contacts Between South Arabia and the Horn of Africa from Bronze Age to Islam in Honor of Rémy Audouin. Darles, Christian, Khalidi, Lamya, and Arbach, Mounir, editors. 15–29. Toulouse: Presses Universitaires du Midi. 2021
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. "The Mineral Universe of Elamite Susa and Achaemenid Persepolis." In Paleopersepolis Environment, Landscape and Society in Ancient Fars. Balatti, Silvia, Klinkott, Hilmar, and Wiesehoefer, Josef, editors. 59–76. Stuttgart: Stuttgart Franz Steiner Verlag. 2021
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2020. "A River Ran Through It: Circulating Images of Ritual and Engaging Communities in a Cave in Aitoloakarnania." In Cave and Worship in Ancient Greece: New Approaches to Landscape and Ritual. Nagel, Alexander and Katsarou, Stella, editors. 115–143. 2020
    • Nagel, Alexander and Katsarou, Stella. 2020. "Introduction: On Reading Caves and Ancient Greek Cult." In Cave and Worship in Ancient Greece: New Approaches to Landscape and Ritual. Nagel, Alexander and Katsarou, Stella, editors. 1–16. 2020
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2020. "Preserving the Achaemenid Persian Legacy: Aspects of Conservation, Technology, Polychromy, and Material Culture in Persepolis." In The Art of Empire in Achaemenid Persia. Festschrift in Honor of Margaret Cool Root. Dusinberre, Elspeth, Garrison, Mark, and Henkelman, Wouter, editors. 113–136. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters. 2020
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2019. "Research on Color Matters: Towards a Modern Archaeology of Ancient Polychromies." In Science in Color. Visualizing Achromatic Knowledge. Bock von Wuelfingen, Bettina, editor. 45–58. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter. 2019
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2018. "Painters' Workshops in the Ancient Near East. A Reassessment." In L'Orient est son jardin. Hommage à Rémy Boucharlat. Gondet, Sebastien and Haerinck, Ernie, editors. 377–386. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters. 2018
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2016. "Down to Earth in Arcadia. Terracotta Figurines from a Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Tegea." In Figurines de terre cuite en Méditerranée grecque et romaine. Muller, Arthur, Laflı, Ergün, and Huysecom-Haxhi, Stéphanie, editors. 425–430. Villeneuve d'Ascq: Éditions du Septentrion. In Bulletin de correspondance hellénique Supplement. 2016
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2016. "Retrospectives and Perspectives: Terracotta Figurines from a Votive Deposit in Stratos, Aitolo-Akarnania." In Figurines de terre cuite en Méditerranée grecque et romaine. Muller, Arthur, Laflı, Ergün, and Huysecom-Haxhi, Stéphanie, editors. 449–456. Athènes: École française d'Athènes. In Bulletin de correspondance hellénique Supplement. 2016
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2015. "Capturing the History of Persepolis: The Squeeze as Tool in Art History and Archaeology." In Tools: Extending Our Reach. McCarty, Cara and McQuaid, Matilda, editors. 86–101. New York: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. 2015
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2015. "Il cibo dell'antica tavola." In Symposium. A tavola tra mito e cultura.. Ghini, G., editor. 40–43. Rome: Museo delle Navi Romane di Nemi. 2015
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2014. "Excavations in the Archive. An Update on the Ernst Herzfeld Online Resources at the Freer|Sackler in Washington, DC." In A Hundred Years of Excavations in Samarra. Gonnella, J. and Finster, B., editors. 20–29. Wiesbaden: Reichert. 2014
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2013. "Color and Gilding in Achaemenid Architecture and Sculpture." In The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Potts, Daniel, editor. 596–621. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2013
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2013. "Crafting Glass Vessels: Current Research on the Ancient Egyptian Glass Collections in the Freer Gallery of Art." In Proceedings from a Workshop by the New Archaeological Research Network for Integrating Approaches to Ancient Material Studies (NARNIA). 659–671. New Archaeological Research Network for Integrating Approaches to Ancient Material Studies (NARNIA). 2013
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2012. "Ernst Herzfeld." In Teheran 50. Eine Ausstellung im Museum fuer Islamische Kunst in Berlin. Helwing, B. and Rahemipour, P., editors. 42–65. Mainz: Van Zabern. 2012
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2012. "Farbe in Persepolis." In Teheran 50. Eine Ausstellung im Museum fuer Islamische Kunst in Berlin. Helwing, B. and Rahemipour, P., editors. 171–173. Mainz: Van Zabern. 2012
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2012. "Kuh-e Kwaja." In Teheran 50. Eine Ausstellung im Museum fuer Islamische Kunst in Berlin. Helwing, B. and Rahemipour, P., editors. 42–65. Mainz: Van Zabern. 2012
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2012. "The Sasanians." In Byzantium and Islam. Age of Transition 7th-9th century. Evans, Helen and Radcliff, Brandie, editors. 27–27. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2012
    • Nagel, Alexander and Rahsaz, Hassan. 2010. "Colouring the Dead: New Investigations on the History and the Polychrome Appearance of the Tomb of Darius I at Naqsh-e Rostam, Fars." In Death and burial in Arabia and beyond : multidisciplinary perspectives. Weekes, Lloyd R., editor. 289–298. Oxford: Archaeopress. 2010
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2010. "Encountering the world of Aphrodite on the western Greek mainland." In Brill's companion to Aphrodite. Smith, Amy C. and Pickup, Sadie, editors. 235–250. Leiden: Brill. 2010

Presentations

  • Presentation

    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. Achaemenid Persian Landscapes and the Modern Mind - Great Games of Reconstructions [presentation]. International Workshop “Reconstructing the Past: Conversations on the Interpretation of Ancient Western Asian Spaces and Structures”, May 3, 2021. Virtual Conference.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2023. Archaeologies of Greek Americans and Greece in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC: Archives, Narratives and Exhibitions [presentation]. Sam Nakis Annual Memorial Lecture, November 1, 2023. University of Missouri-St. Louis: University of Missouri-St. Louis.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2023. Archaeology, Photography and a Legacy of Museums and Looting in Yemen. Collaborating on the Values of Archives in South Arabian Heritage Documentation [presentation]. Annual Meeting, November 17, 2023. Chicago, Illinois: American Schools of Overseas Research.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. Brooklyn’s First Canceled Museum. An Art Historiography of an Odyssey from Egypt to the New World [presentation]. Annual Meeting, April 22, 2021. Virtual Conference: American Research Center in Egypt.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. Contemporary Narratives on Ownership and Convenient Usages of the Provenance of Yemen's Past. A Perspective on Values and Archives of South Arabian Heritage [presentation]. International Conference “Global Provenance", February 2, 2021. Virtual Conference: Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2024. Deep Whites in Achaemenid Persia: Materialities in Monuments and Clothing in Persepolis and Susa in Iran, c. 520-330 BCE [presentation]. Real Colors and Cultures: Interdisciplinary Explorations. International Conference, April 24, 2024. Mulhouse, France: Musee de l’impression sur Etoffes.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2024. East of Byzantium: Pigments, Polychromy and Legacy in the Sasanian Empire, The Case of the Reliefs of Tāq-e Bostān (with A. Shekofte) [presentation]. Colouring In a 'Dark' Age: Histories of Colour in the Post-Classical World, September 20, 2024. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2022. Engaging with Western Civilization: Origins and Traditions and the Making of Greece at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. through the Archives [presentation]. State, Culture, Identities: Views from the Archaeological Archives, April 1, 2022. Virtual Conference: American School of Classical Studies at Athens and British School at Athens.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2023. In Limbo? The Past, Present and Future of Ancient South Arabian Architectural Mausolea and their Contents in Europe and North America [presentation]. International Conference 'On the Move: l'Architettura è Mobile', November 10, 2023. Venice, Italy: Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2024. Including Mesopotamian and Iraqi Legacies in Washington, D.C. Museums: A Conversation About Gabriel Oussani (1875-1934) [presentation]. Seventeenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum, September 15, 2024. Vienna.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2023. Leaving Aden and Sanaa Behind. Documenting Movements and Transportation of Qataban Collections and Archives in Germany and North America [presentation]. Epigraphy, history and archaeology of pre-Islamic South Arabia, September 17, 2023. Jordan: 25th Rencontres Sabéennes.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2024. New Investigations on Pigments and Polychromy from Squeezes of Stone Reliefs at Pasargadae and Persepolis in Achaemenid Persia (c. 520-330 BCE) (with A. Shekofte, O. Oudbashi) [presentation]. Archaeology of Colour: The Production of Polychromy in Sculpture up to the 16th century. International Symposium, April 17, 2024. Lisbon, Portugal: NOVA School of Science and Technology (Universidade NOVA de Lisboa) & Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. New Research on Ancient Iranian Assemblages in US Museums: Collaborations and ‘Earth Matters’ at SUNY [presentation]. 12th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, April 8, 2021. Virtual Conference: University of Bologna.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2022. Pigment to Stone: Scientific Investigations and the Realities of Surface Painting and Polychromies at Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rustam, Susa and Pasargadae [presentation]. Webinar 'Pigments and Colorful Materials', July 27, 2022. Virtual Conference: University of Isfahan, Department of Art Conservation.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2023. The Bluebeards of the Achaemenids: Hairy Matters in Studying Ancient Persian Art [presentation]. Evening Lecture, September 26, 2023. Columbia University, New York.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2023. Where Peace-Makers, Peace-Movements and Museums Meet: Sad Stories on Empathy and Negotiating Peace Through Antiquities from Yemen Abroad [presentation]. Conference 'Peace and Protest, Past and Present', October 27, 2023. Gwynedd Mercy University: Gwynedd Mercy University.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2021. Working on Stones in the Achaemenid Empire: Methods, Theories and Techniques [presentation]. September 17, 2021. Virtual Conference: German Archaeological Institute.
    • Nagel, Alexander. 2023. Yemeni Antiquities to America: Observations on Working on Correspondences and Archival Repositories [presentation]. Conference Researching a Rigged Game: Open-Source Data and the Trade of Cultural Objects, September 14, 2023. Virtual Conference: University College London.

Activities

Teaching Overview

  • I have been teaching classes on ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern material cultures in the US for students from Washington, D.C. and New York City. Using materials and collections from the Smithsonian Institution's collections, I have directed individual student's thesis, exhibitions as well as focused projects on materials and archives, on issues such as provenance, scientific analysis as well as the history and legacy of ancient materials in Washington, D.C.

Affiliation

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