Two History of Art undergraduate majors embarked on pivotal professionalization experiences this past summer thanks in part to the generosity of the Estate of Charles Baskerville and the Baskerville Undergraduate Travel Grant. Allegra Gonzalez Barbieri (BA 2028) participated in the St. Nicholas Medieval Cemetery excavations in Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania and Amy Wang (BA 2028) was an intern in the Asian Art Department at Sotheby's New York offices. Read below for their respective reflections on their summer experiences.
Allegra Gonzalez Barbieri
This summer, I had the opportunity to participate in the St. Nicholas medieval cemetery excavation in Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania, as part of the Medieval Funerary Excavations program run by ArchaeoTek BioArch Canada. Working alongside a team of archaeologists, I helped excavate burials belonging to the Székely people, a Hungarian-speaking minority community in Transylvania, gaining hands-on experience in skeletal excavation, osteology, and the interpretation of medieval burial traditions.
Day to day, this meant putting into practice archeological skills. We used shovels, trowels and brushes to remove soil in thin, controlled layers until bone became visible, working carefully enough to tell it apart from stone or root before it was fully exposed. Mapping skeletons in situ meant recording each individual's exact position: orientation, articulation, how the bones related to each other before anything was lifted. Leveling let us record that position accurately in three dimensions, tying it to the site's stratigraphy so each burial could be understood in context rather than on its own. This kind of precision takes repetition to develop, and by the end I had a much clearer sense of what careful excavation actually requires and how much later interpretation depends on getting that initial record right.
Beyond the fieldwork, I presented a research project on Székely religious beliefs and their relationship to natural disasters, drawing on material from Cornell's library collections to situate the excavation within a broader historical and cultural framework. Being immersed in the Transylvanian landscape while working through questions of ritual, belief, and mortality gave me a much fuller sense of how bioarchaeology and cultural anthropology intersect in practice, not just in theory.
I'm grateful to Cornell and the Department of History of Art for making this experience possible, and I look forward to carrying these skills (technical and intellectual alike) into my continued work in archaeology and material culture.
Amy Wang
This summer, I worked at Sotheby’s New York as an intern in the Asian Art Department. It was a comprehensive and rewarding experience that allowed me to take on a wide range of responsibilities within the auction house industry. I assisted with both the June online sale and the September Asian Art Week sale, contributing to cataloguing and preparing catalogue notes for upcoming auctions. I also conducted research on the provenance and publication history of works by consulting books and other archival resources.
One of the most valuable aspects of the internship was the opportunity to work closely with Chinese bronzes, ceramics, furniture, and other objects dating back hundreds or even thousands of years. Being able to observe these works firsthand, handle them carefully, and examine their materials, surfaces, and textures greatly deepened my understanding of Chinese art beyond what I had previously learned through books and classroom study.
I was also highly involved in the client-facing side of the auction business. I was responsible for answering the department phone line and assisting clients with a variety of inquiries in both English and Chinese. I also had the opportunity to participate in client visits, where I was able to speak directly with collectors and learn about their experiences and approaches to collecting Chinese art.
I am very grateful to the Department of History of Art for supporting my internship through the Baskerville Grant, and especially to Professor An-yi Pan and Ellen Avril for supporting me throughout the internship recruitment process and encouraging my continued interest in Asian art. This experience greatly expanded my knowledge of Asian art and gave me valuable insight into the professional art world.
