Tatiana Proskouriakoff family photographs and papers
Overview
Tatiana Proskouriakoff Family Photographs and Papers Collection consists of photographs and papers pertaining to the Proskouriakoff family, including Tatiana's parents, Avenir and Alla Proskouriakoff, and her sister, Ksenia Proskouriakoff or Mrs. David Beatam.
Dates
- Creation: 1911-1971
Conditions Governing Access
Unrestricted
Extent
.8 linear feetTatiana Proskouriakoff Family Photographs and Papers Collection consists of photographs and papers pertaining to the Proskouriakoff family, including Tatiana's parents, Avenir and Alla Proskouriakoff, and her sister, Ksenia Proskouriakoff or Mrs. David Beatam.
The papers include correspondence between family members, friends and close associates, as well as financial records, reports and research documents (composed in both English and Russian) created primarily by Avenir Proskouriakoff. Additionally, the papers include a diary and scrapbook by Tatiana Proskouriakoff.
Biographical Sketch
Tatiana Proskouriakoff was born in Tomsk, Russia in 1909 to Avenir and Alla Proskouriakoff. Her family came to the United States in 1915, when Avenir, an engineer and chemist, was sent on a mission by the Russian Imperial Government to oversee the manufacture of arms produced for Russia. The family settled in Philadelphia where, during the Russian Revolution, they established permanent residence in the United States.
Tatiana Proskouriakoff received a B.S. in architecture in 1930 from Pennsylvania State College. After graduation, Proskouriakoff was employed at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where she copied meticulous drawings. Proskouriakoff's reconstruction drawing of Piedras Negras acropolis impressed a visiting archaeologist from the Carnegie Institution, who invited her to join the institution.
At the Carnegie Institution, Proskouriakoff participated in the expedition to Copan and Chichen Itza as a draftsperson and illustrator. There, Tatiana Proskouriakoff contributed to the studies of the Maya by producing architectural reconstruction drawings and by providing a method of dating through a systematic analysis of glyphic data from Maya monuments. By the time she was promoted to staff member at the Carnegie Institution in 1943, Proskouriakoff became a Research Associate at the Peabody Museum, Harvard.
Tatiana Proskouriakoff wrote several works from 1944-77 including: An Inscription on a Jade Probably Carved at Piedras Negras (1944), An Album of Maya Architecture (1946) and Jade from the Cenote of Sacrifice (1974).
Throughout her career, Tatiana Proskouriakoff won several awards in recognition for her contribution to archaeology and epigraphy including the A.V. Kidder Medal in 1972 from the Carnegie Institution for her discovery regarding Mayan hieroglyphic writing, Pennsylvania State University's nomination as Woman of the Year in 1971 and the Guatemalan Order of the Quetzal in 1984, as well as an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Tulane University in 1977.
She passed away in Watertown, Massachusetts on August 30th, 1985 at the age of 76.
Sources
- Graham, Ian. "Obituary: Tatiana Proskouriakoff." American Antiquity , Jan. 1991. 55 (1), 6-11.
- Obituary, The Boston Globe ,September 9, 1985
Arrangement
- Series 1, 2006.35.1 is comprised of family photographs.
- Series 2,2006.35.2 is comprised of family correspondence financial records, high school yearbook, household ledgers, newspaper clippings, scrapbook, research records and additional miscellaneous documents.
Physical Location
Peabody Museum Archives
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2006.35
These papers are a gift of Char Solomon of Concord, North Carolina.
October 2006
General note
Collections records may contain language, reflecting past collecting practices and methods of analysis, that is no longer acceptable. The Peabody Museum is committed to addressing the problem of offensive and discriminatory language present in its database. Our museum staff are continually updating these records, adding to and improving content. We welcome your feedback and any questions or concerns you may want to share.
Processed by:
Hee Jung Lee, Simmons College archives intern; edited by India Spartz, Senior Archivist,
December 2006.
- Title
- Proskouriakoff, Tatiana, 1909-1985. Tatiana Proskouriakoff, Family Photographs and Papers, 1911-1971: A Finding Aid.
- Author
- Peabody Museum Archives
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- pea00020
Repository Details
Part of the Peabody Museum Archives Repository
Papers in the Peabody Museum Archives consist of primary source materials that document the Museum’s archaeological and ethnographic research and fieldwork since its founding in 1866. More than 2,800 feet of archival paper collections contain documents, papers, manuscripts, correspondence, data, field notes, maps, plans, and other historical records that represent diverse peoples from around the world, and which were created or collected by the Museum, its individual affiliates, or related entities. The collections also document the history or provenience, as well as the creation of, many of the Museum’s archaeological and ethnographic collections.