Join the Rotunda Gallery (33 Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights) and artist George Spencer in their search for mysterious ceramic shards last seen in 1844.

On November 3, 1844, Alessandro Francois, an intrepid and amateur archeologist, discovered an ancient fragment of Grecian-styled pottery while digging around Chuisi, Italy. His enthusiastic excavation soon yielded hundreds more.

In 1899 these shards were lost on their way to a Brooklyn cultural institution which instead received a crate of grapefruits. The shards are believed to have arrived somewhere in the vicinity of Wallabout Market.

On February 17, innocently playing on Washington Avenue, just one block from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, local children discovered a piece of pottery which is believed to be part of this lost collection.

It is now up to the team of specialists at the Rotunda Gallery to piece together the strange history of these shards. The Gallery invites all interested amateur sleuths to join them in the adventure. Brave the shores of Brooklyn; scavenge the waterfront neighborhoods. Help answer the puzzling questions - Where did they come from? Who made them? What had they originally been? How did they get lost?

On March 25th the Gallery will start receiving shards. The collection will be displayed to the public on April 4th and will be augmented as new items arrive. The Rotunda Gallery will give the first 25 collectors complementary tickets to BRIC Studio performance space in thanks for their efforts.

TIMELINE
November 3, 1844 Alessandro Francois discovers shards in Chuisi, Italy.

March 1884 US military donates a section of the navy yard to Brooklyn for the building of Wallabout market on Washington Avenue.

July, 1898 Toothpaste tycoon Washington Sheffield, having acquired shards through nefarious means, ships them to New York to be presented to a museum in Brooklyn.

August 2, 1899 The crate arrives.

August 3, 1899 The crate is incorrectly delivered to Wallabout Market, and is lost for the next 100 years. The museum receives a crate of grapefruits.

January 1942 US military takes back Wallabout market land and demolishes buildings, leaving no trace of the lost shards.

October 10, 1999 Lost Manhattanite trying to pay overdue parking tickets discovers a crate south of the Williamsburg bridge with only one shard left in the crate.

October 12, 1999 Major Manhattan museum is accused of stealing the collection.

October 13, 1999 Accusation is proved to be a hoax.

February 17, 2002 Frolicking children discover first shard believed to be part of the lost collection on Washington Avenue one block from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

March 16, 2002 Several more shards are found in areas along waterfront, from Red Hook to Greenpoint, as well as two discovered near the Chelsea piers in Manhattan.

March 28, 2002 The Rotunda Gallery takes on the project. The shards are brought to the gallery to be examined, catalogued and displayed.

To participate in this amateur archeological dig or to learn more about George Spencer’s "Fragments" please call 718-875-4047x16.

George Spencer’s playful event and installation "Fragments" is part of the Rotunda Gallery’s exhibition TRY THIS, featuring artwork that requires the interaction of the viewer in order to be fully realized. Organized by Janet Riker and Meridith McNeal, TRY THIS opens on Thursday, April 4 with an artists’ reception and an evening of exploration and demonstrations with exhibiting artists and Rotunda’s artist educators. The exhibition will remain on view through May 18. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, Noon - 5 PM and Saturday, 11 AM - 4 PM. Admission is free. Information: 718-875-4047.

TRY THIS explores the viewer’s role in the work of art. Through a variety of interactive work, the exhibition calls for the direct engagement of the viewer who may touch, prod, crank and prick the artwork.