Back to Calendar

Spotlight Tour: The Art of Touch, with Isabelle Halsey ’25 and Aidan Scully ’25

In this photomontage, a smiling young man and woman gesture toward a bronze bell that seems to float between them. The bell has a greenish patina and abstract patterning. They stand on a college campus with brick pathways.
One of the works Aidan Scully and Isabelle Halsey will spotlight is this ritual bell made in China during the Zhou dynasty (475–221 BCE).

Tour

In-Person
Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

This event does not require registration; see further details below.

On this tour, Isabelle Halsey ‘25 and Aidan Scully ’25 will explore the relationship between physical touch (for example, the handling of a coin, the striking of a bell, the rubbing of a painting) and a ritual act, whether it be religious, civil, or personal. The stops on the tour are a dinar of Abd al-Malik I (701–2 CE), which is among the earliest coinage to feature a Muslim profession of faith in Arabic; a ritual bell made in China during the Zhou dynasty (475–221 BCE); and Salvator Mundi (c. 1490–1500), a painting of Jesus Christ with his right hand raised in blessing, by the Florentine workshop of Sandro Botticelli.

Spotlight Tours offer a chance to explore the collections of the Harvard Art Museums through the eyes of a Harvard student. Free and open to the public, these tours start outside the museum shop on Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 2pm. Drop in and join the conversation! And find out what the Student Guides are up to anytime on Instagram @harvardarthappens.

Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the tour. Tours are limited to 18 people and are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

The Harvard Art Museums offer free admission every day, Tuesday through Sunday. Please see the museum visit page to learn about our general policies for visiting the museums.

This program is supported by the Ho Family Student Guide Fund.

The Ho Family Student Guide Program at the Harvard Art Museums prepares students to develop original, research-based tours of the collections. Through their training, Student Guides gain knowledge of the collections and develop skills in critical thinking, visual analysis, public speaking, and leadership.

The Harvard Art Museums are committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for our programs, please contact us at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance. Please include the name and date of the program in the subject line of your email.