John Boardman’s long and illustrious academic career is best documented by his numerous publications on various aspects of classical art and archaeology. Several decades of students (myself included) were introduced to Greek art through his general account, first published by Thames and Hudson in 1964 and now in its fifth edition (Greek Art (London 2016)), and then to the specifics of vases and sculpture via more focused handbooks in the same ‘World of Art’ series. Beginning with Athenian Black Figure Vases (London 1974), these well-illustrated, oft-cited and much-translated reference works comprise only a small fraction of Boardman’s contribution to the field, answering in his words an ‘obligation to explain my subject to students and the public’ (173). This autobiography, published in his early 90s, gives readers a glimpse into the personal experiences and professional career of one of classical archaeology’s larger than life figures: from his birth in Ilford in the 1920s to his retirement from Oxford in the 1990s, and beyond.
A stream of recollections, some longer, more detailed or private than the others, the book is divided into three parts. The first, expectedly, concerns family and childhood, education and career, excavations and travels; the second, no doubt most familiar to Classicists, details academic interests, collaborations and awards (among them a knighthood in 1989); and the third, perhaps surprising to many readers, is devoted entirely to ancient gems – a career-long passion originating with several foundational books during the 1960s and culminating in landmark publications such as one on the Royal Collection (with K. Aschengreen Piacenti, Ancient and Modern Gems and Jewels in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen (London 2008)) by invitation of Sir Anthony Blunt and another on the Beverly Collection kept at Alnwick Castle (with D. Scarisbrick and C. Wagner, The Beverley Collection of Gems at Alnwick Castle (London 2017)). Information across generously headed subsections does not always appear in exact order, and there is a certain amount of fluidity between past and present. The index is rather uneven with some individuals and places served better than others; similarly, the illustrations sometimes fail to name known individuals. A bibliography of Boardman’s publications, ordered by type and year, concludes the book and updates that found in Periplous: Papers on Classical Art and Archaeology Presented to Sir John Boardman (London 2000).
True to form, there is no shortage of the author’s own opinion about colleagues, institutions and the discipline, much of which makes for good reading. A Cambridge man who ‘felt more at home academically outside Oxford’, he recounts the rift (‘a divide in interests’) between Oxford and Cambridge archaeology that grew in earnest over the last decades of the 20th century: ‘I have no heart for theory per se and mourn the loss of basic archaeological skills of observation and recording’ (188). Also mentioned is the ‘major’ controversy involving Michael Vickers and David Gill over the value of ceramic vessels and their relation to metal ones (171–72). More positive in tone are anecdotes about ways classical archaeology matured at Oxford under Boardman’s watch, becoming a more respected area of the undergraduate Classics curriculum and a more varied (‘tailor-made’) part of postgraduate study. Boardman played no small part in establishing and sustaining the Beazley Archive, having assisted Martin Robertson (his own predecessor as Lincoln Professor) in collecting photographs and books from Beazley’s house following his death in 1970, and where he would later become a regular presence at morning coffee. Other contributions are equally significant, among them brokering the deal to put the digitized Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (CVA) on the Beazley Archive’s website and joining the editorial team of the Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), the latter described as ‘the biggest undertaking in publishing that I ever had to deal with and most rewarding’ (182).
Leaving aside family life, military service, hobbies and brushes with ‘famous’ individuals (all topics encountered throughout) among the most inspiring are instances where archaeological explorations led to pioneering publications. Boardman’s fascination with the world beyond Greece and the Mediterranean is perhaps best illustrated in The Greeks Overseas, first appearing in 1964 at the suggestion of Max Mallowan, reprinted several times and eventually updated (4th ed., London 1999). While the approach might raise eyebrows today, the influence of the book has been significant as the author himself readily admits. His genuine curiosity about Greek colonies and connections never truly waned, informed early on by excavations in Smyrna, Chios, Crete and Tocra, and a stint as Assistant Director of the British School at Athens; and in later years by addressing the ‘diffusion’ of classical art in a series of published lectures at the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC), as well as through travels to Persia and Asia. The most recent fruits of these labours include a book on The Greeks in Asia (London 2015) and another on Alexander the Great (Alexander the Great: From His Death to the Present Day (Princeton 2019)). Although these and other writings have long since made John Boardman a household name, his close friends, former pupils, colleagues near and far are bound to discover some hidden gems embedded in this highly readable and distinctive account.
