A jade lithophone from 18th-century China offers insight to the significant role of ritual music in ancient China—as an essential part of state rite to assert the legitimacy of reign.

The woman in Frank W. Benson's Lady Trying on a Hat has always been a character who caught my eye during visits to the Museum. From her averted gaze to the contrast between her white dress and the black hat, she is poised to play the lead role on the stage that Benson created.

How a project designed to enhance pain management was born and made possible by the collaboration between RISD Museum and the Brown Emergency Medicine Residency.

A school programs educator describes student encounters with Edouard Manet's Repose.

A wooden “do not touch” partition usually separates the period room in Pendleton House from the public. But one Monday in June, that partition was removed, and museum staff peopled the room.

There's always more to be discovered: Hidden in plain sight since the 11th century, two inscriptions were found during conservation of the Museum's Dainichi Buddha.

While the sixth-floor galleries are undergoing an extensive renovation, the Museum is carefully studying and conducting conservation work on the monumental 12th-century wooden Dainichi Nyorai Buddha. When the Buddha is returned to its gallery in late spring 2014, it will be stabilized and we'll know much more about the art that went into creating this nearly 10-foot-tall sculpture.

Cleaning an object can be as much about discovery as it is about removing accumulated dust and grime.

Isabella McCormick (Brown/RISD 2015) explores the intricacies of the Gorham Narragansett Salad Set and their reflections on Rhode Island culture, insights gained from her meticulous cleaning of the utensils as part of her Mellon Summer Internship in conservation.

Examining and documenting four Fayum portraits as part of a larger study directed by the J. Paul Getty Museum

Agrippina the Younger watches as men of the emperor move nearer and nearer to her. They carry weapons. Having survived one attempt on her life, she knows that she will not survive another.

RISD Museum conservator Ingrid Neuman discusses the challenges in caring for objects made from this ubiquitous material

Architect James Stanton-Abbott explains his process for creating a computer-rendered reconstruction of a room in an ancient Roman villa near Pompeii, using images of wall-painting fragments in the RISD Museum and the MFA, Boston.

Curatorial assistant of contemporary art A. Will Brown interviews artist Steffani Jemison about her film *Maniac Chase* (2009), *Escaped Lunatic* (2010–2011) and Personal (2014)

A summer intern peeks into the Museum’s hidden corners and examines its architectural quirks.

The discovery of these treasures resembles that of a valuable manuscript. They are a new “Codex Africanus,” not written on fragile papyrus, but in ivory and imperishable brass.

A summer intern creates an article of clothing inspired by the meticulous logistics of collections care.

A study of the elements that pull and push a visitor through the museum’s 3rd and 4th floor spaces

During the Fall of 2015, Brown’s graduate students in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture undertook an investigation of the wood sculptures in the RISD Museum collections.

A summer intern describes her experience delving into the RISD Museum's databases, searching for human elements

Traditional museum practice has a gigantic carbon footprint. How is the RISD Museum changing its own practices in response to the climate emergency?

An intern explores the history of works from the museum’s ancient collection, tracing the archaeological excavations that brought them to light and into the permanent collection.