The curator of a prominent museum

You are the curator of a prominent museum that contains significant artifacts from every era. Among its collections are those devoted to the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Romantic, the Realist, the
Impressionist, the Post-Impressionist as well as the artistic movements of the first half of the 20th century. The museum is very well-endowed and has been able to purchase some of the greatest examples of humanity’s
accomplishments, including paintings, sculptures, pottery/ceramics, literary manuscripts, and musical compositions. In the area of architecture, whole buildings have been picked up, taken apart, and reassembled
within the museum walls. Everything is going smoothly for you until an arsonist targets the museum because of his overwhelming and irrational hatred of culture. You have only minutes to save the most important works in the collection from a fiery destruction. There are only four staff members with you so you will be able to go to only five areas of the museum. Artifacts can be saved from only five eras. Happily, modern machinery is
available to assist you in your efforts. You can save any artifact from the smallest piece of pottery to the largest building; however, the blazing inferno will allow you only the time to save one item from the chosen eras. Out of the vast collection, you can only save 5 artifacts. Choose wisely. In your written report following the fire, thoroughly discuss the choices you made and why you believe they were the correct ones. The museum’s
Board of Directors as well as the insurance company will be reading the report and they must be convinced that you acted wisely. As you know, you must be detailed and specific in your response. Explain thoroughly
how your artifact represents its culture. Bring in details from classroom discussions.