Melissa Eppihimer

Melissa Eppihimer is a Part-Time Instructor in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh's Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on ancient Near Eastern art and its modern reception, including collecting practices in the early 20th century and the ethical dimensions of cultural heritage. She holds a PhD from Harvard University in History of Art and Architecture, alongside an AM and BA from Harvard and Yale, respectively. Her teaching emphasizes critical engagement with how historical narratives are shaped by excavation, collection, and scholarly biases.

Research interests include ancient Near Eastern art, Early Modern European encounters with antiquities, and the historiography of art collecting. Her work spans material analysis (e.g., X-ray CT studies of Mesopotamian artifacts) and historical studies of royal imagery. She also serves as editor of a community magazine in Pittsburgh, bridging academic and public engagement.

Publications highlight interdisciplinary approaches, from technical examinations of artifacts to reevaluations of historical art historiography. Her book Exemplars of Kingship (Oxford UP, 2019) explores Akkadian art and political legacy. Teaching and research are informed by her experience in museums and archaeological fieldwork.

No scientific awards are explicitly documented in the text. Her advising record is not listed, but her courses address ancient Mediterranean/Near Eastern art, collecting ethics, and cultural heritage preservation.