Resplendent in gilded silver, Zeus at his regal best here. The appliqué is from a tomb in Pydna (Northern Greece, ancient Macedonia) and is thought to have once adorned a very fancy late 4th century B.C. larnax, a type of small coffin for cremation burials. Zeus exhibits a sort of regal languor. His thick cloak
A lot has been written about this little (under half life-sized) lady from Pompeii, in terms of how Roman consumers digested Greek sculptural types and harnessed them into interior decor during the waning years of the Republic and early decades of the Empire. But mostly she has attracted attention because of her extraordinary golden ‘bikini’,
Packed within a coughdrop sized carnelian oval is all of the heartbreak of Troy’s last day. Things have officially gone bad here for Cassandra, Priam’s daughter and priestess of Apollo, gifted with second sight but doomed to have her prophecies dismissed and ignored: a Trojan princess abused by marauding Greek warriors, taken as concubine by
Straight pins (this is an especially sumptuous Hellenistic example) were functional (primarily for securing swathes of cloth: think the feminine peplos) and frequently very beautiful. But when ogling them a few Greek vignettes highlighting their dangerous stabbing potential inevitably creep into my mind… Herodotus recounts a typical spat between city-states during which the Athenians launched
Flounced and tiered skirts, bare bosoms, and the wonderful Dr. Seussian botanical flourishes (lilies!) are all hallmarks of Minoan art, executed in miniature on the bezel (L. 2.25 cm) of this gold ring. The ring itself was excavated in Knossos by none other than Arthur Evans, and since then has attracted scholarly attention and admiration.
Rings are so deeply personal, are they not? Visible and confronting each time one catches a glimpse of one’s hand. Which is all to say, the choice of subject matter matters, and in this case it is somewhat intriguing. It’s a masterpiece in miniature dating to the last decades of the 5th century B.C., found
Clocking in at 169 grams this coin is a whopper – one of the largest (if not the largest) denomination minted in antiquity. It was discovered in Bukhara (Uzbekistan), acquired by Napoleon III, and is one of a kind. The shrewd looking grump wearing the exciting helmet on the obverse is Eukratides I, a shadowy
Spring is starting to make itself felt in the Northern hemisphere, which has me thinking about two real masterpieces of late Classical gold-working, whimsy, and observed nature. These are two wreaths (metal ones that served as honorifics, fancy dress for feasting, and the funeral…that eternal festival) that were excavated within ‘Tomb II’ at Vergina. Now
The rapacious god has transformed himself into an enormous eagle to abduct the beautiful Trojan youth Ganymede (his love interest du jour) and transport him to Olympus where he would serve as cup bearer of the gods – a plum position that apparently bestowed some perks of immortality upon the disoriented boy. Miniature as a
Discovered within a grave on the citadel of Mycenae, during infamous Schliemann’s excavation of grave circle A, a number of curious gold disks were found. Wafer-thin, they are decorated in repoussé with images of schematically rendered butterflies, allowing for considerable 15th century B.C. artistic license. In the same grave, were several delicate scales of gold
These are three of the seven masks found during Heinrich Schliemann’s famous late 19th century excavations of Mycenae. They were found over the faces of men (and a boy child) in shaft graves within the grave circles in that wondrously fortified citadel, and clearly marked out the individuals buried with them as men of significant
When this little beauty caught my eye (as many shiny things do) in a showcase full of Etruscan gold, I did a double take. The head is only about 2 centimeters tall, representing the wild and woolly grand-daddy of all river gods Achelaos, known for his bushy beard, horned head, and bull’s body. A distinctive
Semi-precious stone, gold, miniature portraiture, and the incomparable queen Arsinöe II: this head (H. 2.2 cm) in the Walters Art Museum has it all in one tiny package! The stone is amethyst, which is a fun one. Not only did it have royal connotations in Egypt for several thousand years prior to this portrait, the
This is one of the very greatest examples of diadem from the ancient world. Dubbed the ‘Loeb Diadem’ it currently resides in the Munich Antikensammlung, and said to be from the Pantikapaion (modern Kerch) along the Black Sea. The moniker stems from the first (modern) owner, Dr. James Loeb who acquired it in the early
Wearing a battle-ready Athena on the back of one’s head is the definition of fierce fashion. Moreover, this hair ornament from the 2nd century B.C. is a forceful statement of Hellenistic wealth and technical prowess. The central medallion with the bust of Athena has all the things: embossed egg and dart motif, rosettes rendered with