Antiquities Exhibits

In many myths, ranging from Egypt to the Far East, the initial process of creation and birth begins when a cosmic egg. sometimes fertilized by a serpent but more often laid in the primeval sea by a giant bird. From these sacred eggs, the sun (the golden yolk)  is hatched leading to the division of earth and sky and the multiplicity of life, natural and supernatural. Eggs are well attested as funerary offerings—real eggs, artistic counterparts in marble and terracotta or diminutive vases of egg shape.  Between approximately 65,000 and 55,000 years ago, African hunter-gatherers scratched on eggshells at Diepkloof Rock Shelter in South Africa.  Eggs were found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur dating to 3800 BCE. In archaeological sites of predynastic Egypt (Naqada II period - 3600-3200 BCE) ostrich eggs were found in graves, partially cut and used as containers or placed in graves whole. Many of the eggs were decorated with incised or painted designs which took the form of geomet...

While working on Wikimedia Commons today, I saw this interesting 1st century CE ivory furniture applique from Pompeii depicting a Roman birthing scene. The quality of the carving is quite good but what caught my attention was its inclusion of a stylized tree of life. The tree of life is widespread in the world's religious and philosophical traditions. In ancient Iran dating back to approximately the early 2nd millennium BCE, tw o trees, Mashyа and Mashyane, were thought to be the ancestors of all living beings. In ancient Assyria, 2500 BCE-690 BCE, the sacred tree of life is depicted attended to by human or eagle-headed winged genies, or the King, and blessed or fertilized with bucket and cone. In ancient Urartu, 860-590 BCE, the tree of life was a religious symbol drawn on walls of fortresses and carved on the armor of warriors. In the Jewish Book of Proverbs, dating to approximately 450 BCE, the tree of life is associated with wisdom. "Wisdom is a tree of life to them...