Antiquities Exhibits

Maya: The Exhibit March 14 - September 7, 2020 at the Cincinnati Museum Center. With over 300 artifacts, discover the astronomers, mathematicians, inventors and gods who dominated the Mayan civilization with their inventions and traditions like the number zero, the production of vulcanized rubber, and the delicious taste of chocolate. The exhibit includes not only original artifacts but precisely reproduced artwork that can be e xplored tactiley by visitors. Image: One of the few known examples of large, three-dimensional stucco sculptures discovered with its original colors still preserved. The jaguar-masked figure is believed to represent a mythological feline being – either a high-ranking noble in the guise of a jaguar deity or one of the feline figures from the diverse pantheon of classic Maya deities. It measures over 9 feet long and 2 feet high (Height: 66 cm; Length: 266 cm; Width: 105 cm). Maya Lowlands, Peten, Guatemala, Early Classic period (ca. 250-600 CE). Fund...

Age Old Cities: A Virtual Journey from Palmyra to Mosul through October 25, 2020 at the Freer/Sackler Galleries of Art in Washington D.C. Ancient cultural sites in Palmyra, Aleppo and Mosul have been recreated virtually by the video game company Ubisoft, the company that recreated ancient Egypt and Greece in their Assassin's Creed game franchise. The recreations of such structures as The Temple of Baalshamin in Palmyra, the Great  Mosque of Al-Nuri, the souks of Aleppo, and the mausoleum of Nabi Yunnus can be experienced by visitors through multimedia displays and virtual reality devices. Visitors can watch interviews of those who witnessed the destruction of their cities and see first-hand the damage done to these UNESCO world heritage sites. A large map pinpoints exactly where the three featured cities are located then large-scale depictions of the destruction slowly morph into the full historic sites that once existed there. Ubisoft created the reconstructions by flying dron...

Thracian art at the Tekirdağ Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography in Tekirdağ, Turkey. During excavations in the ancient cities of Heraion-Teichos (City of Hera) in Süleymanpaşa, Çavuşköy in Malkara and Perinthos in Marmaraereğlisi, many Thracian works have been discovered including jewelry, coins, weapons, reliefs and grave goods from the tomb of a Thracian king Kersopleptes. There are also silver vessels, candlesticks and sh ields from the Macedonian era as well as archaeological finds from the Early Bronze Age (3000-2500 BCE), Late Bronze Age (2000-1200 BCE), Early Iron Age (1400-1000 BCE), and the Hellenistic Period, Artifacts from the ancient Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman eras are also on display. Image: Gladiator Relief from Perinthos (ancient Marmara) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Ollios.

Archaeological Museum of Mesara in Gortys, Crete now open! Gortys, also known as Gortyn or Gortyna is one of the most important cities in Crete with an unbroken history of 6,000 years and one of the most extensive archaeological sites in Greece. It lies in south central Crete in the fertile Mesara plain, the site of the first human habitation of Crete at the end of the Neolithic period (5th millennium BC). Gortys was one of the f irst areas of Crete to attract the attention of researchers and archaeologists as early as the period of Turkish occupation in the late 19th century, when Minoan civilization was still a matter of conjecture and myth. In 1884 the discovery and preservation of the Great Inscription by Iosif Hatzidakis, Stefanos Xanthoudides and Italian Federico Halbherr led to excavations in the Gortys area and these explorations brought important buildings and finds to light, although a large part of the Roman city still remains unexplored today. The area has been inhabite...

The Arrotino, bronze cast of a 2nd - 1st century BCE Roman original at the Palace of Versailles, about 12 miles southwest of Paris, France. The original Arrotino is a marble Roman copy of a Hellenistic original of a slave or barbarian whetting his knife in anticipation of skinning Marsyas alive. The original sculpture was found in Rome between 1534 and 1538. It was transported to the Villa Medici and now resides in the Uffizi  Gallery in Florence, Italy. A number of casts were made of the work including a cast made in 1884 and displayed at the Fitzwilliam Museum. According to the Cambridge Museum of Classical Archaeology "Group sculpture was popular in Hellenistic times, and the Arrotino was part of a group encapsulating all the drama beloved of Hellenistic sculptors - the flaying of Marsyas." Marsyas, a Silenos, was an expert player of the double-piped double reed instrument known as the aulos. He challenged Apollo, the god of music, to a musical contest. The contest was...

Samian ware flask from Southern Gaul, 1st century CE, depicting Heracles killing Laomedon, King of Troy, at the Museo Civico Archeologico della Valle Sabbia in Gavardo (Brescia). In one version of mythology, Laomedon, king of Troy, was the father of Ganymede. Zeus fell in love with the beautiful boy and, disguised as an eagle, kidnapped the child. Laomedon grieved so much for his son Zeus sent Hermes to Laomedon with two magn ificent horses so swift they could run across water. Hermes also assured the king that Ganymede would become immortal and would thereafter be the distinguished cup bearer for the gods. Sometime later, Laomedon began constructing walls around his city of Troy and promised a reward to Apollo and Poseidon for their assistance. But after the walls were completed Laomedon refused to give them the promised payment. So the gods, in their anger, sent a pestilence and a sea monster to ravage the land. An oracle revealed to Laomedon that the only way to save Troy would ...

Treasures from the Baekje Kingdom at the Iksan National Museum in Iksan, South Korea. A new museum in South Korea opened its doors this month, offering visitors a rare glimpse into the Buddhist history of the ancient Baekje kingdom, which flourished from 18 BCE–660 CE, and an opportunity to view an impressive collection of key artifacts from the Korea’s long and profound relationship with Buddhism. Iksan National Museum, which  stands within the grounds of the ancient Mireuksa temple complex in southern North Jeolla Province, houses a collection of more than 23,000 Buddhist relics unearthed from around Mireuksa and dated to the Baekje kingdom, many of which are now on public display for the first time. Mireuksa was founded late in the reign of King Mu (r. 600–641), the 30th king of Baekje, and is now considered an example of the most advanced architectural skills of the Three Kingdoms of Korea—Baekje, Goguryeo (later Goryeo), and Silla. Images: Great Gilt-bronze Inc...

Thalassa, Wonders Submerged by the Mediterranean, through March 2020 at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy. Four hundred artifacts represent the efforts of underwater archaeologists exploring the Mare Nostrum from 1950 until today including the Farnese Atlas, a marble sculpture dating to the 2nd century CE and discoveries from the ancient port of Naples that were revealed during the excavations of the subway in  Piazza Municipio. Other works on display include an Amazon head, the bronze head of the Philosopher of Porticello from the 5th century BCE, the Relief of Heracles and Antaeus, 2nd century BCE, the "Reshef of Selinunte", a bronze statuette produced between the 14th and 12th centuries BCE and parts of a Roman ship. The exhibit also provides multimedia displays and 3D reconstructions. Image: A variety of artifacts recovered from the Mare Nostrum courtesy of the museum.

Glistening Treasures in the Dust: Ancient Artefacts of Afghanistan through October 2, 2020 at the Museum of History in Hong Kong. Through the display of 231 rare artefacts including goldware, glassware, bronze sculptures and ivory carvings, unearthed from the four famous archaeological sites of Tepe Fullol, Aï Khanum, Tillya Tepe (Hill of gold) and Begram, now in the collection of the National Museum of Afghanistan, this exhibition demonstrates the profound influence of foreign ancient cultures such as Greek, Indian and Roman on Afghanistan and its surrounding regions from the Bronze Age to the first century CE, as well as a cultural diversity embracing the features of different Steppe cultures. These artefacts also attest to the role played by ancient Afghanistan as the cultural crossroads of the Silk Road, which subsequently promoted the exchange and integration of world civilisations. - Museum of History, Hong Kong This video includes marvelous closeups of a numb...

The annual meeting of the American Numismatic Association will be held February 27-29, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.  Educational displays on every area of numismatics including ancient coins and artifacts, tokens and medals, and world coins.  Members share their knowledge, research, creativity and collections with not only other members but the general public. See more:  https://www.money.org/ Image:  Beautifully detailed Roman coin depicting a galley minted by Hadrian in 131 CE.

Chiron was the son of the Titan Cronus and the Oceanid Philyra. Like satyrs, centaurs were notorious for being wild, lusty, overly indulgent drinkers and carousers, violent when intoxicated, and generally uncultured delinquents. Chiron, by contrast, was intelligent, civilized and kind, because he was not related directly to the other centaurs due to hi s parentage. Chiron's foster father, Apollo, taught the young centaur the art of medicine, herbs, music, archery, hunting, gymnastics and prophecy, and made him rise above his beastly nature. Chiron was known for his knowledge and skill with medicine, and thus was credited with the discovery of botany and pharmacy, the science of herbs and medicine. Image: A beautiful fresco of Chiron at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (inv. Nr. 9109). From a Basilica in Herculaneum - The fresco shows the centaur Chiron, a pedagogue of Achilles, who teaches the young hero in the use of the lyre. The prototype for this fresco was not a...

Golden Mummies of Egypt opening February 8, 2020 at the Buffalo Museum of Science in Buffalo, New York. Golden Mummies of Egypt examines hopes and fears about the afterlife when Egypt was part of the Greek and Roman worlds (c. 300 BC-200 AD). Wealthy members of this multicultural society had their mummified bodies encased in gold in hopes of joining the gods after death. The exhibition consists of over 100 key objects from the Manchester Museum’s world-class collection, including eight mummies, as well as masks, coffins, jewelry and sculpture. Blending Egyptian, Roman and Greek imagery, the strikingly lifelike painted mummy portraits are among the most haunting images from the Ancient World. If you can't make it to Buffalo, New York, you'll have another opportunity to see it at the North Carolina Museum of Art from September 19, 2020 – January 10, 2021.

Bronze fountain statuette of Cybele on a cart drawn by lions, Roman, 2nd half of 2nd century C.E. at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This bronze fountain ornament represents the cult image of the goddess Cybele enthroned on a cart drawn by two lions. Spouts formerly projecting from the open mouths of the lions. The original cart, harness, and thr one no longer survive. The rear left wheel is a 19th century restoration. Originally a Phrygian Mother Goddess, the cult was adopted and adapted by Greek colonists of Asia Minor and spread to mainland Greece and its more distant western colonies around the 6th century B.C.E. Rites included the presence of a divine Phrygian castrate shepherd-consort Attis, who was probably a Greek invention, and was represented by members of a eunuch mendicant priesthood. Rome officially adopted her cult during the Second Punic War (218 to 201 B.C.E.), after dire prodigies, including a meteor shower, a failed harvest and famine, seemed to w...

Canosa vase, Greek, 3rd century BCE Terracotta with white slip said to have been discovered near Canosa di Puglia, Italy at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA. A type of Apulian vase, Canosa vases were produced exclusively for funerary use between 350 and 300 BCE. Their distinguishing feature is their three-dimensional decorations depicting Nike, chariots, battle scenes, naiskoi and winged female figures painted i n a variety of water-soluble pigments (blue, red/pink, yellow, pale purple, brown) on a white background. Preferred vessel forms are the volute-krater, cantharus, oinochoe, and askos. The main find locations of such vessels are Canosa (after which the vases are now named), Arpi and Ordona. Image: Canosa vase, Greek, 3rd century BCE Terracotta with white slip said to have been discovered near Canosa di Puglia, Italy at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA. This vase was originally purchased from a Naples antiquities dealer for 150 lire on...

Bronze Etruscan chariot inlaid with ivory, 2nd quarter of the 6th century BCE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. On the Italian peninsula, the largest number of chariots come from Etruria and the surrounding regions. They are datable between the second half of the eighth and the fifth centuries B.C. and represent several varieties. None seems to h ave been used for fighting in battle. Most came to light in tombs; after serving in life, they were buried with their owners, male and also female. The Monteleone chariot belongs to a group of parade chariots, so called because they were used by significant individuals on special occasions. They have two wheels and were drawn by two horses standing about forty-nine inches (122 centimeters) apart at the point where the yoke rests on their necks. The car would have accommodated the driver and the distinguished passenger. The shape of the car, with a tall panel in front and a lower one at each side, provided expansive surfaces fo...

King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh opening June 13, 2020 at The Saunders Castle at Park Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts. This exhibit, said to be the last traveling display of authentic artifacts from King Tutankhamun's t omb outside of Egypt, unveils more than 150 original objects from the tomb, 60 of which have travelled out of Egypt for the first and final time before they return for permanent display within the new 7,000 sq. meter Grand Egyptian Museum which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2021. Jewellery, sculptures and ritual objects join what is thought to be the oldest glove on earth, and the world’s oldest trumpet. A short film tells how King Tutankhamun was written out of Egyptian history, as his reign had taken place at a time of political turmoil, so his name was removed from the public record and statues of him were destroyed. Non-flash photography is allowed but the galleries will be dark so you will need a camera with the capability...

Terracotta jug in the shape of an African head, Roman Cyprus, 3rd century CE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The unique geographic location of Cyprus at the crossroads of seafaring trade in the eastern Mediterranean made it an important center for trade and commerce in antiquity. Already in the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2500–1900 B.C.) and Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1900–1600 B.C.), Cyprus had established contacts w ith Minoan Crete and, subsequently, Mycenaean Greece, as well as with the ancient civilizations of the Near East (Syria and Palestine), Egypt, and southern Anatolia. In 570 BCE, Cyprus was conquered by Egypt under Amasis II. This brief period of Egyptian domination left its influence mainly in the arts. Some ceramics recovered on Cyprus feature men wearing Egyptian wigs and Assyrian-style beards. The influence of Egypt would continue during and after the wars of Alexander's successors. The largest city and kingdom of Cyprus, Salamis, strongly supported P...

In my work on the translation of Hauser in Pompeji, I discovered that a female-headed herm with a phallus was found in one of the cubiculum of the House of the Prince of Naples. I found this particularly interesting as I have seen a number of herms in various museums around the world but not one like that. I did a little more research and found that herms featuring the male-female god Aphroditus were produced in the 5th century BCE on Cyprus. The worship of Aphroditus sprea d to Athens in the 4th century BCE then subsequently to Rome. Surviving Roman statues of Aphroditus have been dated as late as the 3rd century CE. Anyway, this prelude brings us to today's featured "Antiquities Alive" artifact: Herm of Aphroditus, Greek, at the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. This male-female god was associated with the Moon and according to Macrobius, at its sacrifices men and women exchanged clothing. Philostratus described the rituals, saying the image or the impersonator...

Helmet of Weisenau Type and Dolabra, Roman, ca. 250 C.E. at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In its complete state, this exceptionally rare and well-preserved Roman infantry helmet of iron and copper alloy would have also included a pair of broad cheekpieces. The name Julius Mansuetus––the owner of the helmet, probably an officer––is inscribed on the neck guard. The meaning of the mice and loaves of bread that a dorn the back of the bowl is not known. They possibly had a devotional function. Found with the helmet, the dolabra is a pickaxe traditionally carried by Roman infantry. Its copper alloy sheath would have been used to cap the cutting blade. Images: Helmet of Weisenau Type and Dolabra, Roman, ca. 250 C.E. at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City courtesy of the museum and licensed (PD). This piece is currently on view in gallery 370 of The Met's 5th Avenue location. Note the little mice on either side of the center reinforcement s...

Freedman by John Quincy Adams Ward at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  Ward, who received his artistic training in the United States, was a revitalizing force in American sculpture during the third quarter of the nineteenth century, being one of the first native sculptors to reject European Neoclassicism for a more naturalistic style. A popular work available in multiple castings, "Freedman" was first exhibited at the Penn sylvania Academy in 1863 and remained there until the artist presented it in 1866. Several bronze casts of the piece exist in other collections. The sculpture may be viewed as both a commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation and an expression of Ward's own abolitionist sentiments. However, Ward dresses his freedman in the classical style. Recent scholarship has noted its relationship to the Greek torso Belvedere, and indeed Ward's appreciation and study of classical sculpture is well documented. From a historical perspective, how...

The Haas and Schwartz Megiddo Gallery at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Haas and Schwartz Megiddo Gallery features artifacts from the Oriental Institute’s excavations at Megiddo, modern Israel (ancient Armageddon), including the famed Megiddo ivories, whose artistic style is evidence for early internationalism. The excavation of the mound at Megiddo is documented by objects such as  lamps, weapons, and pottery arranged in stratigraphic order to illustrate how archaeologists could recreate the culture from 5000 to 600 BC. Other objects trace the rise of the Israelites and the royal city of Megiddo. Artifacts of special interest include a gold-covered statue of the Canaanite god El, a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls – one of few on permanent display in the United States – and a cast of the Moabite Stone. Image: Ivory game board inlaid with gold and blue paste, for the game of 58 holes, excavated at Megiddo, Stratum VIIA, ...

Amber collection at the National Archaeological Museum in Aquileia, Italy. Amber, fossilized tree resin, has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty and traded since Neolithic times. Amber was made into a variety of decorative objects and used as a healing agent in folk medicine. "Salt from the salt mines of Central Europe—sought after by the peoples of northern Europe—was exchanged with amber from the Baltic shores, which was then sold to Mediterranean peoples. This trade intensified when the Roman Empire expanded north of the Alps, and in some Roman cities the fabrication of amber art wares reached almost industrial proportions.” - Jennifer Billock, Smithsonian Magazine The so-called amber road ran from a point near modern St. Petersburg, Russia to points near Venice and Rome with other paths branching across Europe and into Asia. Aquileia, on the Adriatic coast in northeast Italy, was an important trading port for amber and the prized gemst...

Last Supper in Pompeii: From the Table to the Grave, April 18 through August 30, 2020 at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, California. A trove of 300 Roman objects spanning ancient sculptures, mosaics, furnishings and frescoes as well as tableware will be on display at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, California when it hosts the exhibit, “Last Supper in Pompeii: From the Table to the Grave.” It will also showcase large-scale statues of Olympian gods including Venus, Apollo, Hercules, Mercury and Zeus whom the Pompeii citizens revered and worshipped at the time. Food samples from tiny remnants left on dishes, vessels, and even kitchen drains, as well as carbonized foods that were found in excavated homes and businesses shed light on the reveal the variety of food and drink consumed in Pompeii. Another gallery walks visitors through a typical Pompeii home in which food and drink played a major role, commencing with the atrium, which Pompeiians us...

Ancient Rome: The Empire That Shaped The World, January 10 to April 5, 2020 at the History Museum of Mobile, Alabama. The most incredible and useful machines and technology from ancient Roman designs have been brought to life for the first time in two thousand years! The exhibition covers the Roman Empire’s most impressive and innovative machines and constructions, including the catapult, early clocks and the secrets behind the incredible Colosseum. Read more about it: https://www.fox10tv.com/ancient-rome-the-empire-that-shaped-the-world-at-the/article_478ee1c6-3169-11ea-9fa0-ff3b6a00e05b.html

Ancient Rome: Epic Innovators and Engineers through April 26, 2020 at the Western Australia Museum in Perth. Beginning with the victory by Julius Caesar and his army over the Gauls in 52 BCE, this exhibit recreates the technological world of ancient Rome through meticulously reconstructed models and machinery used during the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Recreations include an onager, a catapult ca pable of hurling boulders weighing over 100 pounds more than 1600 feet as well as engineering instruments used to construct roads and aqueducts. Image: Recreation of a Roman onager capable of hurling 100 pound boulders more than 1600 feet. Image courtesy of the exhibition organizers.

The most reliable testimonial of character which a man can have is his past career. Hyperides. In Defense of Lycopbron. Speech 1. Section 14. Image: The Continence of Scipio by Lazzaro Baldi at the Palazzo Dei Musei (Modena) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko.

Roman tools used in agriculture and construction. The farm life that Cicero has described so eloquently and praised so enthusiastically in his Cato Maior would have scarcely been recognized by Cato himself and, long before Cicero wrote, had become a memory or a dream. The farmer no longer tilled his fields, even with the help of his slaves. The yeoman class had largely disappeared from Italy by the end of the Republic. Many sm all holdings had been absorbed into the vast estates of the wealthy landowners, and the aims and methods of farming had wholly changed. In Italy, grain was no longer raised for the market, simply because the market could be supplied more cheaply from overseas. Instead, grapes and olives had become the chief sources of wealth. - Harold Whetstone Johnston, The private Life of the Romans, 1903. Read more about it: http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub408/item2049.html Images: A Roman saw found at Trimontium (Newstead) in Scotland. It ...