Osiris-Canopus and the awakening of Osiris at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum

Osiris-Canopus with stylized atef crown 2nd century CE from the Temple of Ras El-Soda and the awakening of Osiris crowned by a tcheni in precious metal 26th dynasty (664-525 BCE) from the Egypt's Lost Cities exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum through April 12, 2020.
Excavated in 1936 by Achille Adriani, director of the Alexandria Museum, the Temple of Ras El-Soda was originally found just east of early 20th century Alexandria between the sea and the road to Abu Qir. It is a small Ionic prostyle tetrastyle temple constructed of limestone blocks and marble columns. In the cella were found five marble sculptures including Isis, Osiris-Canopus (also known as Osiris Hydreios) type A, Osiris-Canopus type B, Hermanoubis, and Harpokrates. The temple was dated to the second century CE based on the sylistic analysis of the statuary and the lettering of an inscription on a pillar. In Boëthius and Ward-Perkins' authoritative overview of Etruscan and Roman architecture, they point out that the high podium of the Temple of Ras El-Soda hints at Roman influence as well so concur with the second century CE dating. Researchers point to a few comparable temples in Formia (2nd century BCE) and Vastogirardi (mid-second century BCE) in Italy and Agrigento (second century BCE to early 1st century BCE) on Sicily that are not traditional Etrusco-Italic podium temples but hybrids like Ras el-Soda.

Osiris-Canopus with stylized atef crown 2nd century CE from the Temple of Ras El-Soda

Awakening of Osiris crowned by a tcheni in precious metal 26th dynasty (664-525 BCE)

Images courtesy of Allan Gluck.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Imperial Italic G Roman helmet found near Hebron at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem

Image
Imperial Italic G Roman helmet found near Hebron at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This distinctive Imperial Italic G-style helmet was a 2nd century development derived from the earlier Coolus-style helmets with a domed bowl fashioned after La Tène III helmet types. The original Coolus-style helmets were named after the city of Coolus in northeastern France where a helmet of the Coolus type was dredged from the River Marne. Ro man helmets were typically constructed of a copper alloy or bronze. Some were spun on a lathe rather than hammered into shape with a turned, cast-soldered or riveted crest knob. The brow-guard was designed to protect the front of the face from downward-slashing sword blows, just as the neck-guard was intended to deflect blows aimed at the nape of the neck and shoulders. The Hebron helmet is also constructed with post-Dacian Wars crossbars on the crown, thought to have been part of the original construction, as evidenced by the brass lunate decorations applie
Read more

A Brief History of Ships' Eyes

Image
(condensed from the Master's thesis of Troy Joseph Nowak, Texas A&M University, 2006, "Archaeological Evidence for Ship Eyes: An Analysis of Their Form and Function  ( https://nautarch.tamu.edu/pdf-files/Nowak-MA2006.pdf#:~:text=bows%20of%20ancient%20Greek%20ships%20between%20the%205th,guided%20the%20ship%20and%20helped%20to%20avoid%20hazards .) Between the Bronze Age and the 3rd century BCE, all types of watercraft used in the Mediterranean from small boats to large galleys were commonly adorned with eyes on their bows.  In Greece, the earliest clear depiction of a ship with eyes is a Late Helladic clay ship model decorated with circular eyes discovered at Phylakopi, Melos. However, ship representations with eyes do not reappear in the archaeological record again until the Geometric Period.  Excavations in the Dipylon cemetery at Athens have yielded an impressive collection of Late Geometric I [c. 760 to 735 BCE] ceramics decorated with ships. Eyes adorn the bows of these
Read more

Roman and Byzantine mosaics at the Haleplibahçe Mosaics Museum in Şanlıurfa, Turkey.

Image
Roman and Byzantine mosaics at the Haleplibahçe Mosaics Museum in Şanlıurfa, Turkey. Opened in 2015, the modern 6,000 square meter Haleplibahce Mosaic Museum houses the remains of the mosaic pavements of a large Roman villa uncovered during a municipal construction project i n Şanlıurfa, Turkey. Şanlıurfa, also known as Urfa, is built on the site of the ancient Greek city of Edessa. Discoveries include mosaics depicting the life of Achilles, including his mother, Thetis, holding him by the heel and dipping him into the waters of the River Styx, his training by the centaur, Chiron, and his departure for the Trojan War. Another pavement depicts Amazon queens hunting wild beasts. Mosaics from other archaeological areas depict various animals, Ktisis, a figure personifying the act of generous donation or foundation often found in 6th century Greek mosaics, and a 2nd century CE depiction of the myth of Orpheus. The Orpheus mosaic was recently repatriated from the Dallas Museum of Art.
Read more