Antiquities Exhibits

Terracotta figurines with articulated limbs are often described as dolls or children’s toys, and are sometimes thought to have been dressed in clothes. While one cannot simply dismiss these assumptions, it must be pointed out that this hypothesis is based on an inaccurate reading of an ancient epigram, which was originally interpreted to say that a girl named Timareta dedicated to the goddess (at a sanctuary) her dolls and their dresses. However, more recently it has been convincingly argued that she in fact dedicated her hair and her own clothing. Another point to be made against the figurines being play things is that they are too fragile to be constantly handled by children. The fact that these “dolls” are often discovered in the graves of adults indicates their possible chthonic connection or apotropaic function. In addition, the movement these figurines were capable of when swinging, as well as the clanking noise they produced, might have made them attractive charms. - The Metrop...

Beautifully detailed Greek funerary banquet relief at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia. The afterlife as a banquet, as depicted here, was a popular image in fourth-third century grave-reliefs. The iconography, borrowed in archaic times from the ancient Near East, was based on everyday symposia. Generic elements in this relief include the deceased, represented as a banqueter (symposiast), who holds out a libation bowl (phiale). His wife sits at the foot of his couch. In front of the couch is a table on which food (perhaps fruit or cakes) has been placed. At left, a serving boy stands beside a volute-krater holding a jug and drinking vessel with long conical body and ram's head end (rhyton). The krater is depicted on a stand, indicating that the artist intended it to be understood as metal. The startling horse's head above the serving boy may have aristocratic associations (horse-breeding and racing was the preserve only of the wealthy); ...

Daily Life, Trade, and Neighbors in Ancient Egypt. Ongoing, at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. Calcite bowl and funerary stele from Kom Abu Billo, Egypt Roman Period 1st to 3rd centuries CE photographed at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California. Most ancient Egyptians were farmers or craftsmen. Some of them were scribes or the official writers and a very small percentage of ancient Egyptians were nobles and royalty. Many of the artifacts in the Daily Life gallery give us a glimpse of the Egyptians' everyday lives. The Kohl tube, hair accessories, mirrors, and perfume bottles tell us that the Egyptians were fastidious about their appearance. The children and even the adults liked to play games, and beer was a staple drink.