Antiquities Exhibits

Researchers using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy have discovered ancient Mesopotamian art, like classical art of Greece and Rome, was often brightly colored although studies have shown the number of colors used appears to be limited to shades of red and black.   "Red pigments consist almost entirely of haematite, black is either bitumen or a carbonized product. White is almost non-existent (white lead, gypsum), apart from rare cases where it is used as color lightener for the skin. We did not find either blue or green. It is difficult to judge whether this lack reflects an ancient reality or not. On statues, as well as in most wall paintings, pigments were hardly ever mixed. This seems to be a conscious choice, as mixing pigments is not technically difficult." - Astrid Nunn, Adjunct Professor for Near Eastern Archaeology (retired) at the University of Würzburg. However, scholars noted distinct shifts in color intensity over time.  Skin color in the third millennium was ...

Gold and Lapis Lazuli Pectoral 22nd Dynasty from the reign of Sheshonq II (945-925 BCE) at the Egypt's Lost Cities exhibit in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley, California through April 12, 2020. Excavated at Tanis in the tomb of Psusennes I and Sheshonq II, this pectoral depicts the solar boat sailing on the primordial waters under the starry sky. The blue sun is protected by the spreading wings o f Isis and Nephthys. The scene in the central disk depicts Ma'at venerating Amun-Re. Heqakheperre Sheshonq II (also spelled Shoshenq), was the only ruler of the 22nd Dynasty whose tomb was not plundered by tomb robbers. His final resting place was discovered within an antechamber of Psusennes I's tomb at Tanis by Pierre Montet in 1939. It proved to contain many jewel-encrusted bracelets and pectorals, along with a beautiful hawkheaded silver coffin and a gold funerary mask. A forensic examination of Shoshenq II's body by Dr. Douglas Derry, the...