Thursday, December 28, 2006

Anta de Pendilhe Dolmen

....at Viseu, Portugal. (Photo Credit)

Stonehenge

A good shot of one of the triliths. (Photo Credit)

Merenptah's Sarcophagus

....from KV8. (Photo Credit)

Sosos Of Pergamum

Roman mosaic copy of a Greek painting. The original was from the 2nd century BCE. Capitoline Museum, Rome.

An Epinetron?

It's a thigh protector used by women while weaving. This one's in Attic red-figure ware with Bellerophon and the Chimera. c425-420 BCE. National Archaeological Museum, Athens. (Photo Credit)

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Eros Stringing A Bow

Roman copy of a Greek original by Lysippos. Capitoline Museum, Rome.

Is This A Joke?????

A statue of two women holding a globe ( looks like they're playing basketball ), supposedly Roman, was found while the owners were in the act of trying to sell it for $15 million. Look at it HERE. If it's Roman, it must be unique. Looks like Victorian tat to me. Come on, please tell me this is some sort of strange joke. $15 million for THAT!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Egyptian Temple, 1840

A painting by Marc-Charles-Gabriel Gleyre. Musee Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne.

That's What Patina Means

A reproduction bronze and the original, showing the patina. Glyptothek, Munich. (Photo Credit)

Chinese Tombs

A number of interesting tombs are being found in Jiangxi Province, with all kinds of artifacts, including quite a bit of celadon. Click here for the story.

British Megaliths

Trevethy Stone, near Liskeard, Cornwall.
Cromlech at Plas Newydd, Anglesey.

Harold's stones, Trelech, Monmouthshire.
From Old England: A Pictorial Museum. 1845.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

A Strange Story

The "antiquities market" gets stranger all the time. Here's an Article about a life-size bronze kouros that's been around a bit. It makes you wonder.

Alexander

Sardonyx cameo, possibly by his gem-carver Pyrgoteles. c325 BCE. Bibliotheque Nationale.
(Photo Credit)

Be Sure to Come Back

More posts are on the way in a day or two. Megaliths, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, whatever. News, too. I'll have a chance to keep up with it.

A Hellenistic King as Ares

Sardonyx cameo. 2nd century BCE. Bibliotheque Nationale.

Thanks for the link

The writer of Rogue Classicist seems to appreciate the carved gems. So do I, so here are a few more to celebrate my being back after a run of health problems.

Portraits of Geta and Caracalla

Sardonyx intaglio in three layers. Roman, c200 CE. The mount is 16th century. Bibliotheque Nationale.

Scipio Africanus

Portrait on a gold ring, signed by Herakliedes. 2nd-3rd century BCE. Found at Capua.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

The Tomb of the Leopards at Tarquinia


Temple of Castor and Pollux at Agrigento

Photo by Giovanni Crupi ( 1849-1925 )

Athena Parthenos

Jasper intaglio by Aspasios, in a modern setting. 1st century CE.

Eros Bearing A Torch

A gold ring. 4th century BCE. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Philae by David Roberts


Stonehenge


Doing it the old way

This is how the Neues Museum in Berlin looked in 1850.

Attis

It's from the time of Hadrian and looks like it could be Antinous. The Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris has a lot more than books.

Nero as Apollo? Yeah, Right!

He had a lot of self-esteem, didn't he? This is an amethyst intaglio at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. From the 1st century BCE.

Ancient Glass


A molded glass amphoriskos, possibly from Cyprus. 1st century BCE, at the Louvre.

An Artificial Eye?

This is interesting. Archaeologists in Iran have found a 4,800 year old artificial eye. Click for the Link .