Excellent Ancient Egyptian Design Scarab

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian Pre AD 1000: item #719964

The scarab held special significance for the Egyptians as a representation of the the creator and solar deity, Khepri. The scarab beetle rolls its eggs in a ball of dung along the ground, which the Egyptians held as symbolic of Khepri pushing the sun across the sky. As baby beetles were seen to emerge from the dung, scarabs were thought capable of spontaneous creation, further linking them to Khepri through his function as a creator god. From the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055-1650 BC) onward, the scar... Click for details

Ancient Egyptian Scarab with Antelope & Mongoose

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian Pre AD 1000: item #703488

This scarab belongs to a class of Levantine scarabs from the Second Intermediate Period. The base shows a victorious mongoose in the upper left field vanquishing an antelope, fleeing to the right. The Egyptian mongoose (ichneumon) was a popular pet and a symbol of the pharaoh, often referred to as a "Pharaoh's cat" in ancient writings. Here, it depicts the power of the pharaoh asserting its dominance over a foe, represented by the antelope. ... Click for details

Roman Oil Lamp with Lion Motif

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #686987
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A Roman Oil Lamp with a Lion Motif. The lion was a popular item found on many Roman items including these type oil lamps that were used in Roman households for hundreds of years.

This lamp is unbroken and seems to be in "found condition".

Great collection starter piece or as a gift for a history lover. ... Click for details

Ancient Egyptian Faience Ushabti

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian Pre AD 1000: item #643896

Beginning in the Middle Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians were buried with small human statues called shabtis. These figures were to serve as servants in the afterlife, performing any work necessary so that the deceased could enjoy eternity in peace. This was accomplished by inscribing Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead on the shabti, which reads: "O shabti, if the deceased is called upon to do any of the work required there in the necropolis at any time...you shall say, 'Here I am, I will do it.'" ... Click for details

Coptic Egyptian Textile Fragment of a Nude Dancer

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian Pre AD 1000: item #642067

This is a fragment of a very popular style of Coptic tunic from the sixth century A.D. Tunics from this period featured stripes called clavi, which crossed over the shoulders from hem to hem. (Think of a tunic as a T-shirt; the two clavi were vertical strips that ran up the front and back of the tunic in a similar position that a pair of modern suspenders would sit.) Within the clavi were chains of linked ovals that contained a variety of motifs, like busts and animals. This larger arch contains... Click for details

Coptic Egyptian Textile Fragment of a Lion

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian Pre AD 1000: item #638422

Tradition dictates that the Coptic Church in Egypt is based upon the teachings of St. Mark, one of the original disciples who supposedly visited Egypt around 50 A.D. Christianity took hold easily in Egypt, largely as a result of existing Egyptian religious beliefs that meshed well with Christian doctrine (e.g., the resurrection of Osiris and the holy trinity of Osiris, Isis, and Horus). The Coptic Church was more or less exiled from the Western Christian church due to its emphasis on monastic li... Click for details

Sold - 14-2-7 Hellenistic pottery grotesque head

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Greek Pre AD 1000: item #624944
Sold - 14-

A very fine quality red glazed pottery head in the form of a male with grotesque and exaggerated features wearing a foliate wreath or garland. During the late Hellenistic era craftsmen in Alexandria in Egypt became fascinated with realism and began to produce art reflecting the day-to-day life around them. Pottery figurines of old men and women, young children, the ill and the mal-formed were produced in large numbers. Figures and heads with exaggerated features such as this are usually refer... Click for details

Ptolemaic Egyptian Figure of Harpocrates

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian Pre AD 1000: item #613345

After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, his general Ptolemy was left to govern the new province. Upon Alexander's death shortly thereafter, Ptolemy rapidly established Egypt as his own empire and established a dynasty that outlasted any of the other empires that sprang up in the wake of Alexander's death. The Ptolemies ruled as pharaohs for nearly 300 years, eventually coming under control of Rome in 30 BC after Cleopatra failed to successfully manipulate Mark Antony and... Click for details

Assortment of Roman Stone and Glass Game Pieces

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #595654

This lot features a small group of Roman-period gaming pieces, including stone and glass examples. Monochrome gaming pieces like these were made in a variety of colors and were very common in Roman times. Simple examples seem to be present among Hellenistic-Roman material at most excavations, sometimes in incredible quantities. For example, around a temple near Sidon that was dedicated to the healing god Echmoun, over 30,000 simple game pieces like these were recovered! One theory is that these ... Click for details

Neo-Babylonian Terracotta "Astarte Plaque" Figure

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World Pre AD 1000: item #595337

The best known of the ancient Near Eastern terracottas are the so-called "Astarte plaques." These low relief, baked clay images of nude women made in one-piece open molds first appeared in Babylonia towards the end of the Akkadian Period. Evidence suggests that they were wildly popular, and between 1750-1500 B.C. this motif, and the open mold technology used to produce it, spread into Syria, Canaan, and Egypt. Although significant variation in these plaques is quite evident between regions and o... Click for details