Shabtis in Ancient Egypt Shabtis, or Ushabtis, are the inseparable companions of the ancient Egyptians, buried with the deceased among other grave goods. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the afterlife was a mirror image of the world they knew.When the deceased successfully passed the ceremony of the weighing of the heart, they were therefore directed … Read more
Heart and Soul The ancient Egyptians believed that the soul resided inside the heart, but the organ’s exact role to bodily function was not fully understood. Despite not knowing its physiological importance, the ancient Egyptians knew the heart played a central role in the bodily and spiritual operation of the individual. The multitude of heart … Read more
Jewellery: Wealth and Power The development of the Ancient Greek civilization brought the first great use of jewellery, which was seen as a symbol of power and a way to express wealth. Jewellery was also used for amuletic and religious purposes. After the arrival of metallurgy, the Greeks began to create increasingly complex designs to … Read more
The Practice of Drinking Together in Ancient Greece The ancient Greeks were serious party goers, as it is witnessed by the many vessels in ancient Attic pottery depicting symposium scenes. Symposium literally translates to “to drink together” and it was the part of the banquet after the meal, when men would gather and drink for … Read more
Ancient Scythians were a nomadic population who originally lived in modern South Siberia, but later extended their influence all over Central Asia between the 7th Century BC and the 2nd century BC. Scythians did not produce any written testimony of their culture. Almost everything we know about these nomadic warriors comes from a collection of … Read more
Roman Games Roman games were not so different from many that we still know and enjoy today, with the Roman Tabula being likened to modern backgammon, Terni Lapili as our tic-tac-toe, and Latrunculi not dissimilar to chess or draughts. While there is numerous physical evidence for these games, such as the sets themselves and … Read more
Jewellery has long formed an important part of personal display, and few places was this clearer than in antiquity. Though quality and quantity of jewellery increases depending in the wealth of the wearer, people from all social strata of many ancient civilisations chose to adorn themselves with jewellery of some description. The first form of … Read more
Pottery Neolithic The area referred to as the Holy Land, which roughly corresponds to the geographical region located between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, has witnessed one of the longest productions of pottery in history, from the Neolithic period up until the 19th century. The Holy Land was also the first region to … Read more
Roman Influence Perhaps the most prominent feature of Byzantine jewellery is the presence of votive items; be it rings or pendants, the religious aspect is consistently present throughout the period. Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire from the 5th century AD onwards, until the conquest by the Ottoman … Read more
Across the ancient world, there is a vast array of objects that were worn by their owners for the sake of protection, most frequently amulets. Jewellery of this apotropaic nature most often takes shape in the form of pendants, and we find them in abundance from a number of civilisations, especially Egypt. These amulets feature … Read more
Divinatio et Signa The relationship with the gods was fundamental for ancient civilizations. Ancient Romans consulted the gods before any public or private activity. The signa, or signs, through which the gods manifested their will were many. Divinatio, or divination, was precisely the art of interpreting these signs. Luckily, many different artefacts have been recovered … Read more
Glass Unguentaria Amongst Roman glass artefacts, unguentaria are some of the most common finds. Their original use was to store mostly perfumes and cosmetics and thus, they were in high demand across the Roman world. Most unguentaria come in a few common shapes and many different colours. Though there are examples of unusual designs for … Read more
Core-Formed and Cast Glass Core-formed and cast glass vessels were first produced in Egypt and Mesopotamia as early as the 15th century BC. The core formed or sand core glass vessels were created when a core of sand, mud or clay was formed around the end of a metal rod. Molten glass was then trailed … Read more
A Cultural Golden Age The Tang Dynasty (618-906 AD) is considered a golden age in Chinese history, witnessing the prosperity of culture, economy, diplomacy and politics under a unified government. As is so often the case, where there is political and economic stability, art flourishes, and with the Tang Empire’s expansion into Central Asia, Tang … Read more
The Celts With the word Celts we usually refer to various population tribes living in several parts of Europe from the Late European Bronze Age onwards. The Celtic culture started to evolve from 1200 BC with the Hallstat culture, and had its apogee around the 4th-3rd century BC, a period identified with La Tene culture … Read more
Bes in the Egyptian Pantheon Bes is a popular Egyptian deity, always depicted as a grotesque and deformed bearded dwarf, with the huge face of a mask with hybrid monkey-lion features and widened legs between which hangs a long animal's tail. Bes is the only deity in the ancient Egyptian pantheon to be represented exclusively … Read more
Manuscripts Across Ancient Cultures Before the development of print, which was invented in Germany in 1439 AD by Johannes Gutenberg, any type of document had to be both produced and reproduced by hand. Manuscripts (from the Latin manu and scripto, literally, handwritten) could come in different formats and on different mediums. They could be written … Read more
Puglia in Classical Times Apulia was one of the regions in Southern Italy colonised by the Greeks. More than half of pottery vases recovered from Southern Italy come from Apulia, modern Puglia, and were potted in Tarentum, the major Greek polis of the region. The greatest output of Apulian pottery production occurred during the 4th … Read more
1. Imperial Support The Kangxi period (1662-1722) was one of the most productive periods of Chinese ceramics. The Emperor Kangxi was the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty and he ruled for the longest period of time of any Chinese emperor. Considered one of China’s greatest emperors, he started off a period of great stability … Read more
