Since the dawn of civilization, since man first began to paint on the wall of caves, the bull has been a symbol of godly strength and power. This splendid rendering captures  More »

Since the dawn of civilization, since man first began to paint on the wall of caves, the bull has been a symbol of godly strength and power. This splendid rendering captures the proud essence of the animal: alert, muscular, a little dangerous even in repose. With holes for long-vanished wheels, this piece would have been a votive from some ancient individual who sought to attract the attention of the gods with the most pleasing gift possible. - (PF.0130)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1080 BC to 720 BC Dimensions: 16" (40.6cm) high x 8.75" (22.2cm) wide x 1.25" (3.2cm) depth Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Third  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1080 BC to 720 BC Dimensions: 16" (40.6cm) high x 8.75" (22.2cm) wide x 1.25" (3.2cm) depth Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Third Intermediate Period Medium: Wood These brightly painted and well-preserved wooden panels contain mirror-images of what appears to be the same scene, suggesting that they were symmetrically arranged on the sarcophagus to which these panels originally belonged. The best preserved of the two figures in each pair is a mummiform, jackal-headed deity, who, although not inscribed, can plausibly be identified as Duamutef, one of the Four Sons of Horus. His identification seems assured by his iconography which includes his tightly-fitting white garment with its red ribbons, which represent the mummy bandages in which he and his brothers are traditionally enveloped. These deities stand on neb-signs which represent luxury vessels created from banded alabaster, indicated by their angular ornamentation. The baskets represent the word neb, “lord” or “master” in the hieroglyphs, and were probably incorporated into a rebus, or visual pun, forming one or more epithets associated with these Four Sons of Horus. There are two vertical motifs near the legs of each pair of figures. The element to the far left and right is a stylized representation of romaine lettuce, used in ancient Egyptian art as a signifier of the fecundity inherent in the plant world and a symbol of resurrection. The other element is perhaps best understood as a censor, containing a ball of frankincense or myrrh in its cup-like top, the smoke of which was traditionally used to accompanying the performance of sacred rituals.   « Less

With his wide, staring eyes and attitude of reverence, this bearded man displays characteristics typical of votive figures since ancient Mesopotamian times. From what  More »

With his wide, staring eyes and attitude of reverence, this bearded man displays characteristics typical of votive figures since ancient Mesopotamian times. From what biblical deity does he ask a favor? In a manner similar to this, perhaps, Abraham stood vulnerable before his god in the hills of Hebron. We feel in this powerful piece an age-old bond between man and mysterious forces that are far larger than himself. - (PF.0163)   « Less

With his arms clasped reverently to his chest, this powerful figure stands in awe before some god the world has now forgotten. He evokes a distant age, a time when man felt  More »

With his arms clasped reverently to his chest, this powerful figure stands in awe before some god the world has now forgotten. He evokes a distant age, a time when man felt more helpless before the forces of the cosmos. Even after all these centuries, his quiet dignity in the face of the unknown has the power to move us. - (PF.0167)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1600 BC to 1300 BC Dimensions: 10.5" (26.7cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: New Kingdom Medium: Stone This elegant and refined  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1600 BC to 1300 BC Dimensions: 10.5" (26.7cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: New Kingdom Medium: Stone This elegant and refined figure is a beautiful example of the skill and craftsmanship of sculptors during Egypt’s New Kingdom. It depicts an aristocratic young woman – perhaps a goddess, for gods and kings/queens were synonymous at the time – dressed in an elegantly-shaped tunic, with sleeves down to her elbows, and a long headdress. She is slim and elegant, with very finely-carved features, a firm jaw and careful detailing on all textile surfaces. She is leaning back against a block, the rear of which bears two columns of hieroglyphics which are likely to identify the person or deity concerned, and to wish benedictions upon them. The New Kingdom – which lasted from the 16th century BC to the 11th century BC – was the very pinnacle of Egyptian power, when she had a true empire, which gave rise to phenomenal wealth and diversity within her own boundaries. Egypt expanded into the Middle East to fight the Hittites for control of Syria, and also sent armies successfully into Nubia, while opening trade routes with Punt and many other areas of the Near East. Domestic changes included Egypt’s only flirtation with monotheism, and while Akhenaten’s influence attracted many enemies, it also changed the route of Egyptian art. The works of this period are exceptional in terms of their beauty of execution and faithfulness to detail, although some aspects of representation were still formulaic.   « Less

This wonderful marble idol is designed with a degree of stylization characteristic of the design of idols created in virtually every early civilization of the Ancient Near  More »

This wonderful marble idol is designed with a degree of stylization characteristic of the design of idols created in virtually every early civilization of the Ancient Near East. As a result, the body has been treated as a uniform disc-shape form in which indications of the arms and legs have been purposefully suppressed. Two tall and elegant columnar-like necks, separated from that body by a neck-line, rise up to display two separately made, triangularly-shaped heads which are conjoined at their sides. The features of these heads are minimally defined by linear adjuncts in-filled with darker material in order to indicate the hair, forehead, and eyes. The five striations in the far corner of the head on the right may be indications of a beard in order to suggest that this idol is to be understood as a god. Accepting this suggestion enables one to identify the figure to the left as his goddess- consort. Their shared, disc-shaped body is ornamented in linear style, again in-filled in places with darker material, with a dominating X-shaped crisscrossed bandoleer-like set of straps, each divided by a central rib, the resulting zones decorated with obliquely sloping lines. The upper straps of the bandoleer are joined by a slightly convex third band, decorated in two superimposed rows recalling a kind of checker- board pattern. There is an additional ornament at the neck of each figure which one is tempted to identify as a necklace, consisting of a horizontal, ladder-like pattern. The edges of the bandoleers and of this ladder-like pattern are further enhanced by a series of incised dotted circle   « Less

A powerful trading nation, the Nabateans (also spelled Nabataeans) borrowed from the best of Hellenistic and Roman cultures to produce a unique artistic tradition of their  More »

A powerful trading nation, the Nabateans (also spelled Nabataeans) borrowed from the best of Hellenistic and Roman cultures to produce a unique artistic tradition of their own. At the hidden capital of Petra, their stonework reached its zenith in the fabulous tombs carved from rock. This lively head shows the strong influence of Greek naturalism blended with a naive stylization of form. The sculptor has imbued his subject with a vivid personality that transcends the boundaries of mere stone. - (PF.0321)   « Less

Origin: Israel Circa: 600 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 2.25" (5.7cm) high x 1.625" (4.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Late Period Medium: Jasper By far the most  More »

Origin: Israel Circa: 600 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 2.25" (5.7cm) high x 1.625" (4.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Art Style: Late Period Medium: Jasper By far the most important amulet in ancient Egypt was the scarab, symbolically as sacred to the Egyptians as the cross is to Christians. Based upon the dung beetle, this sacred creature forms a ball of dung around its semen and rolls it in a large ball over the sand dropping it into its burrow. The female lays her eggs on the ground and covers them with the excrement ball that is consumed by the larvae that emerge in the following days as if miraculously reborn. In the life cycle of the beetle, the Ancient Egyptians envisioned a microcosm of the daily rebirth of the sun. They imagined the ancient sun god Khepri was a great scarab beetle rolling the sun across the heavens. The scarab also became a symbol of the enduring human soul as well, hence its frequent appearance in funerary art. Scarabs of various materials form an important class of Egyptian antiquities. Though they first appeared in the late Old Kingdom (roughly 2575–2130 B.C.), scarabs remained rare until Middle Kingdom times (circa 1938-1600 B.C.) While some were used as ornaments, others were purely amuletic in purpose. - (FJ.0065)   « Less

Egyptian Bronze Sculpture of Osiris - LO.1378 Origin: Egypt Circa: 1000 BC to 600 BC Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Dynasties XXI-XXV Medium: Bronze

Egyptian Bronze Sculpture of Osiris - LO.1378 Origin: Egypt Circa: 1000 BC to 600 BC Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Dynasties XXI-XXV Medium: Bronze   « Less

The Roman occupation of Ancient Israel is a torrential chapter in the history of both the Roman Empire as well as the Jews that would ultimately lead to the expulsion of  More »

The Roman occupation of Ancient Israel is a torrential chapter in the history of both the Roman Empire as well as the Jews that would ultimately lead to the expulsion of Jewish population from their homeland. With the decline in power of the ruling Seleucid dynasty of Syria in the second century B.C., the Maccabeans began to assert greater political independence for the Jewish people. Upon the death of Alexander Jannaeus in 76 B.C., his widow Salome Alexandra took over the reigns of power. However, because a woman could not hold the office of high priest, this title was given to her son by Jannaeus, Yehohanan Hyrcanus II. When Salome died in 67 B.C., a civil war broke out between Hyrcanus and his brother Aristobulus II that lasted four years, until the Roman general Pompey intervened. Pompey then conquered Jerusalem but left the powers of Yehohanan Hyrcanus as high Priest intact. From this time onward, the Romans took an active hand in the political affairs of Judea. One of John Hyrcanus chief advisors was Antipater the Idumean who saw that his own son Herod was eventually installed on the throne after the death of Hyrcanus in 40 B.C. Origin: Houran, Syria Circa: 100 AD to 300 AD Dimensions: 26" (66.0cm) high atalogue: V1 Collection: Biblical Style: Roman Period Medium: Basalt   « Less