Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 1.5" (3.8cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Carnelian Condition: Extra Fine In  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 1.5" (3.8cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Carnelian Condition: Extra Fine In this tiny amulet, we see all of the coiled stregnth, ferocious repose, and exquisite musculature of the Nile Crocodile. The wearer perhaps wished to imbibe himself with the primordial vigor of this undenaibly powerful beast, or to ward off the approach of evil spirits with its imposing presence. Whatever the reason, the piece was obviously extremely important to whomever commisioned it- for rarely in the art of amulet-making do we encounter a piece of this meticulous and beautiful execution. The crocodile's legs bulge with muscle, his back is etched with the dry lumps of his spine. His whole body is lined with muscle, giving him a sense of agressive beauty. His eyes, set exquisitely beneath his bulging brow, are alive with fire and stregnth. The artist of this piece has infused in this crocodile something that our nature documentaries, with their high-definition cameras, can never capture. In him is an energy beyond the physical, a ferocity and power that extend beyond his body and razor sharp teeth, and into his eyes, his expression, and his emotion. The emotions we feel when staring into the eyes of this beast give us an idea of what its original owner must've felt. To hold it in our hands is to exude the same confidence, and the same suriety that our Ancient Egyptian ancestor felt while wearing it around his neck. - (FJ.1556)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 650 BC to 330 BC Dimensions: 3.25" (8.3cm) high x 4" (10.2cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Ibis Medium: Bronze Condition: Very Fine The Ibis  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 650 BC to 330 BC Dimensions: 3.25" (8.3cm) high x 4" (10.2cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Ibis Medium: Bronze Condition: Very Fine The Ibis once preened itself upon the shores of the Nile, and when one observes the elegance and majesty of the bird as encapsulated in this piece, it is easy to see why the Ancient Egyptians should deify the graceful figure. The Ibis was the corporeal form Toth, who gave man heiroglyphs and was protector of earthly wisdom. And doesn't the eye of this Ibis seem to follow us with a certain omniscent intelligence and pride? The perfectly structured beak, the sweeping and dramatic neck, and the intricate delicacy of the talons make this piece a rare beauty to behold. But where we may see nothing more than than an aesthetically beautiful bird, the Egyptians saw a creature of divine presence, and wrought an Ibis with a complex and regal personality. Our world has, for the most part, shed the ideals of animals holding intellect, and the complex emotionality that comes along with it; and we smile at the innocent minds who would concieve of animist worship. But looking at this Ibis, being in the presence of such a majestic and truly sensitive bird, makes us think twice about so easily dismissing notions of animal personality. Perhaps, rather than gaining knowledge, we have lost a primal respect for the world around us. In some of us, the feeling that nature's beauty is teeming with passion and emotion is not quite yet gone. And this piece harkens back, a paen sung from a long-dead throat, reminding us that in Ancient Egypt, the most primitive and essential root of our civilziation, such time and love was dedicated to the preservation of the animal ego. - (FF.22)   « Less

Bronze Seated Sculpture of Osiris - FF.025 Origin: Egypt Circa: 1085 BC to 332 BC Dimensions: 11.8" (30.0cm) high x 5.5" (14.0cm) wide Collection: Egyptian  More »

Bronze Seated Sculpture of Osiris - FF.025 Origin: Egypt Circa: 1085 BC to 332 BC Dimensions: 11.8" (30.0cm) high x 5.5" (14.0cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Bronze   « Less

Altars with four extended horns at the top corners had a very ancient tradition in Israel, with examples of stone surviving from the Bronze Age period. Sacred law  More »

Altars with four extended horns at the top corners had a very ancient tradition in Israel, with examples of stone surviving from the Bronze Age period. Sacred law automatically protected a person seeking refuge who clutched one of these horns. The book of Exodus relates how God gave Moses instructions for two kinds of altars: one for blood sacrifice, the other for the burning of incense. This clay brazier, formed in the shape of a large square altar, was probably a votive gift at a shrine or temple. The burning of aromatic incense is still evidenced by the fire marks in the top depression. Hints of its original painted green surface can still be discerned. Although relatively simply formed, this votive altar was clearly made by loving hands and still carries with it the essence and power of enduring faith. - (PF.2300) Origin: Judaean Hills, Israel Circa: 50 BCE to 100 CE Dimensions: 4.75" (12.1cm) high x 2.875" (7.3cm) wide Collection: Biblical Style: Roman Period Medium: Terracotta   « 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: Syria Circa: 100 AD to 400 AD Dimensions: 17.5" (44.5cm) high Catalogue: V6 Collection: Biblical Style: Roman Period Medium: Basalt   « Less

Origin: Egypt (Sinai) Circa: 1600 BC to 1100 BC Collection: Egyptian Medium: Faience Most ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was  More »

Origin: Egypt (Sinai) Circa: 1600 BC to 1100 BC Collection: Egyptian Medium: Faience Most ancient Egyptian beads were made of faience, a glass-composite glaze which was introduced as early as the Pre-Dynastic period. According to Egyptologists, most beads were made on an axis, probably of thread, which would burn up during firing, leaving a hole. Disc, ring and tubular beads were made by coating the axis with the unfired body-paste, rolling the cylinder to an even diameter on a flat surface, and then scoring it with a knife into sections of the desired length. Other shapes, such as ball beads, were rolled between the hands and perforated while still wet with a stiff point such as a wire needle. The beads were then dried, coating with glaze (if the glaze had not already been mixed with the paste), and fired. The firing process often gave the beads a beautiful translucent quality. The majority of faience beads are blue or green in color, but black, red yellow and white ones were also produced, especially in the New Egyptian Kingdom. - (FJ.1388)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 100 AD to 300 AD Dimensions: 4.25" (10.8cm) high x 1.625" (4.1cm) wide Catalogue: V1 Collection: Egyptian Style: Roman Period Medium: Bone There  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 100 AD to 300 AD Dimensions: 4.25" (10.8cm) high x 1.625" (4.1cm) wide Catalogue: V1 Collection: Egyptian Style: Roman Period Medium: Bone There is a naive yet energetic quality to the carving of this piece that captures our imaginations. Is this boldly naked woman with the wide stare a goddess like Venus, or some more secular beauty? She strides forward as if hers is the natural state of being. In the forceful carving and her energetic movement we feel the pulse of ancient life not so very different in essential ways from our own. - (P.0141)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 580 BC Dimensions: 5" (12.7cm) high x 1.375" (3.5cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 580 BC Dimensions: 5" (12.7cm) high x 1.375" (3.5cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of Egyptian belief in an afterlife, while the two hoes clutched in the hands and the basket carried on the back recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means "the answerer". The function of these little figures is described in Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead: "0 this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here." The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single usabti was placed in any given tomb, but by the New Kingdom the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased rather than as a substitute, and many might be found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the XXVIth Dynasty (Saite period), a green faience the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime was particularly popular. To look upon an ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. - (PF.0488)   « 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: Syria Circa: 300 AD to 400 AD Dimensions: 25.55" (64.9cm) high Catalogue: V8 Collection: Biblical Style: Late Roman Period Medium: Basalt   « Less

Since man first began to draw on cave walls, the bull has been an object of veneration and admiration. Throughout history this noble animal has been a favored offering to the  More »

Since man first began to draw on cave walls, the bull has been an object of veneration and admiration. Throughout history this noble animal has been a favored offering to the most powerful of gods, or even worshipped as a god itself. In this small votive amulet, the artist has captured the muscular beauty of the creature, shown him proud, a little defiant, made him into a worthy gift that should bring much favor. - (Z.0025)Origin: Beit Mirsim, Israel Circa: 1500 BC to 1250 BC Dimensions: 2.125" (5.4cm) high x 1" (2.5cm) wide Catalogue: V1 Collection: Biblical Style: Late Bronze Age Medium: Bronze   « Less