Origin: Egypt Circa: 600 BC to 500 BC Dimensions: 3.75" (9.5cm) high Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Kingdom Medium: Bronze The cult of Apis was highly discriminatory  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 600 BC to 500 BC Dimensions: 3.75" (9.5cm) high Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Kingdom Medium: Bronze The cult of Apis was highly discriminatory in its worship of bulls. Rather than all bulls, the cult worshipped a special, carefully chosen individual animal. Apis (Hapi in Egyptian) was a live bull kept in the temple of Ptah in Memphis. Apis was believed to be the tangible representative of a powerful god who could not be directly experienced, rather like the role of the Pope in Catholicism. The god to which Apis was attached changed through time and administrations. The first was Ptah, who was later usurped by Osiris, who was in turn displaced by Atum. The bull acted as an oracle for the Egyptians, who could crave boons, ask questions or just communicate to their deity. The movements of Apis, were thought to reflect the response of the god. In this sense, Apis was very much a domestic god in the sense that only the aristocracy and the priestly class were thought to fully be a part of the impenetrably complex and forbidding world of state-level religion: Apis, by contrast, was directly reachable by anyone. The life and death of the bulls were a matter of serious concern for Egyptians. When the incumbent died, a search not unlike that undertaken by the Tibetans for a new Dalai Lama would explode into action. The successor had to match 29 different attributes that constituted physical perfection in the Apis bull, including having no subsequent siblings, being black with a white diamond on its forehead, and possessing thick tail hair (Herodotus). The pomp and ceremony surrounding the discovery of an appropriate bull was considerable, as summarised by Apis Diodorus: “… During the forty days, none but women are admitted to see him, who being placed full in his view, pluck up their coats and expose their person. Afterwards, they are forbidden to come into the sight of [Apis]. . .” After this, Apis was moved by sacred barge to his sanctuary in Memphis, at the southern end of the Temple of Ptah.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1080 BC to 720 BC Dimensions: 27.4" (69.6cm) high x 8.75" (22.2cm) wide x 1.25" (3.2cm) depth Collection: Egyptian Style: Third Intermediate  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1080 BC to 720 BC Dimensions: 27.4" (69.6cm) high x 8.75" (22.2cm) wide x 1.25" (3.2cm) depth Collection: Egyptian Style: Third Intermediate Period Medium: wood These two brightly painted panels each contain a train of three deities, two of which are well preserved in each panel. Each of these deities is identically attired in a tightly-fitting raiment decorated with a red-X. That X-shaped design imitates “suspenders,” which are habitually found on the lids of coffins of the period. This motif replicates the leather “mummy suspenders” which were routinely included as part of the burial equipment of the time. Additionally, these deities hold bolts of linen cloth, either naturally white or dyed red, in their hands, and these allude to the mummy bandages with which the mummy placed within this sarcophagus was wrapped. Their headdresses are all uniformly painted blue, perhaps in imitation of lapis lazuli. The deities are depicted standing up a tri- colored, rectangular ornament which represents a serekh, originally depicting the crenellated façade of a palace, but which, with the passing of time, came to represent symbolically any sacred precinct, such as the tomb in which the deceased was interred.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 2494 BC to 2300 BC Dimensions: 14.0" (35.6cm) high x 12.2" (31.0cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Old Kingdom; Dynasty V-VI Medium:  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 2494 BC to 2300 BC Dimensions: 14.0" (35.6cm) high x 12.2" (31.0cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Old Kingdom; Dynasty V-VI Medium: Limestone This panel, painted on limestone, exhibits a very unusual gray background which is limited to a select number of tombs decorated during the last two dynasties of the Old Kingdom. The preserved vignette depicts the bust of an elite, male official facing right. His hair is closely cropped and his accessories include a broad collar on his naked chest. In keeping with ancient Egyptian color conventions, which are gender specific, his body is painted in a rich red color to indicate that his field of activity is outdoors. A hand, gently placed on his shoulder, of which the fingers and thumb are clearly visible, is painted in yellow, the color reserved for women who were sequestered within the confines of home and palace. The color and placement of that hand on this officials shoulder suggests that it belongs to his wife. One can then suggest that this scene, doubtless from a tomb, depicted this anonymous official together with his wife in a loving pose, perhaps seated, before what can be reconstructed as funerary offerings.   « Less

Neolithic Flint Sculpture of a Fish - PF.7003 Origin: Egypt Circa: 8000 BC to 5000 BC Dimensions: 1.1428" (2.9cm) high x 4.5" (11.4cm) wide Collection: Egyptian  More »

Neolithic Flint Sculpture of a Fish - PF.7003 Origin: Egypt Circa: 8000 BC to 5000 BC Dimensions: 1.1428" (2.9cm) high x 4.5" (11.4cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Neolithic Medium: Flint   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 3200 BC to 2500 BC Dimensions: 4.5" (11.4cm) high x 7.8" (19.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Negada II - early Dynastic Period Medium:  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 3200 BC to 2500 BC Dimensions: 4.5" (11.4cm) high x 7.8" (19.8cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Negada II - early Dynastic Period Medium: Granite This carefully crafted stone vessel is semi- circular in profile and exhibits two, transversely pierced lug handles on either side of the its body, sculpted from the same, single block of stone at the point of the vessel’s greatest diameter. The mouth of this vase is disc shaped and set off from the shoulder by a deeply incised line. Vessels of this shape in a variety of stones are dated to the period shortly before and after the traditional unification of Egypt around 3200 BC. Vases such as this were often placed in tombs where they served a dual role. On the one hand, they may have contained foodstuffs and the like intended for the spiritual nourishment of the deceased in the Hereafter. On the other hand, stones were considered magical materials because of their seeming permanence. The placing of stone vessels in tombs of the period may, therefore, be regarded as a means of magically insuring the permanence of the deceased by the transference of that quality inherent in the stone to his or her spirit.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 3.25" (8.3cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Saite Medium: Bronze A number of primates are depicted  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 3.25" (8.3cm) high Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Saite Medium: Bronze A number of primates are depicted throughout the history of ancient Egyptian art, and these include at least two species of the baboon. These can generally be distinguished from one another by the presence of a long mane, often called a mantle, which is a zoological feature peculiar to the hamadryas baboon, called , j’n, in the ancient Egyptian language. Members of this species were regarded as sacred from the time of the Predynastic Period, as the remains of baboon cults from that epoch confirm. In time, this primate came to represent a hypostasis, or manifestation, of Thoth, the god of writing and patron of scribes. One can, therefore, suggest that the mortise on the top of the head of our example was originally fitted with a headdress of a different material representing the sun disc framed by a crescent moon, which is the tradition emblem of that god in such representations.   « Less

Baked Clay Lamp. Light gray and sand. Baked clay. This hand formed lamp has a small handle opposite the spout and a large circular opening in the center. The top has hand  More »

Baked Clay Lamp. Light gray and sand. Baked clay. This hand formed lamp has a small handle opposite the spout and a large circular opening in the center. The top has hand incised line decorations.   « Less

Clay Lamp, Three Wick Openings. Dark gray and sand patina. Fired clay. The lamp is in the shape of a grotesque face and has 3 wick spouts.

Clay Lamp, Three Wick Openings. Dark gray and sand patina. Fired clay. The lamp is in the shape of a grotesque face and has 3 wick spouts.   « Less

Anasazi Bowl. Stone polished brown finish. Pottery. This hand formed bowl has a lip around its rim. It has a hole in its bottom as was the custom for a burial piece.

Anasazi Bowl. Stone polished brown finish. Pottery. This hand formed bowl has a lip around its rim. It has a hole in its bottom as was the custom for a burial piece.   « Less

Hohokam Chert Fish Hook. Light gray and sand. Chert stone. Hand flaked fish hook

Hohokam Chert Fish Hook. Light gray and sand. Chert stone. Hand flaked fish hook   « Less