Origin: Egypt Circa: 6000 BC to 4000 BC Collection: Egyptian Style: Neolithic Medium: Flint The creation of tools utilizing the natural environment is what distinguishes  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 6000 BC to 4000 BC Collection: Egyptian Style: Neolithic Medium: Flint The creation of tools utilizing the natural environment is what distinguishes man from animal. What was once created using stone, wood, and bone has, over the centuries, evolved into metalworking and modern-day plastics. But it is the earliest tools, those carved from stone, which allowed mankind to conquer the natural environment and to prosper. Holding this flint arrowhead in our hand, delicately carved to a fine point thousands of years ago, we are holding the nascent breath of civilization. Tools allowed mankind to utilize his natural setting to its fullest potential, to altar the surroundings to suite his needs, and to create his own collective habitats that would eventually evolve into great cities. An arrowhead head like this one, when tied securely to a wooden shaft, could have been used to fell a fleeing prey or to spear a fish. As well, the delicate serrated edge could be used to cut and prepare the meat for cooking. This stone arrowhead represents the innate human drive to altar the environment, to innovate, and to conquer. It is in these earliest tools that we are able to witness the birth of civilization. From such tools, mankind learned to carve stones and rocks into new shapes and forms that suited the needs of the people evolving from arrowheads to temples. - (N.1085)   « Less

Sculpted in basalt in very bold relief, the composition depicts a ruler standing in his chariot about to shoot an arrow from his bow. He is accompanied to the right by his  More »

Sculpted in basalt in very bold relief, the composition depicts a ruler standing in his chariot about to shoot an arrow from his bow. He is accompanied to the right by his charioteer, only the top of whose head is preserved, and on his left, by an image in reduced scale of his queen who holds a floral-like attribute in her upraised hand. The lanceolate-tipped element behind her head is a spear. One of the king’s retainerswalks on the ground behind the chariot carrying a floral attribute in one hand and a vessel in the other; the field beneath his elbow is filled with smaller motifs which are difficult to interpret butmayperhapsbeenpartofaninscription.Hittite Relief-LO.635Origin:Anatolian Plateau Circa: 800 BC to 600 BCDimensions: 15.5" (39.4cm) high x 22.5" (57.2cm) wide Collection: Near Eastern Style: Hittite Medium: Basalt   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 6000 BC to 4000 BC Collection: Egyptian Style: Neolithic Medium: Flint The creation of tools utilizing the natural environment is what distinguishes  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 6000 BC to 4000 BC Collection: Egyptian Style: Neolithic Medium: Flint The creation of tools utilizing the natural environment is what distinguishes man from animal. What was once created using stone, wood, and bone has, over the centuries, evolved into metalworking and modern-day plastics. But it is the earliest tools, those carved from stone, which allowed mankind to conquer the natural environment and to prosper. Holding this flint arrowhead in our hand, delicately carved to a fine point thousands of years ago, we are holding the nascent breath of civilization. Tools allowed mankind to utilize his natural setting to its fullest potential, to altar the surroundings to suite his needs, and to create his own collective habitats that would eventually evolve into great cities. An arrowhead head like this one, when tied securely to a wooden shaft, could have been used to fell a fleeing prey or to spear a fish. As well, the delicate serrated edge could be used to cut and prepare the meat for cooking. This stone arrowhead represents the innate human drive to altar the environment, to innovate, and to conquer. It is in these earliest tools that we are able to witness the birth of civilization. From such tools, mankind learned to carve stones and rocks into new shapes and forms that suited the needs of the people evolving from arrowheads to temples. - (N.1087)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 6000 BC to 4000 BC Collection: Egyptian Style: Neolithic Medium: Flint The creation of tools utilizing the natural environment is what distinguishes  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 6000 BC to 4000 BC Collection: Egyptian Style: Neolithic Medium: Flint The creation of tools utilizing the natural environment is what distinguishes man from animal. What was once created using stone, wood, and bone has, over the centuries, evolved into metalworking and modern-day plastics. But it is the earliest tools, those carved from stone, which allowed mankind to conquer the natural environment and to prosper. Holding this flint arrowhead in our hand, delicately carved to a fine point thousands of years ago, we are holding the nascent breath of civilization. Tools allowed mankind to utilize his natural setting to its fullest potential, to altar the surroundings to suite his needs, and to create his own collective habitats that would eventually evolve into great cities. An arrowhead head like this one, when tied securely to a wooden shaft, could have been used to fell a fleeing prey or to spear a fish. As well, the delicate serrated edge could be used to cut and prepare the meat for cooking. This stone arrowhead represents the innate human drive to altar the environment, to innovate, and to conquer. It is in these earliest tools that we are able to witness the birth of civilization. From such tools, mankind learned to carve stones and rocks into new shapes and forms that suited the needs of the people evolving from arrowheads to temples. - (N.1088)   « Less

In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was customary to dedicate persons or objects to sacred use by anointing them with oil. Thus Samuel anointed Saul king, as Moses had  More »

In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was customary to dedicate persons or objects to sacred use by anointing them with oil. Thus Samuel anointed Saul king, as Moses had hallowed the tabernacle and Aaron the high priest before, and Abraham had sanctified Isaac.As we hold it in our hands today, admiring its simple beauty, we are aware of the touch of other hands long ago. Who might have held it when it was new? Were the dreams and emotions that guided their lives so very different from our own? The vessel's graceful unadorned shape appeals as much to the contemporary eye as it did to the culture that created it. Such artifacts, ordinary enough in their own age, connect us in an intimate way with the world of the past. In its presence, the centuries melt away and the imagination sets out on a journey of discovery. - (SP.275)   « Less

In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was customary to dedicate persons or objects to sacred use by anointing them with oil. Thus Samuel anointed Saul king, as Moses had  More »

In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was customary to dedicate persons or objects to sacred use by anointing them with oil. Thus Samuel anointed Saul king, as Moses had hallowed the tabernacle and Aaron the high priest before, and Abraham had sanctified Isaac. As we hold it in our hands today, admiring its simple beauty, we are aware of the touch of other hands long ago. Who might have held it when it was new? Were the dreams and emotions that guided their lives so very different from our own? The vessel's graceful unadorned shape appeals as much to the contemporary eye as it did to the culture that created it. Such artifacts, ordinary enough in their own age, connect us in an intimate way with the world of the past. In its presence, the centuries melt away and the imagination sets out on a journey of discovery. - (SP.277)   « Less

Horn Rhyton - PF.7024Origin: Central Asia Circa: 500 BC to 400BCDimensions:5.25" (13.3cm) high x7.50"(19.1cm)wide Collection:Near Eastern Style:Achaemenid Medium: Horn

Horn Rhyton - PF.7024Origin: Central Asia Circa: 500 BC to 400BCDimensions:5.25" (13.3cm) high x7.50"(19.1cm)wide Collection:Near Eastern Style:Achaemenid Medium: Horn   « Less

Pottery Vessel in the Shape of a Recumbent Bull - PF.7019Origin: Central Asia Circa: 900BCto700BCDimensions:7.25"(18.4cm)highx4.15"(10.5cm)widex9.75"(24.8cm)depth Collection:  More »

Pottery Vessel in the Shape of a Recumbent Bull - PF.7019Origin: Central Asia Circa: 900BCto700BCDimensions:7.25"(18.4cm)highx4.15"(10.5cm)widex9.75"(24.8cm)depth Collection: Zoomorphic Sculptures Style: Zoomorphic Medium: Pottery   « Less

In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was customary to dedicate persons or objects to sacred use by anointing them with oil. Thus Samuel anointed Saul king, as Moses had  More »

In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was customary to dedicate persons or objects to sacred use by anointing them with oil. Thus Samuel anointed Saul king, as Moses had hallowed the tabernacle and Aaron the high priest before, and Abraham had sanctified Isaac. As we hold it in our hands today, admiring its simple beauty, we are aware of the touch of other hands long ago. Who might have held it when it was new? Were the dreams and emotions that guided their lives so very different from our own? The vessel's graceful unadorned shape appeals as much to the contemporary eye as it did to the culture that created it. Such artifacts, ordinary enough in their own age, connect us in an intimate way with the world of the past. In its presence, the centuries melt away and the imagination sets out on a journey of discovery. - (SP.278)   « Less

Inscribed with magic texts, these bowls were used to ward off evil spirits and protect family and property. Unearthed at relatively high levels of excavation, they were  More »

Inscribed with magic texts, these bowls were used to ward off evil spirits and protect family and property. Unearthed at relatively high levels of excavation, they were neglected by the nineteenth century pioneers of Mesopotamian archaeology who were more interested in discovering palace foundations and large-scale sculpture. In more recent years however their importance has been recognised and they have been studied in-depth.The incantations were written in a variety of Aramaicdialectsincluding Jewish Aramaic, Mandaic and Syriac. There are also examples writtenin Pseudo-script, presumably by less literate scribes. Although the texts are not dated they are generally assigned to the late Sassanian/ early Islamic period (6th-8th century A.D.). Their main function was to trap evil spirits and they were often placed upside down at the corners of rooms, or built into foundations or cemeteries. The texts sometimes instruct them to be placed ‘at the four corners (of theroom)’forextraprotection.Thenamesoftheclientsfor whom the bowls were made can be dividedintotwomaincategories-Semiticand Persian. However this is not always a reliable guide to their ethnicity. Jewish influence on the Mandaic inscriptions was minimal but is pronounced in the Aramaic incantations.Many of the scribes may have been Jewishortrainedby Jews,andthe Hebrew Bibleisfrequently quoted.Terracotta Incantation Bowl-LO.649Origin:Israel Circa:500ADto800ADDimensions: 3" (7.6cm) high x 8" (20.3cm)depth Collection:Near Eastern Art Medium:Terracotta   « Less