Origin: Egypt Circa: 1500 BC to 1300 BC Dimensions: 2.5" (6.4cm) high x 2.5" (6.4cm) wide Catalogue: V1 Collection: Egyptian Style: New Kingdom Medium: Faience This  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1500 BC to 1300 BC Dimensions: 2.5" (6.4cm) high x 2.5" (6.4cm) wide Catalogue: V1 Collection: Egyptian Style: New Kingdom Medium: Faience This delicate little vessel probably once contained cosmetics: oils to make the skin soft, or kohl to bring out the luster of dark eyes. Centuries ago, it was perhaps among the prized possessions of some ancient beauty, a lady such as we see laughing in the lively paintings of the New Kingdom. When we place our fingers where those ancient ones once rested, we are linked, magically, with the spirit of that long-vanished life. - (P.0591)   « Less

This small hand axe was swung in battle during the age of the biblical patriarchs. Caught up in its graceful sculptural beauty, it is easy to forget it was once a lethal  More »

This small hand axe was swung in battle during the age of the biblical patriarchs. Caught up in its graceful sculptural beauty, it is easy to forget it was once a lethal weapon of war. We can only guess at its past, what dark deeds it might have been witness to. Time seems to have made these things unimportant. The wars and battles that caused men to fight with such weapons are long forgotten. Such an object, reduced to a linear purity, helps put things in perspective. - (FZ.241)   « Less

This elegant weapon first saw the heat of battle in the time of the biblical patriarchs. Attached to a wooden shaft, it would have been part of the hand arms of a warrior.  More »

This elegant weapon first saw the heat of battle in the time of the biblical patriarchs. Attached to a wooden shaft, it would have been part of the hand arms of a warrior. Time has numbed its lethal edge and covered it with the green patina of age. Its graceful form lends it a sculptural purity that negates its function. We can admire its beauty as a work of art rather than as a dangerous weapon of war. - (FZ.242)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1600 BC to 1100 BC Dimensions: 2" (5.1cm) high x 3" (7.6cm) wide x 2.625" (6.7cm) depth Collection: Egyptian Style: New Kindom Medium: Faience When  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1600 BC to 1100 BC Dimensions: 2" (5.1cm) high x 3" (7.6cm) wide x 2.625" (6.7cm) depth Collection: Egyptian Style: New Kindom Medium: Faience When we hold this elegant little frit (or faience) vessel in our hands we cannot help but wonder who might have held it just so centuries ago, and raised it to their lips to drink. Surely that long-vanished individual would have stopped to admire the purity of its form, the flower-like shape. For a moment, we are linked directly to that unknown person who lived during Egypt's Golden Age. - (PF.0043)   « Less

The invention of bronze changed the face of ancient technology. Men soon discovered that this alloy of copper and tin produced stronger tools of war, and soon all the great  More »

The invention of bronze changed the face of ancient technology. Men soon discovered that this alloy of copper and tin produced stronger tools of war, and soon all the great armies of the Near East carried bronze weapons. This splendid dagger or short sword would have seen battle duty about the time of the Biblical patriarchs. Though its antiquity is evident, its linear simplicity gives it a contemporary appeal. - (FZ.245)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1550 BC to 1300 BC Dimensions: 2.75" (7.0cm) high x 1.75" (4.4cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: New Kingdom Medium: Faience At the height of the  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1550 BC to 1300 BC Dimensions: 2.75" (7.0cm) high x 1.75" (4.4cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: New Kingdom Medium: Faience At the height of the Egyptian empire, this lovely vessel may have contained balms, perfumes or cosmetics. Originally colored sky blue, it was adorned with bold patterns in black. As we hold it today, we are aware of the touch of other hands long ago. Perhaps some dark-eyed beauty placed kohl or ground malachite on her eyelids from it. If we close our eyes, we can almost picture her at her toilette, laughing with her friends, anticipating some beloved. Such an object connects us in an intimate way with the world of the past. In its presence, we cross the bridge of time and set the imagination on a wondrous journey of discovery. - (PF.1650)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1350 BC to 1250 BC Dimensions: 6.5" (16.5cm) high Catalogue: V25 Collection: Egyptian Style: New Kingdom Medium: Lapis Lazuli Wearing the conical  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1350 BC to 1250 BC Dimensions: 6.5" (16.5cm) high Catalogue: V25 Collection: Egyptian Style: New Kingdom Medium: Lapis Lazuli Wearing the conical shaped crown of the Pharaoh, Akhenaten is portrayed as a young man with fine facial features. He was known to have had an extremely long face, but here we see the cheeks following a lovely contour into the chin, a very delicate and sensuous mouth, refined nose and expressive eyes shown slightly beyond the brows, which curve into high cheek bones. Modelling of the neck, arms and chest is carefully rendered, revealing both a smoothness and slight tension of the neck muscles. Akhenaten was something of a religious reformer, reducing the pantheon of gods into one single god of the sun, and thus angering the powerful priestly caste. He stands out among the long list of Pharaohs as a man of great courage and conviction, while possessing sensitivity and culture. It is these qualities which are so beautifully captured in this superb sculpture. - (PF.5288)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1550 BC to 1295 BC Collection: Egyptian Style: 18th Dynasty Medium: Faience Faience, which dates back to pre-dynastic times, of at least 5,000  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1550 BC to 1295 BC Collection: Egyptian Style: 18th Dynasty Medium: Faience Faience, which dates back to pre-dynastic times, of at least 5,000 years, is a glasslike non-clay substance made of materials common to Egypt: ground quartz, crushed quartz pebbles, flint, a soluble salt-like baking soda, lime and ground copper, which provided the characteristic color. The dried objects went into kilns looking pale and colorless but emerged a sparkling "Egyptian blue." Called tjehnet by the ancient Egyptians, meaning that which is brilliant or scintillating, faience was thought to be filled with the undying light of the sun, moon and stars and was symbolic of rebirth. Ancient Egyptians believed the small blue-green objects helped prepare them for eternity in the afterlife. The body of this gorgeous turquoise-hued faience vessel has a cylindrical form that tapers downward and flares outwards at the base. The cylindrical jar is one of the most common forms of Egyptian containers that were first created in terracotta and later carved from stone. Generally, these types of vessels were used to contain valuable unguents, as is likely with this beautiful example. From the 6th Dynasty onwards, lids appeared. This ointment jar features an internally rimmed lid that fits securely into the mouth of the container. Thus, such jars were meant not only to hold, but also to preserve their precious contents. Considering the diminutive nature of this container, it most probably functioned specifically as a funerary offering, standing in place of its larger, everyday counterpart. Surely this interpretation would be in keeping with the luxury of the material and the presence of the text. Faience works were often interred with the deceased in order to provide for the afterlife, so that we would continue to be surrounded in the next world with the things we held dear in this one. - (X.0332)   « Less

The Bronze Age was a period in the civilization's development when the most advanced metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use) consisted of techniques for  More »

The Bronze Age was a period in the civilization's development when the most advanced metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use) consisted of techniques for smelting copper and tin from naturally occurring outcroppings of ore, and then alloying those metals in order to cast bronze. The Bronze Age forms part of the three-age system for prehistoric societies. In that system, it follows the Neolithic in some areas of the world. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the Neolithic is directly followed by the Iron Age. The place and time of the invention of bronze are controversial, and it is possible that bronzing was invented independently in multiple places. The earliest known tin bronzes are from what is now Iran and Iraq and date to the late 4th millennium BC, but there are claims of an earlier appearance of tin bronze in Thailand in the 5th millennium BC. Arsenical bronzes were made in Anatolia and on both sides of the Caucasus by the early 3rd millennium BC. Some scholars date some arsenical bronze artefacts of the Maykop culture in the North Caucasus as far back as the mid 4th millennium BC, which would make them the oldest known bronzes, but others date the same Maykop artefacts to the mid 3rd millennium BC. The Bronze Age in the Near East is divided into three main periods (the dates are very approximate): • EBA - Early Bronze Age (c.3500-2000 BC) • MBA - Middle Bronze Age (c.2000-1600 BC) • LBA - Late Bronze Age (c.1600-1200 BC) Metallurgy developed first in Anatolia, modern Turkey. The mountains in the Anatolian highland possessed rich deposits of copper and tin. Copper was also mined in Cyprus, Egypt, the Negev desert, Iran and around the Persian Gulf. Copper was usually mixed with arsenic, yet the growing demand for tin resulted in the establishment of distant trade routes in and out of Anatolia. The precious copper was also imported by sea routes to the great kingdoms of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The invention of bronze changed the face of ancient technology. Men soon discovered that this alloy of copper and tin produced stronger tools of war, and soon all the great armies of the Near East carried bronze weapons. This splendid dagger would have seen battle duty about the time of the Biblical patriarchs. - (Z.0741)   « Less

Egyptian Hametite Frog - LO.1105 Origin: Egypt Circa: 1500 BC to 1100 BC Dimensions: 1" (2.5cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Art Style: New Kingdom Medium: Hametite

Egyptian Hametite Frog - LO.1105 Origin: Egypt Circa: 1500 BC to 1100 BC Dimensions: 1" (2.5cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Art Style: New Kingdom Medium: Hametite   « Less