EditorialPendant Jewel, ca. 1500, German or Spanish, Coral, gold, silver-gilt, pearl, Overall: 2 1/8 x 7/8 x 13/16 in. (5.4 x 2.3 x 2 cm), Metalwork-Silver, Coral was valued not only for its beauty but also for its effectiveness in warding off various dangers, ...
EditorialOintment jar inscribed with the name of Pepi I, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, ca. 2289?2255 B.C., From Egypt, Travertine (Egyptian alabaster), H. 15 cm (5 7/8 in); greatest diam. 13 cm (5 1/8 in), This ointment jar was probably valued more for its inscriptio...
EditorialPharmacy bottle, ca. 1470?1500, Italian, probably Pesaro, Maiolica (tin-glazed earthenware), Overall (confirmed): 12 1/8 ? 7 9/16 ? 7 9/16 in. (30.8 ? 19.2 ? 19.2 cm), Ceramics-Pottery, Vessels of this shape, with long, narrow necks, were designed to h...
EditorialDagger with Sheath, blade, mid-16th century; hilt and scabbard, probably mid-16th century, blade, Turkish; hilt and scabbard, European, possibly Italian, Steel, iron, wood, leather, gold, Wt. of dagger and scabbard 9 oz (246 g); Dagger: L. 10 3/8 in. (...
EditorialMosaic Tesserae, 9th century, Excavated in Iraq, Samarra, Glass, green and blue, Largest: 3/4 x 3/4 in., Glass, Compared to findings at seventh- and eighth- century sites in the region, a relatively small number of glass tesserae were excavated at Sama...
EditorialBronze portrait bust of a man, Late Republican or Early Imperial, ca. 50 B.C.?A.D. 54, Roman, Bronze, H. 15 in. (38.1 cm), Bronzes, For the Romans, bronze was the material par excellence for honorific portraits of important individuals and was valued f...
EditorialVessel, Seleucid?early Parthian, ca. 3rd century B.C.?1st century A.D., Iran, Seleucid or Parthian, Bronze, silver, 8.31 in. (21.11 cm), Metalwork-Vessels, Elaborate bowls and vessels were highly valued in ancient Near Eastern society. During the pre-A...
EditorialPendant Figure, 2nd century B.C.?A.D. 3rd century, Mexico, Mesoamerica, Colima, Colima, Shell (spondylus), H. 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm), Shell-Ornaments, Spondylus, the shell of a thorny oyster native to the warm coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean, is a vibr...
Editorial0310000122 Glass tankard, Tudor, c1548. Blue and white twisted glass tankard. By the second quarter of the sixteenth century, Venetian glassmakers had developed an entirely new type of decoration, composed of opaque-white lattimo ('milky') canes which ...
EditorialGold jug from the Oxus treasure, Achaemenid Persian, 5th-4th century BC. Fine gold jug with a lion-headed handle and ridged decoration. The jug is part of the Oxus treasure, the most important collection of silver and gold to have survived from the Ach...
EditorialThe Muse Casket, Late Roman, 4th century. Unusual domed silver casket; panels around the scalloped body of the casket bear repouss? figures of eight of the nine Muses. They can be distinguished by their costumes and individual attributes; for example, ...