Ancient Art

Art of Australia & Oceania

Indigenous Australian Art: Traditions from a Fascinating, Ancient Past

Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) culture is nowadays considered one of the most ancient in the world. Some historians...

Camilla de Laurentis 9 August 2023

Cats

The Sacred Cats of Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians revered cats of all kinds and honored them in their art. From servals to the mighty lion, cats were seen as powerful forces for...

Sarah Mills 8 August 2023

Feathers in Pre-Columbian Art:Juan Bautista Cuiris, Portrait of Christ, 1950s, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Detail. South American Art

All the Fuss and Feathers in Pre-Columbian Art

Artisans in pre-Columbian and colonial Mexico, as in Peru, used feathers to create exquisite adornments for nobles, fancy textiles for the elite, and...

Alicja Gluszek 5 August 2023

Group of three figurines, Early Cycladic II, early spedos type, museum number K9, Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe, Germany. Detail. Ancient Art

Demystifying Cycladic Figurines

Cycladic figurines have a mythical aura. Their gleaming abstract forms speak of timeless beauty. But what actually are they? Why do they look like a...

Isla Phillips-Ewen 28 July 2023

Ancient Art

Living Memories: The Funerary Stelae of Ancient Cyprus

The majority of sculpture that survives from ancient Cyprus are funerary stelae, elaborate grave markers to commemorate the dead. Possessing an...

Marga Patterson 28 July 2023

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek Pottery: 4 Ways To Decipher Non-Greeks from Greeks

There is a plethora of Ancient Greek pottery pieces to dive into when discussing Ancient Greece and Ancient Greek citizens. Similarly, there is a lot...

Rachel Witte 25 July 2023

Ancient Greece

The A to Z of Ancient Greek Pottery Terms Pt. 1

In Ancient Greece, vases were a commonplace item. There was no explanation needed as to what they were or how they were used. They each served a...

Rachel Witte 25 July 2023

Ancient Greece

The A to Z of Ancient Greek Pottery Terms Pt. 2

And so the saga continues in our adventures of learning about Ancient Greek pottery! You will probably have noticed that I chose to skip a few...

Rachel Witte 25 July 2023

Ancient Greece

Not So Dark After All: Greek Designs from the Dark Ages

Despite lasting only a century (c. 1100-1000 BCE), the dark ages in Greece were an era of material poverty, cultural isolation, and artistic decline.

Lauren Dorsey 25 July 2023

Ancient Greece

Depictions of Ajax in Ancient Greek Pottery

Ancient Greek literature is abundant in legendary heroes who live and die for everlasting glory. Their names and deeds echoed in the conscience of...

Erol Degirmenci 25 July 2023

Ancient Egypt

Akhenaten: Artistic Development in the Amarna Period

Amenhotep IV, widely recognized as the notorious Akhenaten, was the enigmatic “heretic” pharaoh who ruled during the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Maya M. Tola 20 July 2023

Schøyen Collection: Ancient Art

The Schøyen Case: How the Western Hegemony Still Upholds

Like return claims in other Western countries, the Schøyen Collection case in Norway illustrates how viewpoints from the past still hold sway. With...

Guest Profile 18 July 2023