Ancient art refers to art produced by advanced cultures of ancient societies with some form of writing, such as China, India, the Mediterranean, the Levant, Egypt, Greece, the Roman Empire, Roman North Africa, and Mesoamerican cultures before the arrival of Europeans. Ancient is defined in the VA Collection as items made before1200 CE and includes Chinese Han (206 BCE-220 CE) ceramics and metalwork; Mediterranean terracotta from the Holy Land Biblical Period (934-586 BCE), Magna Graecia (8-5th Century BCE) pottery, Roman Empire North Africa (27 BCE-476 CE) pottery, and a Texas Clovis Culture Paleolithic Spear (15,000-10,000 BCE.).
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An oenochoe or oinochoe is the Greek word for a wine jug and the name of an important category of Greek pottery created in many forms of which there are many variants copied and modified by cultures throughout the ancient world, especially by ancient pottery centers in the Africa Proconsularis province of Roman North Africa. As common…
This earthenware cup is called a beaker, a term used by archeologists to describe small cups without a handle and held in the hands similar to Japanese ceramic teacups that also warm one’s hands. Items like this were made in Africa Proconsularis, the Roman North Africa pottery center and distributed throughout the Roman Empire). Using…
This is an excellent example of an earthenware carinated flagon made in a Roman-Empire ceramic production center in the Roman-North-Africa territory called Africa-Proconsularis. The word flagon is derived from the Greek word for flask and is a larger, taller variant of a Greek flask used for oils (lagynos). Wheel made for the lower classes, undecorated…
This kiln-fired medium size earthenware platter is a wheel made functional piece called African Red Slip (ARS). A category of ancient pottery used by those of high status for formal occasions to serve food, it was made in Roman-Empire production centers in the Roman-North-Africa province called Africa-Proconsularis. They were shipped everywhere along the same trade…
This ancient wheel-thrown pottery was made in the Greek colonies, Apulia, Magna Graecia in Southeastern Italy and dates from the 4th century B.C.E. Magna Graecia is the Roman name for coastal Southern Italy colonized by Greek city-states and first named by the Roman poet Ovid in his poem Fasti. These settlers brought their Hellenic culture,…
The Song dynasty (960–1279CE) is considered the most culturally brilliant era in later imperial Chinese history. A massive expansion produced government and public buildings and tombs with walls decorated with earthenware unglazed mold made brick tiles. Some were purely decorative and others were wishes for happiness and comfort in live and deceased people’s afterlife called mingqi. With…
Banquet scenes and feasts have been part of Chinese art and culture for millennia. They include celebrations of important rituals and social events, both public and private. These can be religious or social rituals, funerary practices performed by families filling their obligations of filial piety, family fêtes, scenes of scholarly gatherings, casual feasts for couples and…
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