Limestone Etruscan funerary urn, 104 x 75 cm, late 3rd century B.C, Italy.
This object is one of five ash urns found in a tomb of the Velsi family of ancient Chiusi. This urn is the largest and best preserved of the group. Its inscription, “FASTIA VELSI LARZL, VELUS PUIA,” which extends across the front and part of the left end of the lid, identifies the cremated remains as those of “Fastia Velsi, wife of Larza Velu.” - mfa.org
Cuneiform terracota tablets, ca. 1400 BC, Qatna, Syria.
63 cuneiform tablets were discovered in 2002, in a subterranean corridor. They were covered by the burned remains of several roofbeams. Maybe they were hidden during the Hittite invasion. The texts probably belong to the archive of King Idanda and contain both intelligence reports on the political situation in northern Syria, the Hittite threat and domestic and administrative texts. The texts are written in a mixture of the Akkadian and Hurrian languages hitherto unknown. - wikipedia.org
Victory stele of king Naram-Sin, limestone bas-relief, ca. 2254-2213 BC (Akkad),
During Naram-Sin reign the Lullubi tribe rebelled. The king subdued the revolt and erected this stele at Sippar.
This stele is a major work because it is considered to be the first landscape in oriental art as well as the first stele depicting a whole scene in only one piece. It is also the first work of art showing a deified king: Naram-Sin is a massive character and he is wearing a horned helmet which is the symbol of divinity in ancient Near-East. The two suns above the mountain represent the sun god Nergal, protector of the dynasty.
source: wikipedia.com
Ivory carved Pyxis of al-Mughira, 968 AD, Madinat al-Zahra, Spain.
The use of this type of object is uncertain. They could have been used as jewel/precious stones/makeup/perfumes boxes. The recipient of this pyxis was the prince al-Mughira, son of the caliph Abd al-Rahman III. - louvre.fr
Zapotec jade and shells mask, ca. 200 BC - 100 AD, Monte Alban, Mexico. Photography © Jorge Pérez de Lara.
Even though many scholars maintain that this is a bat mask, many of its features point towards its identification as a feline, possibly a jaguar. If this is correct, it may be associated with power and royal lineages. Regardless of its identification, it is one of the most valuable treasures ever recovered from Monte Albán. - mesoweb.com
4-meter (13-foot) long carving of Tlaltecuhtli, the Aztec earth goddess, 1502 approx., Templo Mayor, Mexico.
Tlaltecuhtli was one of the most feared deities. She represented life and nurturing, as well as death. Stories recount her insatiable appetite for blood and the large, unearthed carving depicts a stream of blood rushing out of her mouth.
To honor the powerful goddess, the Aztecs buried an odd assortment of offerings, including a wolf adorned in turquoise jewelry, underneath the stone slab. Many pieces of the offering hailed from distant lands, such as shells from the ocean. - news.discovery.com
This young mammoth on display in the St Petersburg Zoological Museum appears to have been preserved in a peat bog.
It exhibits the classic black, shiny, flattened form of this method of preservation in anaerobic conditions, seen most often in the very detailed remains of humans preserved in peat bogs in northern Europe. - donsmaps.com
Photo: Vladimir Gorodnjanski, 2007.
Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, details of a painted roll, ca. AD 1500. Mogao caves, Dunhuang, China.
Wood and tin processional cross, ca. AD 1500, Ethiopia.
In the Ethiopian church, the wooden cross is perceived as having been sanctified by the Christ’s blood, which conferred upon it the infinite power to heal and bless. - metmuseum.org
