Analysis Suggests "Jesus Wife" Papyrus is Not a Fake

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9226237&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0017816014000133

Egyptian Antiquities in the Petrie Museum of Egyptology, London

Established in 1892 primarily as a teaching tool for the new Department of Egyptology, University College’s Petrie Museum of Egyptology is tucked away in a rather obscure location off Gower Street. Were it not for a few colorful banners pointing the way, it would be difficult to find. Visiting hours are quite limited. Started with the donation of a few private collections, the Petrie’s holding grew enormously in the first few decades of the 20th Century through the prolific excavation work in Egypt of Sir William Flinders Petrie. Removed from London during the Second World War for safekeeping, the collections were returned in the 1950s and housed in a former stables building, where they remain today.

The Petrie’s collections are particularly rich in Pre-Dynastic and Early Dynastic materials, especially pottery, as well as textiles and costumes, glass and faience, papyri and inscribed architectural fragments, many with string colors remaining. Unusually, much of the material has clear provenance, having been obtained through controlled excavations with find spots recorded. Also rather unusual is the fact that the Museum’s collections cover not just Dynastic Egypt but also Roman, Byzantine / Coptic and early Islamic materials.

The immediate impression one receives upon getting clear of the small admissions area and entering the Museum itself is of the stereotypical “old fashioned” dark and dusty late 19th or early 20th Century museum experience. There is nothing nostalgic about this. The fact that the Museum is housed in what was once a stables now makes its impact. The spaces are very tight. There is very little room around most of the old fashioned, academic display cases for more than one or two visitors to look at the contents. The lighting is dim (though in some instances this is to help preserve light sensitive materials), making it difficult to enjoy even the most impressive pieces. Objects are stuffed together tightly in small cases, accompanied by descriptive labels that might be less than informative to a visitor with no background in Egyptology. In most instances, obtaining good photographs is nearly impossible due to the lighting conditions and highly reflective glass of the old cases. The overall impression left is one of frustration at not being able to adequately enjoy the many wonderful pieces on display, and of puzzlement as to why such an extraordinary collection has been relegated to such an inadequate space.

Having said all this, the Petrie is still very much worth a visit for anyone with more than a passing interest in ancient Egypt and the ancient Mediterranean world in general. The images below are intended to provide only a modest sample of what awaits the visitor. Enjoy!

Ancient glass from Egypt, dating from early Roman through Byzantine & early Islamic

Display of pre-dynastic and early dynastic pottery

Egyptian and Phoenician glass inlays and small objects, mainly Late Dynastic and Ptolemaic

Coptic period St Menas Flasks and pottery

Inscription from Pyramid of Pepi II, Saqarra, circa 2250 BC

Late Dynastic shabtis of exceptional quality

Painted wood funerary stele showing the deceased adoring Horus. Dynasty XXII or later.

Painted Wooden Stela of Neskhons, Queen of Pharaoh Pinezem II, Dynasty XXI. The deceased Queen adores Osiris whose green skin suggests regeneration and rebirth.

Middle Kingdom polychromed fragmentary funerary stela.

Clio Ancient Art Valentine's Sale

Hello Customers, Friends and Fans of Clio Ancient Art:

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we are holding a sale on selected antiquities. This sale ends 7:00 PM Saturday, February 15.

ROMAN ANTIQUITIES (coins not included), 15% OFF

56 items to select from in stone, ceramic, bronze and glass. You can find these here –

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c15_p1.html

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c16_p1.html

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c17_p1.html

ANCIENT JEWELRY AND PERSONAL ADORNMENT, 15% OFF

36 items, Egyptian, Roman, Byzantine, Medieval European and early Islamic, in silver, bronze, faience, enamel and glass. You can find these here –

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c19_p1.html

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c19_p2.html

BOOKS, CATALOGS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS, FRAMED AND UNFRAMED ART, 15% OFF

24 items available. You can find these here –

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c25_p1.html

As always, thanks for looking.

Best wishes,

Chris M. Maupin
Clio Ancient Art and Antiquities
Chris Maupin Trust for Ancient Art
PO Box 7714
Wilmington, NC 28406
Phone: 704-293-3411
Web: http://www.clioancientart.com/

Collecting Ancient Coptic / Byzantine Textiles

The colorful textile above is a fragment from a Coptic Egyptian ecclesiastical garment depicting saints and biblical figures and dating to the 7th Century AD, now in The British Museum. Thanks to exceptionally dry conditions, many types of artifacts made from perishable materials that would not survive elsewhere are common finds on Egyptian archaeological sites. Between the late 18th and early 20th Century great numbers of ancient Egyptian textile fragments from all periods were retrieved by local Egyptian treasure hunters and artifacts dealers for sale to foreign visitors, by foreigners conducting their own ad-hoc “excavations” and by archaeologists, often excavating using methods that would by today’s standards be considered little more than treasure hunting.

While textiles of all types, from the most humble garments to the most elaborate, and from every period of Egypt’s long history have been preserved in the dry environment, Coptic textiles are a class unto themselves. In common parlance, use of the term “Coptic” here refers both to the time period from which these textiles date – corresponding to the roughly 300 year period of Byzantine rule in Egypt – and the Christian culture that created them, as the Coptic Church, still very much alive today in Egypt, gives its name to both the ancient and modern Coptic culture. This uniquely Coptic textile style continued on in Egypt long after the Islamic conquest of the 7th Century AD.

Many Coptic textile fragments, and in some cases entire garments, have since found their way into museum collections. This has somewhat reduced the number of high quality examples available on the legitimate art market. But many fine examples can be acquired from the major London and New York auction houses and reputable antiquities dealers in Europe and the North America.

Our own website offers a small but quality selection of Coptic textiles:

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i284.html

The example above is a large 5th-7th Century fragment featuring human, animal and geometric decorations. It has been sewn on a linen backing for mounting and custom framed. A brief description in modern Arabic from a late 19th – early 20th Century Cairo dealer enhances its value.

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i285.html

This 5th – 7th Century example, from the same old collection, is also framed and features complex foliate and geometric patterns.

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i176.html

Finally, this 4th – 7th Century example features a broad band of highly abstracted animal forms, including fish, birds and rabbits, with lovely deep red borders.

Some of the finest examples of Coptic weaving, which was generally made in linen and wool, were reserved for ecclesiastical garments. The 5th – 7th Century fragment pictured below, now in The British Museum, depicts a cross and bird; the bird may have been part of an allegory of the seasons, thus combining ancient pagan and the newer Christian iconography.


 
There are excellent print and online resources for the student or collector of ancient Coptic textiles.  The Coptic Tapestry Albums & The Archaeologist of Antinoe, Albert Gayet  by Nancy Arthur Hoskins, is a very accessible, lavishly color illustrated guide to the collection amassed by the controversial French psuedo-archaeologist Albert Gayet in the late 19th Century. It describes Coptic textile production techniques as well as offering insight into how collections of these objects were built in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Two online resources that we recommend are the Rietz Collection of Coptic textiles in the California Academy of Sciences – http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/coptic/Collection.htm – and the Indiana University Museum’s small but excellent online collections – http://www.iub.edu/~iuam/online_modules/coptic/cophome.html.

Books for Pleasure & Research, Antiquarian Books & Prints, Catalogs, Periodicals & More…

One of the resources we offer visitors to our website is a selection of books for both pleasure & research, antiquarian books & prints, catalogs and periodicals, all dealing with antiquities collecting and auctions, ancient history and ancient art.

Our selection includes some fine examples of professionally mounted and framed art with themes relating to antiquity, such as this 19th Century English print with scenes of classical mythology -

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i368.html

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i390.html

We also offer unframed artwork with antiquarian themes, such as the marvelous 1820 print above illustrating Greek vases from the collection of Sir Henry Englefield.

Antiquarian books are always a favorite, such as this copy of Babylonian Life and History by the famed Biblical archaeologist E. Wallis Budge, printed in 1897 -

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i249.html

For the reader with a more general interest in the ancient world, we offer selections of popular books, such as this group of 3 books dealing with Late Antiquity -

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i335.html

And for the antiquities collector we always have a substantial number of antiquities auction catalogs from the London and New York auction houses. These are difficult to find once the auction has ended and expensive to purchase in advance. As many antiquities circulate through the market over the years, serious collectors are keen to acquire these groups of catalogs. In addition to being fully illustrated, these catalogs help to establish provenance for the objects included. Here is an example of one set of catalogs for sale on our site -

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i432.html

View all our offerings in our Books, Publications and Art section here: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c25_p1.html

We're Having a Moving Sale!

Hello Clio Customers, Friends and Fans:

We’re moving! And we’re having a big sale to help make that happen, with 25% off absolutely everything on our website, including antiquities, ancient coins, books and art. 

Sale prices take effect 12:01 AM Eastern Time Friday, September 27 and remain in effect until 11:59 PM Tuesday, October 1. We’ve never offered discounts this substantial before and it’s doubtful we ever will again so take advantage of this 5 day sale. it’s a rare opportunity to acquire fine antiquities and ancient coins, research books and documentation and related works of art at exceptional prices. Pay with PayPal and your 25% discount will be refunded almost immediately. 

Many of you will recall that in July of 2012 we moved from the San Francisco Bay area across country to Charlotte, NC. Now we’re completing our coast-to-coast transition by continuing just a few hours east to the North Carolina coastal City of Wilmington, with its beautiful beaches and historic old town full of charming colonial era and antebellum buildings There’s a view of historic Wilmington seen from the Cape Fear River at the bottom of this page. 

Thank you for visiting our website. We hope you’ll find something you like at these remarkable discounted prices. Of course, we’ll be adding plenty of new fine quality antiquities in time for the holidays. 

Best Wishes,

Chris M. Maupin
Clio Ancient Art and Antiquities
Chris Maupin Trust for Ancient Art
http://www.clioancientart.com/

A Byzantine St Menas Flask and Spiritual Continuity in Egypt

Political and social turmoil is still very much in evidence in Egypt today, 16 months after Mubarak’s departure and 1 year after Morsi’s election as Egypt’s President. Some of this unrest has had religious overtones, involving friction between Egypt’s ancient Coptic community, now numbering perhaps 10% of the population or 8 million persons, and some elements of the Muslim majority.

In light of the rapid pace of social and political change seen in Egypt over the past couple of years, it may be easy to forget that the Coptic community has a remarkably long history, dating to St Mark’s introduction of the new faith in the 1st Century CE, and flourishing with the founding of monasticism in the 4th Century CE Egyptian desert by St Anthony, whose monastery still stands today. There is more than ample artifactual evidence for this continuity, including a “St Menas Flask” on our website (see the image above and the link here: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i386.html).

 The namesake of this mold-made pottery flask, dating to the 6th or 7th Century CE, is considered by Coptic Christians to be a miracle worker and martyr. Menas lived in the late 3rd to early 4th Century when Egypt was a province of the Roman Empire. He presumably was tortured and killed for his faith at a time shortly before Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Toleration, which ended persecution of Christians. He was buried at a spot in the Western Desert southwest of Alexandria. In the late 5th Century CE, the daughter of Emperor Zeno was said to have been cured of leprousy at Menas’ shrine, and great numbers of people began traveling to the spot seeking cures or Menas’ intercession.

The flask on our website is characteristic of a large body of related pottery vessels found not only in the Mediterranean Near East but as far away as Italy, France, Germany and even England. These were either carried back home by pilgrims returning from St Menas’ shrine or sending these objects back to their families. They were typically filled with holy oil or water from the shrine.

Even after the arrival of Islam in Egypt in 641 CE, when the shrine and cathedral was destroyed, and the region’s gradual conversion to a Muslim majority during the middle ages, the shrine continued as a place of pilgrimage. It has been completely rebuilt in the modern era is still a popular destination. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is on their “danger” list.

The iconography on our flask requires some explanation. Both sides show essentially the same scene, one side shown above, the other side shown here:

The figure of St Means is shown facing forward, wearing a soldier’s tunic and with arms extended in blessing. A simplified cross appears above each arm. To either side is a schematic rendering of a kneeling camel, taken from the legend that when his body was being transported into the desert at a particular spot the camels refused to go any further and this wast taken as a sign that his shrine should be erected on that spot. This imagery is enclosed by a circular border and again by another border of beads or dots.

For additional reading, we recommend:the UNESCO page for Abu Mena, including an excellent slideshow – http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/90

Here is an image we took at the Petrie Museum of Egyptology, University College, London, of several similar examples -

For more examples of Coptic antiquities from Egypt on our website -
* http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i284.html
* http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i285.html
* http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i176.html

A Useful Tool: Our “Sold Antiquities” Page

http://www.clioancientart.com/id18.html

This is the link to our “Sold Antiquities” page, which includes images and brief descriptions of objects we’ve sold over the last couple of years. By virtue of the great number of items it displays, it is a very useful tool both for researching antiquities in general, and specifically for tracking antiquities we’ve sold. So often, antiquities with perfectly legitimate provenance pass from a dealer to a private collector, then perhaps to another collector or dealer, and loose their provenance information in the process. Using this page, items we’ve sold may be traced back to Clio Ancient Art and their long term provenance established.

Here’s the link again: http://www.clioancientart.com/id18.html

Enjoy!