The Roman Lighthouse at Dover: An Unlikely Survivor from Antiquity

Located on the grounds of Dover Castle in Kent, England, is a well preserved Roman lighthouse constructed from the orange-red tiles found throughout the Roman world, and from local flint and other stones. The original structure seems to have been erected about 50 AD with major reconstruction around130 AD, and was perfectly situated atop the high chalk cliffs of this area to help guide maritime traffic moving through the Channel between the ports of southeast Britain and what is now France, Belgium and the Netherlands. It was originally one of a pair, the other lighthouse having been situated on the cliffs about one thousand meters to the southwest. That structure did not survive the centuries and its foundation is now buried beneath 18th Century fortifications.

The lighthouse’s function is known with certainty due to its very close resemblance to other surviving lighthouses in Egypt and Spain and excavated examples in Italy, as well ancient depictions of the famous Pharos lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt. In its original form it would have been square inside and octagonal outside, with four levels. It stands about 75 feet tall today, with the top 19 feet being Medieval reconstruction. It owes its survival mainly to having been used as a church tower in the Middle Ages and a variety of other uses over the centuries. Adjacent to it is the church of St Mary in Castro, the original fabric of which was partly constructed of material recycled from the lighthouse and other nearby Roman remains by the Saxons around 600 AD. Roman tile and worked flint are clearly visible throughout the structure. The Saxon church is a significant monument in itself, though it has seen much rebuilding. It is still in use today.

Trains from London to Dover take between one and two hours, depending on time of day. The lighthouse can be accessed today with an admission ticket to Dover Castle. The site is managed by English Heritage. Dover Museum offers excellent exhibits covering the Roman and Saxon periods and these strongly complement a visit to the lighthouse and church. Views from this location are spectacular, with the French coast visible on a clear day, the harbor of Dover directly below and the expanse of the Channel and the Dover cliffs stretching off for miles.

Links:
English Heritage page for Dover Castle – http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/dover-castle/
Dover Museum – http://www.dovermuseum.co.uk/Home.aspx

 

Dover Roman Lighthouse. To the right is the Saxon period Church of St Mary in Castro. Note the use of Roman building material in the church’s fabric. In the distance at left is Dover Castle.

A close up view of Dover Roman lighthouse. The figure standing at bottom right between the lighthouse and church offers a sense of scale. Note the layers of Roman tile alternating with worked flint and stone.

View from inside the lighthouse, showing clearly the square interior plan and four levels.

Exterior detail, showing the use of Roman tile in the window arches.

New Items, A Sale and Much More for January

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i516.html

 Hello Clio Customers, Friends and Fans,

Thank you for helping make 2013 another successful year for Clio Ancient Art and the Trust for Ancient Art. I hope 2014 proves to be a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year for you.

I'd like to start off by sharing a few new offerings on our website:

* A 3rd Century Roman mold-blown glass jar - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i516.html

* A 1st-2nd Century Roman glass bottle - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i518.html

* A Roman Bronze Claw Foot - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i517.html

We're having a SALE, ending January 20, on the following specific categories of items --

* Cypriot Antiquities Section: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c1_p1.html 15% OFF

* Byzantine, European, Medieval and Islamic Antiquities Section: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c26_p1.html AND http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c21_p1.html 15% OFF

Please note coins are not included in this sale.

Clio added many very affordable antiquities and ancient coins leading up to the holidays and despite the holiday sales rush many are still available. Didn't get what you really wanted for Christmas? Treat yourself to something from the website; prices range from $25 to $2,500 - http://www.clioancientart.com/.

Now for a very important invitation: Clio has a simple ONLINE SURVEY WAITING FOR YOU. It's just 9 questions, anonymous, mostly point and click, and only takes 2 or 3 minutes to complete. To help Clio better serve you, please click here to participate in our survey -- http://fluidsurveys.com/surveys/chris-CB3/clio-2014-new-year-survey/

Clio received some positive press in the Wilmington, NC Business Journal recently. A copy of that article is attached. Here a link to the article - http://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/retail/2014/01/03/clio_debuts_in_wilmington/11225

Our Trust for Ancient Art ended the year by facilitating transfer of a fine collection of Roman glass from a donor in Atlanta to the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC. Here's an article from our Wordpress Blog about this - http://clioantiquities.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/clios-trust-for-ancient-art-facilitates-gift-of-ancient-glass-to-mint-museum-of-art/

As always, thanks for viewing our website.

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/

Roman Bronze Brooches Revisited: Zoomorphic Types

 

In a blog post dated August 20 of last year we reviewed some examples of Roman bronze fibulae (brooches), a ubiquitous find both in controlled excavations and by metal detectorists. In this post we’d like to elaborate on the topic, focusing on zoomorphic brooch types.

The example pictured above, a horse brooch dating to the 1st to 3rd Centuries AD, while not unknown, is a very uncommon type. It has been modeled in the round rather than as a flat plate with pin on the reverse. For more details, it may be viewed here: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i475.html

 Far more typical of Roman brooches depicting mammals is the example above of a so-called “horse and rider” brooch. As is frequently the case, the schematically rendered rider has broken away but the Celtic style horse is well defined and shows a strong sense of movement. This type, dating to the 3rd or 4th Century, may have been closely associated with the Roman army. The bronze has been tinned to resemble silver. For more details on this example, go here: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i474.html

In addition to mammals (rabbits or hares, dogs, horses, etc.), birds were a popular source of inspiration for Roman craftsmen involved in making brooches. The superb example above, depicting a duck in resting posture with wings folded back, illustrates the use of enamel decoration on Roman brooches. In this case, the wings have a piriform cell containing blue enamel surrounded by red with another stretch of blue enamel around that. In addition, the animal itself is depicted in a highly naturalistic way; even the duck’s eye has been indicated with a tiny point of incision. For more on this example, go here: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i489.html

An uncommon type of bird brooch, dating to the 2nd or 3rd Century AD, is illustrated above. This example appears to depict a dove or small water bird. Unusually for zoomorphic brooches, it’s original pin and coil are intact. Unlike many zoomorphic types that were also popular on the European continent, this specific type appears to be unique to Roman Britain. More about this example here: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i476.html

For many more examples of brooches, mainly Roman, of many different types, visit the “Ancient Jewelry and Personal Adornment” section of our website at: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c19_p1.html

All the brooches presented above are individual UK metal detector finds, declared not treasure and legally exported.

For further study, we recommend the following sources:

Roman Brooches in Britain, a Technological and Typological Study Based on the Richborough Collection, The Society of Antiquaries of London, 2004

AND

A Visual Catalogue of Richard Hattat’s Ancient Brooches, Oxbow Books, Oxford, 2007

Amateur speleologists in Rome are mapping the city's network of 11 ancient aqueducts for the first time in modern history.

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-roman-aqueducts-20140101,0,2669673.story#axzz2pLPIhQw5

Vatican to Open Roman Cemetary to Public

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25421841

Well, this is going to cause a stir...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2522067/Chinas-Terracotta-Army-inspired-ancient-GREEK-art-claims-expert.html

Antiquity of the Week: Roman Enameled and Tinned Bronze Rabbit Brooch

Our selection for "Antiquity of the Week" is this very small but remarkable Romano-British rabbit brooch with surviving traces of a tin coating (to resemble silver) and enamel decoration.

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i506.html

CULTURE / REGION OF ORIGIN: Roman England but of Continental origin.

DATE: 1^st or 2^nd Century AD

DIMENSIONS:  2.3 cm (0.90 in.)

DESCRIPTION: A remarkable and very uncommon type of Roman rabbit brooch, of the so-called "Rabbit with Young" type - so named because the 2 cells in the surface each form of a small seated rabbit.  These rabbit cells still contain traces of the original red enamel fill, while the surface around them shows remains of tinning. The animal's front and back legs are delicate and clearly represented, with an overall naturalistic body. The tiny head is now missing. The back is flat and undecorated with the hinge and catch plate for the now missing pin still present. The UK Portable Antiquities Scheme's vast database contains only 11 examples of rabbit brooches, found in England but mostly of Continental origin, probably from Gaul, and only a few of these are the "Rabbit with Young" variety. A tiny, remarkable and very uncommon type at a very reasonable price.

PROVENANCE: UK metal detecting find, declared not Treasure and legally exported.

COMPARISONS: For a nearly identical example, also missing part of the head and the pin, see the UK Portable Antiquities Database at www.finds.org.uk, Unique ID: SF-D91D84

Exhibits at The Getty Villa

As always, there are some great exhibitions ongoing at the Getty Villa in Malibu. Here’s one, running through March 3, 2013 –
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/tiberius/

ANTIQUITY OF THE WEEK

OUR OFFERING FOR “ANTIQUITY OF THE WEEK” THIS WEEK IS A SUPERB AND RARE ROMAN GLASS MARBLED UNGUENTARIUM.

Link to this object on our website: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i84.html

CULTURE / REGION OF ORIGIN: Roman Empire; Italy or Eastern Mediterranean.
DATE: First half of the 1st Century CE
DIMENSIONS: 10.2 cm (4 in.) tall

DESCRIPTION: Roman unguentarium of amber-yellow glass with opaque milk-white trailing that has been marvered flush with the vessel’s surface. The vessel’s body is spherical with a slightly concave flattened base without a pontil mark, a tubular neck tapering towards the top, and a rim that folds outward and has been rounded and thickened at the edge. From the base to the rim runs a white spiral trail that makes multiple revolutions and has been dragged up and down six or seven times to create a broad festoon pattern. The vessel has been expertly reassembled from a few large fragments; very stable and otherwise intact.

PROVENANCE: Formerly in a Welsh private collection formed between the 1970s and 2008.

PUBLISHED: Bonhams, London, ANTIQUITIES, 29 April, 2009, Lot #302, listed and illustrated on Page 174.

SPECIAL NOTES: Most early Roman blown glass vessels, such as this example, have pear shaped bodies and continue to use the strong color contrasts of earlier core formed glass. As blown glass became more common and cheaper these strong colors were replaced by simple clear glass, of which many examples are available on our website.

COMPARISONS: E. Marianne Stern, Roman, Byzantine and Early Medieval Glass, 10 BCE-700 CE, Ernesto Wolf Collection, 2001, Cat. Numbers 2, 3 & 4 for closely related examples. Also, Yael Israeli, Wonders of Ancient Glass at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1998, page 26 for several related examples.

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i84.html

Antiquity of the Week

Last week we began a new weekly series, “Antiquity of the Week” to focus on selected examples of ancient art currently on our website at http://www.clioancientart.com/index.html.

This week we offer a large mold-made Roman red slip ware flask from North Africa, dating to the 3rd Century AD. Here are the details –

Web link: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i204.html

Roman Red Slip Ware Flask
CULTURE / REGION OF ORIGIN: Roman North Africa (modern Tunisia)
DATE: Circa 3rd Century CE
DIMENSIONS: 16 cm (5.25 in.) tall.

DESCRIPTION: A Roman North African red slip pottery flask with applied decoration. The fabric is very fine and the vessel thin walled and light. The piriform vessel is decorated with appliques, including nude male figures with drapery, possibly depicting Herakles, on either side, with a lion or panther running beneath. Other appliques include three tall palm branches, one to either side of the handle and one between the male figures, and above each male figure a victor’s crown bearing a pair of laurel sprays and central rosette. The handle is mould made and bears a detailed palm branch in relief along its entire height. A simple double moulding below the mouth defines the decorated area of the vessel’s body, and the mouth itself is flattened, projecting outward. The vessel rests on a small splayed foot. Reassembled from fragments but complete with no fill. An impressive example.

 

PROVENANCE: Ex Dr. Harley Baxter (1947-2009) Collection, Melbourne, Australia.

 

COMPARISONS: For a very closely related example, see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession number 74.51.383, part of the Cesnola Collection, reassembled from fragments: http://metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/74.51.383
Also, John W. Hayes, Roman Pottery in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1976, Number 96 (Plate 12). Also, Christies antiquities sale of 8 June, 2004 (Sale 1384, Lot 166) for another similar example, also reassembled from fragments, that brought $1,434.00.

 

As the demand for high quality Roman red slip pottery, frequently referred to as Samian Ware, outpaced the supply in the 1st Century AD, local imitation and variations sprang up at workshops all around the Mediterranean, especially in North Africa and Asia Minor. The North African examples, made in the Roman province that now corresponds to Tunisia, had the most longevity, with fine quality pottery and oil lamps continuing in production well into the 6th Century.

 

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i204.html

 

Below is a 2nd Century AD example of locally produced red ware from western Asia Minor, gifted by our Trust for Ancient Art and now in the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California.

 

 

 

Fine quality red ware ceramic oil lamps are perhaps the best known output from the North African pottery workshops of the later Roman period. Many examples of 4th Century AD onwards display Christian symbolism. Here is an earlier example of the 2nd Century with an unusual motif of a dwarf or pygmy holding an amphora

 

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i128.html

Antiquity of the Week: Roman Marble Fragmentary Eros Sculpture

Beginning this week we will post detailed information once each week about one particular antiquity from our inventory.

We begin with a Roman marble fragmentary Eros sculpture.
 


Here are the basic facts on this piece -

CULTURE / REGION OF ORIGIN: Roman Empire, possibly western Asia Minor
DATE:1st or 2nd Century CE
DIMENSIONS: 17.2 cm. (6.7 in.) long, 10.8 cm (4.2 in.) wide, 8 cm (3.1 in.) deep

DESCRIPTION:A Roman marble relief fragment of Eros, probably from an architectural relief or sarcophagus panel. the figure’s posture is such that it may be reclining, hovering in a larger scene or stepping downward or forward with the left leg. The figure is preserved from just above the navel to the ankles, with the legs parted, one leg bent at the knee more than the other. The figure has the rounded belly and chubby legs typical of Roman Erotes. The preserved surfaces are smooth, with only a few chips. The marble is medium grained with a faintly tan or beige patina, with a few small areas of darker brown and gray discoloration. The bottom section has received two drill holes in the modern period for mounting on a display stand. The flat back side, possibly the interior wall of the sarcophagus panel, has slight remains of a modern adhesive material.

PROVENANCE: Ex UK Private collection

PUBLISHED: Bonhams, ANTIQUITIES, 1 May, 2008, London, Page 206, illustrated in color on Page 207

The posture and general style of this partially preserved figure of Eros suggest it was once part of a much larger sculpted panel composition on a marble sarcophagus. The particular crystalline characteristics of the marble suggest either an Italian origin or stone from western Asia Minor. From the lateFirst Century BCE onward Roman sarcophagai were frequently adorned all around with deep relief figural sculpture. Some examples are noted in the COMPARISONS below.


COMPARISONS: For related examples of Erotes from sarcophagai, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston website (www.mfa.org/collections/search), Accession Number 76.719 for a fragment of a sarcophagus with Erotes playing with a Silenos mask, one of them having fallen on his back. Also, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston website (www.mfa.org/collections/search, Accession Number 1973.480, with 2 Erotes or Amorini in very high relief, dated 200-225 CE.

 Note that this item will likely be consigned to a one year exhibit of Mediterranean antiquities at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC, beginning Spring of 2014.

Megarian Ware: Transition and Continuity from the Hellenistic to Roman Worlds

Two closely related pottery bowls on our website typify a type of pottery marking the all important transition from the later Hellenistic period to the time of Roman dominance, even before the formal establishment of Rome’s empire, of the broader Mediterranean world. Both bowls are examples of what is generally termed Megarian Ware, a type of pottery produced mainly in Greece and Asia Minor but also with imitative production centers in Italy. Megarian Ware, the name of which comes from 19th Century finds of this pottery near Megara in Greece, offers important insights into the transition from the ubiquitous red figure “painted” pottery of the classical era to the red slip pottery that would come to dominate the Mediterranean world for centuries to come.

LINK: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i202.html

LINK: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i203.html

Both are thin walled bowls and made from fine hard pink clay. One is covered in a deep orange-red slip, the other in a chocolate brown slip. But the most important distinguishing characteristic of both, and of most Megarian Ware, is that they are mold-made, resulting in an all-over pattern of rosettes, laurel leaves and repeating geometric shapes in high relief.

Megarian Wares were distributed over a very wide swath of the Mediterranean and beyond. An example in the British Museum was probably made in Cyprus but was found at Salamanca in Spain: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=392743&partId=1&searchText=Megarian+Ware+Bowl&images=true&page=1

The different color slips used on these bowls is an important factor in understanding the role of pottery in the Hellenistic to Roman Imperial transition. Establishment of a relatively uniform Hellenistic material culture across a great geographic expanse, from South Italy and Sicily in the west to Syria and Mesopotamia in the east, led to the decline of the classical red figure pottery tradition. Potters turned to the mass production technique of stamping out vessels in molds. Some of these featured complex mythological scenes, such as this example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York: http://metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/254263. Dark brown and black slips on Megarian vessels offered a smooth transition from the attractive black slip wares of the later Classical era. A great deal of black to dark brown slip Megarian Ware pottery has been found in Republic level excavations in Rome and its colonies. The orange-red slip examples eventually came to dominate the market and provided the immediate inspiration, at least in color and fabric, for the fine, hard Roman red wares developed in Gaul and Northern Italy in the late Republic. These would “spin off” countless imitations at workshops all over the Mediterranean world, finally concluding with the red ware of Roman North Africa in the 3rd, 4th and 5th Centuries.

Here is an example formerly with our Trust for Ancient Art, gifted in 2010 to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA, produced in Asia Minor in the 2nd half of the 1st Century AD:

And here is a 3rd Century example currently on our website of later North African red ware:

                                       LINK:http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i204.html

Labor Day Sale!

 Hello Clio Customers, Friends & Fans:

Weekend Only Flash Sale -- Beginning this Friday, August 30, 12:00 Noon Eastern Standard Time, ending Monday, September 2, 12:00 Noon Eastern Standard Time.

15% OFF ALL ANTIQUITIES
10% OFF ALL ANCIENT COINS
10% OFF EVERYTHING IN OUR BOOKS, CATALOGS, FRAMED & UNFRAMED ART SECTION

Website: http://www.clioancientart.com/

We've also added several nice ancient coins to our ancient coins section (21 lots to choose from: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c18_p1.html), as well as several nice Roman and Viking small bronze objects (fibulae and rings). Here are some links -
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i449.html
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i445.html
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i452.html
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i454.html
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i453.html

Finally, we have just 26 days left in our crowd funding campaign for the Ancient Art Trust and we've raised only $417 of our $2,000 target. If you can, please consider a gift of any amount to help us continue our important work with museums and universities: http://igg.me/at/Ancient-Art-Education-for-All/x/4074220

Thanks again for looking and best wishes,

Chris M. Maupin
Clio Ancient Art and Antiquities
Chris Maupin Trust for Ancient Art

A Few More Additions To Our Website...

All very simple and affordable. Links directly to the detail pages for these items are included here.

Roman Empire, Aurelian, AD 317-326. Silvered Antoninianus

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i451.html

Roman Knee Fibula (Brooch)

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i452.html

Viking Bronze Penannular Brooch

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i449.html

Roman "Kraftig Profilierte" Fibula (Brooch)

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i454.html

Antiquities Added to Our Website

We've added several items to our online stock of antiquities, many of them quite affordable. Here's a sample (with links):

 

Roman Enameled Bronze Finger Ring

CULTURE / REGION OF ORIGIN: Roman Empire (England)
DATE: 2^nd-early 4th Century CE
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i445.html 

 
Crispus, Son of Constantine the Great
 Caesar, AD 317-326. Bronze AE-3
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i446.html

Postumus, British Usurper Emperor 
AD 260-269. Silver Antoninianus
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i448.html 

More items being added next week (1st week of September). Check back frequently at:
http://www.clioancientart.com/index.html 

 

Small Roman Bronze Art and Artifacts

Among the most common Roman antiquities available on the legitimate market are small Roman
bronzes. Apart from bronze coins, these take a great diversity of forms:

* Utilitarian objects such as knife handles, simple brooches, keys and cosmetic applicators.
* Decorative items such as furniture attachments and jewelery.
* Religious items, including statuettes and votive objects.

Small bronzes are relatively common detector and field walking finds. The range of small Roman bronzes available on the Clio Ancient Art website offers a good sample. All these come from either UK metal detector finds that were declared to be “not treasure” under UK law and legally exported or from very old private collections predating the imposition of current laws governing antiquities export from some source countries.

The bronze handle pictured below, with its decoration and partially preserved iron folding blade, is somewhat atypical in that it is quite well preserved. Such objects would have been carried by soldiers, farmers and farm hands.

                   Link to this object: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i158.html

Pictured below is a Roman key ring. Keys were often made integral parts of rings to avoid their being lost. This example has been combined with part of a late Roman lock mechanism. Many examples of both types of object frequently appear on the market.

Link to this object: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i47.html

A surprising range of highly decorative small Roman bronzes are available on the market. Pictured below is a heavy, well preserved, though somewhat incomplete, dolphin. This served as either a handle or a hasp (part of the closure mechanism) from a chest or cabinet most likely made of wood.

Link to this object: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i105.html

A surprising amount of Roman jewelery was made from bronze, not precious metals. Pictured below is an assembled group of 3 Roman bronze jewelery items. In this context, the term “assembled” means the objects do not come from the same context. They are all Roman but vary in date and place of origin. This mix of copper alloy bead, inscribed finger ring and child’s bracelet with simplified snake head terminals offers a desirable cross section of Roman bronze jewelery.

Link to this Object: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i196.html

Among the most popular types of small Roman bronzes with serious collectors are statuettes of deities, both female and male. In addition to the “household god” or Lar, usually kept in a shrine and the center of the extended family cult, other specific deities were portrayed. The choice of deity was usually dictated by personal preference or a perceived need on the part of the devotee. Always popular was Eros, the god of love (sometimes called Cupid). The fine example shown below was found at Silchester, England.

Link to this object: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i252.html

Throughout the Roman world it was customary to follow older spiritual traditions, including the deposition of small votive objects at open air shrines, in springs or sources of running water and other sacred sites. These often represented body parts, in the hope of a cure or speedy recovery or as thanks for the same. The bronze foot wearing a sandal pictures below might at first appear to be broken away from a larger statuette, as is often the case but a small casting mark at its top shows that this was created as a complete object for votive purposes.

Link to this object:http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i440.html

Many more examples of small Roman bronzes may be viewed on our website, along with dozens of Roman antiquities in glass, stone and other materials, at these pages:

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c15_p1.html
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c16_p1.html
http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c17_p1.html

Our First Antiquities Informational Video

 Something new: our first antiquities informational video. This one deals with the question of determining authenticity. We'll improve the sound and lighting on future vids, which will deal with many other aspects of the antiquities trade as well as specific types of antiquities by material, culture, date, etc. Hoping to post new vids every week to ten days. Comments welcome.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jdr0V3fQfQ&feature=youtu.be 

 

 

Our website: www.clioancientart.com

Ancient Classical Coins: Beauty and Diversity

Over the years Clio Ancient Art has sold a great many ancient coins.

While our focus has always been ancient artifacts and art of the Roman, Greek, Byzantine, Cypriot, Egyptian, Near Eastern civilizations, ancient coins are always popular with our customers.

In this Blog entry, which is admittedly as much for pure visual pleasure as for educational value, we offer a very small sample of images of coins we’ve sold in the past couple of years, including Greek, Roman Republic, Roman Imperial and Byzantine coins in silver and bronze, and a few from related cultures.

It may surprise some readers to learn that many ancient coins like those shown here may be purchased for under $100 or even under $50.

To view our current selection of ancient coins go to: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c18_p1.html

 Greek Cities, Kallatis, Silver Octobol, 3rd Century BC

Kingdom of Macedon, Bronze of Philip II, 356-339 BC

                             Roman Republic Silver Denarius of M. Lucillius Rufusus, 101 BC

 Roman Empire, Silver Denarius of Vespasian

 Roman Empire, Silver Denarius of Julia Doman

 

Roman Empire, Silver Denarius of Severus Alexander, AD 222-235

Roman Empire, Silver Antoninianus of Gallienus

Constantine I (The Great) AE3, AD 307-337 

Judean Kingdom Bronze Pruttah of Alexander Jannaeus

Byzantine Empire, bronze Follis of Justinian I

  

 Parthian Kingdom, Silver Drachm of Orodes I, AD 80-90

Late Roman Rod Formed Glass Vase Amulets

Among the more intriguing and beautiful glass antiquities available on our website are three examples of vase amulets dating from the later Roman era. These come in a variety of forms and colors, and first appear in the archaeological record around the mid-3rd Century AD (or CE, if one prefers). Production seems to have begun in the broader Syria / Palestine area, though examples have been found over a very wide area, including western Europe. It is thought that as they spread beyond their initial point of manufacture they were copied by glass artisans elsewhere.

The purpose or symbolism of these objects remains obscure. It has been suggested that their appearance and diffusion is somehow directly connected to the spread of Christianity but there is very little evidence to support this.

These remarkable objects were created by bead makers, not glass blowers. Their structure is basically that of a short tubular bead, closed at one end, tooled to create a neck or mouth, and enhanced with a tiny loop handle and either trailed and marvered  decoration in a contrasting color or a contrasting latticework applied to the body. the first example shown below is an example of the latticework type, while the second and third examples illustrate the trailed decoration.

Links to these objects on our site and “clickable” images -

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i375.html

 

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i376.html

  

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i377.html

For further reading on this class of objects we recommend:

* E. Marianne Stern, Roman, Byzantine, and Early Medieval Glass, 10 BCE – 700 CE, Ernesto Wolf Collection, Osfildern-Ruit, 2001,

* Maud Spaer, Ed., Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum, Beads and Other Small Objects, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2001.

A Few Thoughts About Ancient Coins on Our Website

Although Clio Ancient Art deals primarily in antiquities and ancient art - bronze sculptures and utilitarian objects, glass vessels & objects, ceramic vessels, oil lamps, even textiles - we do try to carry a variety of ancient coins.

Our selection of ancient coins is, admittedly, rather atypical. While many ancient coin dealers focus on strictly "Classical" coins, that is, Greek and Roman coins, we try to offer both these and a wide variety of coins influenced in some way by classical antiquity. These include coins from the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic world, the Indian subcontinent, the European Middle Ages and cultures tangential to the broader Greco-Roman world.

Here are a few samples of both Classical and other ancient and Medieval coins on our website; enjoy  --

*  Roman Empire, Bronze Follis of Maximinus II, AD 310-311: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i275.html

* Roman Provincial, Bronze 4.5 Assaria of Gordion III & Tranquillina: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i427.html

*  Himyarite Kingdom. Amdin Bayyan. Silver Hemiobol. circa AD 100: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i266.html

*  Islamic, Samanid Dynasty, Bronze Fals of Mansur I, AD 961-976: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i425.html

*  India, Western Satraps, Silver Drachm of Rudrasimha II, AD 305-313: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i424.html