It's Always Nice to Get Positive Press Coverage...

http://www.wilmingtonbiz.com/retail/2014/01/03/clio_debuts_in_wilmington/11225

Holiday Gift Giving Preview

With the holiday season approaching, it’s time to begin thinking about appropriate gifts. Clio Ancient Art and Antiquities offers a wide selection of genuinely unique items, in every price range, for the art collector, history enthusiast or other difficult to shop for recipient on your list. 

Many genuine, fine quality items may be had for less than $100, as well as far more expensive antiquities for the discerning collector. Of course, we will be adding more fine items to our stock as the holidays approach but this is just a sample of some popular, less expensive holiday gift items. Enjoy.

 

 

Egyptian Faience Bead Necklace, 300 BC-200 AD, $255

 

 

 

 

 

 http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i289.html

Early Roman Bronze Brooch, $92.50

 

 

 http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i459.html

Postumus, British Usurper Emperor AD 260-269. Silver Antoninianus, $42.50

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i448.html 

Roman Glass Pendant Beads, 4th-5th Century, $87.50

 http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i36.html

Roman Provincial Coin, Orichalcum 5 Assarion of Gordion III

AD 238-244

http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i426.html 

Roman Empire, Bronze AE3 of Constantius II, AD 337-361, $28.50

 http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i455.html

Byzantine Pottery Oil Lamp, Holy Land, 6^th Century AD. $155.00

 http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i404.html

Byzantine Openwork Cross and Pelta Buckle, 7th Century, $157.50  

 http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i188.html  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trust for Ancient Art Crowdfunding Campaign: 12 Days Remaining…

We have 12 days remaining (ending September 24, 2013, 11:59 pm Pacific Time) in our Trust for Ancient Art funding campaign and we’ve raised $417 of our $2,000 goal. We are using the “Flexible Funding” model, meaning the campaign will receive all funds raised even if it does not reach its goal.

If you’ve been following the progress of our campaign on Indiegogo, you are aware of the work our Trust has done, gifting over 40 examples of ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Cypriot and Near Eastern art to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California, the University of Missouri at Kansas City Classical Studies Program, and the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina. But all the antiquities set aside in 2010 for gifting have now been disbursed, and with the demands of Clio Ancient Art and family, we can no longer fund the Trust entirely out of pocket. Hence, the phenomenon of “crowdfunding”, using the Indiegogo website ( http://igg.me/at/Ancient-Art-Education-for-All/x/4074220 ).

Here is the Campaign’s Indiegogo web page: http://igg.me/at/Ancient-Art-Education-for-All/x/4074220. It includes:
* Detailed descriptions of what the Trust does and why, what it has accomplished so far, and plans for the future.
* Periodic updates.
* Short video appeal.
* Photo gallery of every antiquity the Trust has gifted to date.
* Descriptions of “perks” we’re offering to donors at various levels.

All funds will be directed toward acquiring and dispersing appropriate examples of ancient art to carefully selected public museums and university collections. The Trust is not a registered non-profit, tax exempt. Gifts are not tax deductible. For some donors this may mean it makes more sense to give a modest gift of $30-50, rather than a large gift. We accept gifts of any amount in US, Canadian, Australian and UK currencies. Only 2 donors have so far claimed their ancient Roman coin “perks” so we have plenty of these left if you wish to donate $30 or more (31 Canadian Dollars or 19 British Pounds).

Please visit the Trust’s page on Indiegogo, read through it, view the objects we’ve gifted, watch the short video. No doubt you will find this effort worthy of a contribution.

Meanwhile, a few exciting developments to share with you –

* We are in discussions with the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC about initiating a temporary gallery of ancient Mediterranean art sometime next year. This would utilize the Mint’s existing collection of antiquities (long hidden in storage and never shared with the public), gifts from our own Clio Ancient Art, and from private owners. As the Trust has now gifted all its holdings and is working to acquire more (part of the idea behind this campaign), Clio will offer several high quality items for display in this exhibit, part of a 1-year loan.

* We have completed the process of working with the Mint Museum to properly classify and catalog the 120 or so antiquities so long hidden in their basement, allowing us to assist them in possibly purging the collection of less display-worthy items.

* We have identified a source for several quality Trust acquisitions for next year. Once this campaign has ended we will share more details on this point with donors to the campaign.

* Finally, curatorial staff at the Mint Museum continue to share their enthusiasm for the 14th Century Medieval English floor tile gifted to them by the Trust last month. They recognize it as an important addition, filling a major gap in their extensive holdings of English ceramic materials.

Thanks again to everyone who has made a gift so far. Your perks will mail out the last week of September. And please continue to share information about our campaign to all who might be interested, at http://igg.me/at/Ancient-Art-Education-for-All/x/4074220

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

Roman limestone figure of a partially draped youth with pomegranate and bird, 1st-2nd Century, gifted to the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA, May, 2012

Our New Vimeo and YouTube Accounts

We’ve received such a positive response overall on our antiquities informational videos (2 so far) that it seemed a good idea to share with everyone our Vimeo and YouTube pages. I’m partial to Vimeo myself; they have better tools for editing and enhancing vids and a more culturally literate viewing population:
Here is a link to Clio Ancient Art & Antiquities Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/clioantiquities
Here is a link to Clio Ancient Art & Antiquities YouTube Channel:  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdFmlhmTETtLrK6CEsvDHHg

Website Update - Ancient Coins & More!

Hello Customers, Friends & Fans of Clio Ancient Art:

Just a note to let you know we have updated our website’s Ancient Coins page to include some superb Roman Provincial, Elymais, early Islamic and Indian coins in bronze and silver. Along with Roman Imperial, Himyarite, Byzantine, Crusader and Armenian coins, we have a total of 16 specimens available -- http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c18_p1.html

Of course, we also have over 120 more examples of ancient art available, including –

·         Ancient Glass - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c13_p1.html and http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c24_p1.html

·         Ancient Oil Lamps - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c14_p1.html

·         Cypriot Ceramics - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c1_p1.html

·         Egyptian Antiquities - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c2_p1.html

·         Greek Antiquities - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c3_p1.html

·         Roman Antiquities - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c15_p1.html and  http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c16_p1.html and http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c17_p1.html

·         Byzantine, Near Eastern, early Islamic, Etruscan, Medieval and Migration Period antiquities - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c26_p1.html and http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c21_p1.html

We’ve also added several volumes to our Art, Books & Publications page - http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/c25_p1.html  and we’ve updated our Sold Antiquities pages - http://www.clioancientart.com/id24.html and http://www.clioancientart.com/id25.html

Lastly, we’ve added a new Travelogues entry, a stroll through Herculaneum - http://www.clioancientart.com/id22.html

Do let us know if you find anything on our website to be of interest.

As always, thanks for looking and best wishes,

Chris M. Maupin

Clio Ancient Art & Antiquities

338 S. Sharon Amity Rd #407

Charlotte, NC 28211

704-293-3411 / chris@clioancientart.com

PS: Follow us on Facebook at - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Clio-Ancient-Art-Antiquities/247378388593

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM A BUCKLE?

In a recent blog entry we examined characteristics of a 5^th-6^th Century Frankish cloissone’ silver buckle (http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i163.html), a high status object. In this entry we will examine aspects of some rather more mundane but also much more typical buckles from Late Antiquity and the transitional period involving the migration of peoples into Europe, the end of Roman authority in the west and the consolidation of Roman power in the east (the Byzantine Empire).

A group of 5 Visigoth bronze belt plates on our website (http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i125.html), found in Spain and formerly in both an old Spanish and a California private collection, date to the 5^th and 6^th Centuries. By the early 6^th Century, what is now the Iberian Peninsula was no longer part of the Roman world but largely under the control of the Visigoth Kingdom. The material culture and art of the Visigoths, their close relatives the Ostrogoths and Heruli, and other migratory people who settled in the former European provinces of the Roman Empire, focused on small, finely crafted objects, including jewelry and articles of personal dress. Such objects made from precious metals and adorned with cloissone’, gilding and other high status techniques tend to receive much attention in museum exhibitions and catalogs but these are not typical. Most personal dress items, such as the buckles listed here, were crafted from bronze or iron and decorated with simple incising or chip carving.

Some common iconographic themes among all these objects include bird heads with large beaks, presumably raptors, and quadra pedal animals, usually quite stylized and sometimes nearly impossible to make out amidst a mass of contorted ornamentation. Viewing a close up of our group (http://webhosting.web.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=actual&linkpath=http://www.clioancientart.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Products/CA-09-126.JPG&target=tlx_new&title=A%20%20Group%20of%20Visigothic%20Bronze%20Belt%20Plates%20and%20Fragments) the small belt plate in the center is a good example of the large beaked bird motif. The 2 buckle plates on the left clearly portray animals of some type but any specific identification is impossible. The buckle 2^nd from right may include both animal and bird elements but these are far less distinct than on the other plates. A very clear related example of the beaked bird motif may be seen here (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=95393&partId=1&searchText=Byzantine+buckle&images=true&&page=1 ) on 2 mounts with all-over cloisonné garnet inlays in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, dating to the late 4^th-5^th Century, found at Kerch in the Crimea.

Buckles provide a remarkable insight into the transition of the formerly Roman European provinces into the semi-Barbarous states established by the now settled “Migration Period” peoples. In the later days of Roman control in western Europe, specifically the late 4^th and the 5^th Century, very large numbers of officers in the Roman army were of “barbarian” extraction, some rising to very high office. Increasingly, the weapons and objects of personal adornments used by Roman troops and their non-Roman opponents converged in terms of materials, effectiveness and even decorative treatment.  To illustrate the point, a late Roman (4^th-5^th Century) chip carved buckle in the British Museum (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=86295&partId=1&searchText=Roman%20chip%20carved%20buckle) shows a remarkable similarity in its surface treatment, which is chip-carved, to a Germanic, possibly Gepid, chip carved buckle, also in the British Museum (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=85657&partId=1&searchText=Germanic+buckle&images=true&page=1).

This convergence of styles was far less pronounced in the eastern provinces of the Empire – what we now call the Byzantine Empire (though the Byzantines themselves would not have understood this term, as they simply thought of themselves as Romans). A couple of complete belt buckles on our website, cast in the “cross and pelta” style, illustrate this: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i188.html and http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i189.html. These show no hint of influence from the migratory cultures that had overrun the west. Their clean and solid lines suggest stability and authority. Far wealthier than the western provinces, and with central authority concentrated at Constantinpolis, the east was able, for the most part, to stay out of the chaotic relationships among the new semi-barbarous European kingdoms, and even to repel onslaughts from other migratory groups in the east, such as the Slavs, Avars, Alans and Huns.

Early Medieval Cloissone Decoration and a Frankish Connection on Our Website

Cloisonné was very popular decorative technique during the transitional period from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages. The name is derived from the French word “cloison” meaning “cell”. This refers to the technique of creating individual spaces by using thin metal wires or panels and filling these cells with garnets or other semi-precious stones or with colored enamel (glass paste). The most expensive cloisonné decoration involved garnets, typically imported from Sri Lanka. Enamel cloisonné was far more common and used on buckles and strap ends, weapon handles and scabbards, brooches, jewelry and many other small objects.

Although colored enamel decoration on metalwork had a long history in pre-Roman Europe, continuing through the Roman period in the western provinces, the particular type of cloisonné we are concerned with here seems to have reached Europe by contact with the migratory cultures of Goths, Vandals, Franks and others during the 4^th Century CE. This contact involved controlled settlement of some populations in exchange for military service, direct conflict with other groups (sometimes defeated militarily, sometimes paid off and kept at bay beyond the Roman frontiers) and forcible occupation of Roman territory, changing the cultural, political and artistic landscape of Europe over the next few centuries.

One object offered on our website, a Merovingian Frankish silver and cloisonné buckle dating to the 5^th or 6^th Century CE, is a high quality and illustrative example of this technique. Found in France and for many years in an old English private collection, this object (which may be found here: http://www.clioancientart.com/catalog/i163.html ) features a deep red roughly heart shaped glass panel set into the silver buckle plate. 

During conservation work on the Staffordshire Hoard, which includes many small objects decorated in cloisonné technique, conservators at the British Museum have had the opportunity to study in detail methods used in assembling such objects. Of special interest is how the amber and other colored glass was made to adhere to the metal. Combined with earlier research on the Viking Sutton Hoo treasure, this has shown that various types of complex patterned metal foils were used both to assist in making the enamel adhere securely to the object and to accentuate its reflectivity, making the enamel “stones” sparkle by allowing light to pass through and bounce off the foil patterns beneath. They also found that in some cases during the many centuries they lay in the ground, the leaching of soil into the spaces between the enamel and the metal foils compromised this reflectivity, clouding the effect.

In the case of our Frankish buckle, this has also proven to be the case. While still beautiful in color, the fifteen hundred years this object spent in the ground resulted in a loss of the “sparkle” that would have been so obvious when the object’s former owner wore it. Like so many other antiquities that have been changed in color, texture or completeness by the passage of time, we must use or imaginations to visualize this object in its original appearance. Perhaps this is part of the allure of antiquities: not quite being able to touch the original reality of an object. As Leonard Barkan pointed out in his remarkable book Unearthing the Past, Archaeology and Aesthetics in the Making of Renaissance Culture –

“…anything that is uncompleted or has been robbed of its completeness by the passage of time both fascinates us and offers us the special vantage point from which the salient characteristics of moments in history are divulged. Or perhaps the fragment reveals one of our salient characteristics: the wish to enter historical moments via their breaks or discontinuities.”