1969.S.6 Standing Figure
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Small in stature but monumental in visual impact, this standing figure is highly stylized. There are no eyes, only a nose with slanted nostril-like perforations on its concave face. Below, a hole probably represents a mouth. One of the pierced ears carries an ornamental stalk. Beneath the angular neck, relief-carved arms frame a prominent herniated navel.
1969.S.76.A-B Divining object (_itombwa_ or _itoom_) in the form of an animal
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Carved in the form of a crocodile, this instrument was used to reveal the cause of misfortune or solutions to problems. Warthogs, lizards, and dogs are other animals considered essential to the efficacy of the oracle in accomplishing its goal. The sides of the animal are decorated with carefully carved patterns and the back is purposefully flat.
2014.4.1.McD Four horn community power figure (nkisi)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Minkisi are said to be more important to the Songye peoples than are ancestor figures, which serve as vessels for the spirits of their ancestors. Songye minkisi are made in a variety of sizes according to their use, either personal or communal, and are figurative and non-figurative.
2004.48.9, Perruches vase, Rene Jules Lalique (designer), c. 1919
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
French glass designer René Jules Lalique's oviform molded blue glass vase depicts a pair of lovebirds, or parakeets, amid leafy branches in medium relief.
2009.25.4, Scarab, Egypt, Second Intermediate Period, 1785-1550 B.C.E., faience
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Small scarab amulets were common objects in ancient Egyptian funerary burial practice as devices to ward off evil and promote rebirth.
2009.25.3, Thoth, Egypt, 1550-1085 B.C.E., stone
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Thoth, god of wisdom, learning, science, and medicine, was also a patron of art and scribes who recorded the judgment on the dead in the afterworld.
2009.25.1, Coin of Lysimachos of Thrace (obverse: Alexander as Zeus Ammon), Early Hellenistic period, c. 300 B.C.E.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This coin issued by Lysimachos, who ruled Thrace from 306 to 281 BCE, features a portrait of Alexander of Macedon (known to history as Alexander the Great) on the obverse, and seated Athena holding Nike on the reverse.
2001.332, Bust of a man, Syria/Palmyra, Roman period, mid 2nd century C.E., carved limestone
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This carved limestone bust of a man, part of a Palmyrene funerary relief, reflects the cultural and religious ideas of Roman Syria, embodying a fusion of Near Eastern beliefs and realistic Roman portraiture styles. The stylized treatment of the hair and eyes combined wi
2004.48.8, Archers vase, Rene Jules Lalique (designer), French, c. 1921
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
French glass designer René Jules Lalique's thick butterscotch colored molded glass vase depicts nude male archers with drawn bows beneath a sky of swooping birds.