A brief sampling of images I have been collecting of late, of the ancient world... it never ceases to amaze me the range of creativity over the many eons of human existence. Intaglio of Julia, daughter of Titus. Aquamarine (2nd half of 1st CE) signed Evodos. Carolingian frame (9th) surrounded by 9 sapphires and 6 pearls. 700BC-650 BCE Tridacna squamosa shell carved with a human head on the apex and two incised winged sphinxes in a register on the edge of the inner side. E.MED - PHOENICIAN found probably in Vulci Italy, exact production site unclear British Museum Ancient Geek Jewelry Calima / Tumaco-La Tolita stamp seal. Columbia / Ecuador circa 300 BC. The seal is incised with a whorl pattern and has remains of red cinnabar in incisions. Faience inlay in the form of an owl, from Egypt, 525-305 BC Ancient Greek silver and garnet bowl, Hellenistic period, circa 1st century BC Vessel, Maya, 650-800 Seated Figure Urn, AD 300-600, Zapotec; Oaxaca Babylonian and Assyrian cylinder seals in 19th century gold settings. The seals, which date from circa 2000-600 BC, were collected by Sir Austin Henry Layard, who had them made into jewelry as a wedding present for his bride Enid in 1869. The Lycurgus Cup: This extraordinary cup is the only complete example of a very special type of glass, known as dichroic, which changes colour when held up to the light. The opaque green cup turns to a glowing translucent red when light is shone through it. The glass contains tiny amounts of colloidal gold and silver, which give it these unusual optical properties. Europe AD 300-1100. A Jedmet Nasr red stone cylinder seal, circa 3000 BC The Snettisham Hoard, Iron Age, ca. 75 BC About 2,700 years old. From western Turkey, this could be the oldest coin found to date. In the British Museum. Made with electrum, an alloy of gold and silver.
