#aRTIFACT

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Hot Soup

"Comin' through!" Designed by James Ernest

Artist: David Palumbo TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Child's Writing Exercises and Doodles, from Egypt, c. 1000-1200 CE: this was made by a child who was practicing Hebrew, creating doodles and scribbles on the page as they worked

This writing fragment is nearly 1,000 years old, and it was made by a child who lived in Egypt during the Middle Ages. Several letters of the Hebrew alphabet are written on the page, probably as part of a writing exercise, but the child apparently got a little bored/distracted, as they also left a drawing of a camel (or possibly a person), a doodle that resembles a menorah, and an assortment of other scribbles on the page.

This is the work of a Jewish child from Fustat (Old Cairo), and it was preserved in the collection known as the Cairo Genizah Manuscripts. As the University of Cambridge Library explains:

For a thousand years, the Jewish community of Fustat placed their worn-out books and other writings in a storeroom (genizah) of the Ben Ezra Synagogue ... According to rabbinic law, once a holy book can no longer be used (because it is too old, or because its text is no longer relevant) it cannot be destroyed or casually discarded: texts containing the name of God should be buried or, if burial is not possible, placed in a genizah.

At least from the early 11th century, the Jews of Fustat ... reverently placed their old texts in the Genizah. Remarkably, however, they placed not only the expected religious works, such as Bibles, prayer books and compendia of Jewish law, but also what we would regard as secular works and everyday documents: shopping lists, marriage contracts, divorce deeds, pages from Arabic fables, works of Sufi and Shi'ite philosophy, medical books, magical amulets, business letters and accounts, and hundreds of letters: examples of practically every kind of written text produced by the Jewish communities of the Near East can now be found in the Genizah Collection, and it presents an unparalleled insight into the medieval Jewish world.

Sources & More Info:

Cambridge Digital Library: Writing Exercises with Child's Drawings

Cambridge Digital Library: More About the Cairo Genizah Manuscripts

[zegalba]

A Roman "hologram" effect ring found in the grave of 1st century AD noblewoman, Aebutia Quarta.

The ring is thought to depict her son, Titus Carvilius Gemello, who passed away at age of 18. Found at the Grottaferrata necropolis close to Rome.

[toyastales]

Gold swivel ring featuring an amethyst frog, from the New Kingdom period of Egypt, dating between 1550-1229 BC.

[dorothylarouge]

re-upping pearl hates the irish to preserve internet culture

[the-cricket-chirps]

Egyptian

Game of Hounds and Jackals

Middle Kingdom, ca. 1814-1805 B.C.E.

[artifacts-archive]

Bowl Depicting Foxes* Attacking Human

Nazca, 180 BCE–500 CE

[rthwrms]

parthenon eyes in crocheted embroidery floss

[evilsment]

Guanyin of the Southern Sea

A wood statue of the Chinese-Buddhist deity Guanyin. Made during the Liao (916–1125) or Jin (1115–1234) dynasty.

It’s currently located in The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri.

[luminous-void]

Libero Andreotti, Gorgon, 1911

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Thought Vessel

"The artifact's interaction with the mycoid network seems to allow non-mycoids to connect to the gestalt consciousness. Thus far, all who have done so have fled screaming." —Alvaro, Dusk Legion researcher

Artist: Julie Dillon TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

2,300-Year-Old Plush Bird from the Altai Mountains of Siberia, c.400-300 BCE: this figure was crafted with a felt body and reindeer-fur stuffing, all of which remains intact

This plush bird was sealed within the frozen barrows of Pazyryk, Siberia, for more than two millennia, where a unique microclimate enabled it to be preserved. The permafrost ice lense formation that runs below the barrows provided an insulating layer, preventing the soil from heating during the summer and allowing it to quickly freeze during the winter; these conditions produced a separate microclimate within the stone walls of the barrows themselves, thereby aiding in the preservation of the artifacts inside.

This is just one of the many well-preserved artifacts that have been found at Pazyryk. These artifacts are attributed to the Scythian/Altaic cultures.

Currently housed at the Hermitage Museum.

[zegalba]

The Viking Age ring with the Arabic inscription

“for Allah” The Birka Ring

Featuring a pink-violet colored stone with an inscription that reads “for Allah” or “to Allah,” the silver ring was found during the 1872-1895 excavations of grave fields at the Viking age trading center of Birka, some 15.5 miles west of Stockholm.

[mcdolann]

the absolute can’t get to me now

[blogfanreborn777]

Tesham Mutna Sword by Manuel Castañón

[artifacts-archive]

Pendant with an Intaglio of the Judgment of Paris

European, 16th century