#bronze artifacts

[blueiscoool]

Ancient Roman Bronze Bird Finial 2nd century AD

[holidaysincambodia]

Sumerian/Mesopotamian Amulet Seal in the Form of a Bull, c. 3250 BCE.

[ltwilliammowett]

For the first time in millennia, a Magan Boat sails off the coast of Abu Dhabi. It’s a reconstruction that has taught the world much about the skill and achievements of Bronze Age sailors

Archaeology on Marawah Island, west of Abu Dhabi, has revealed that 8,000 years ago the Arabian coast was home to a sophisticated seafaring people. They built stone structures, herded livestock, fished and dived for pearls, crafted jewelry, and developed a talent for sailing that started a remarkable cultural exchange.

By the Bronze Age, around 4,500 years ago, the region was prominent enough to have a name in ancient writings: Magan. From the island of Umm an-Nar, in modern Abu Dhabi which was part of ancient Magan, merchants sailed an international trade route that connected Mesopotamia, in what is now Iraq, to the Indus Valley in today’s India and Pakistan. Magan traded locally sourced pearls, stone and copper, one of the most sought-after commodities of the time, for ceramics, fabrics, jewelry, and other precious objects. Its ships were renowned through the Arabian Gulf.

The ship was built using 15 tons of locally sourced reeds that were painstakingly prepared by being soaked, stripped of leaves, crushed, and then tied into bundles using rope made from date palm fibers. These formed the hull, to which was attached a wooden frame. The boat’s dimensions were calculated based on what is known about similar vessels as well as hydrostatic analysis of what was needed to make it float. The reed hull was then waterproofed with a coating of bitumen, which was traded from Iraq. The heavy sail, raised purely by muscle without the benefit of pulleys, was crafted of goat’s hair in a patchwork of shades.

The result was the world’s largest ever reconstructed Bronze Age vessel: 60 feet long, capable of carrying 36 tons of cargo, and achieving surprisingly high speeds of 5.6 knots.

[uncleclaudius]

Details of an enormous bronze cauldron discovered a few years ago by French archaeologists near the town of Lavau in a tomb of a Celtic nobleman. The burial dates to around 500 BC and the cauldron itself is of Etruscan or Greek manufacture, showcasing the extensive trade links during the period.

[the-cricket-chirps]

Bronze statuette of a dog

Roman

2nd-3rd century CE

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Prehistoric Figurine of a Harp Player, from the Cyclades (Greece), c. 2700-2300 BCE: this figurine was shaped from a block of solid marble and then slowly sanded into form using pumice and emery

The figurine depicts a musician with a frame harp, an instrument that originated in the Near East and then later spread to the peoples of the Aegean. A sound box forms the section along the base of the instrument, and a small protrusion can be seen near the top of the harp's frame; some experts have argued that this protrusion might represent an ornamental carving of a waterfowl's head, while others argue that it represents a musical extension that facilitates the projection of sound (a feature that often appears on the stringed instruments of the ancient Near East).

This piece measures 35.8cm (about 14 inches) tall.

Musical performances like this are rarely depicted in Cycladic artwork. Depictions of male characters are similarly rare, representing only 5% of the Cycladic sculptures that are known to exist. When male figures are depicted, however, they are frequently shown playing musical instruments, as seen here.

Figurine of a Harpist, c. 2800-2700 BCE: a similar example of a Cycladic sculpture that features a musician with a frame harp

The Museum of Cycladic Art provides a more detailed explanation of the process by which these figures were created:

As we can deduce from the few unfinished figurines that have been discovered so far, the first step in the process was to roughly shape the raw piece of marble into a figure by the impact of a mallet. Emery powder was then used to abrade the surface until it obtained the desired shape and size. Once the desired shape was achieved, the surface was smoothed carefully before the fine work of carving the details started. At the end, the figurine was polished to a high degree that is still amazing.

And according to The Met:

Many of these figures, especially those of the Spedos type, display a remarkable consistency in form and proportion that suggests they were planned with a compass. Scientific analysis has shown that the surface of the marble was painted with mineral-based pigments—azurite for blue and iron ores, or cinnabar for red.

The Cycladic Islands (also known as the Cyclades) are a group of about 30 separate islands in the Southwest Aegean, off the coast of mainland Greece. These islands contain a wealth of natural resources, including marble, emery, pumice, obsidian, and an assortment of precious metals. The prehistoric peoples of the Cyclades made use of these resources for many different purposes, but the marble figurines/sculptures that they crafted during the Bronze Age are perhaps their most famous creation.

The vast majority of these figurines are stylized depictions of the female form. The cultural significance of the sculptures remains unclear; they may have simply been created as decorative pieces/artwork, without any additional function, or they may have been used as fetishes, totems, religious idols, grave goods, or votive offerings.

Sources & More Info:

The Getty Museum: Figurine of a Harp Player

The Met: Cycladic Harp Player

The Met: Early Cycladic Art and Culture

The Museum of Cycladic Art: Techniques

[toyastales]

Roman bronze lamp. Dated to the 2nd century CE.

[artifacts-archive]

Bronze Mirror with a Support in the Form of a Draped Woman

Greek, mid-5th century BCE

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Bronze Sable

The Champion stood alone between the horde of the Returned and the shrine to Karametra, cutting down scores among hundreds. She would have been overcome if not for the aid of the temple guardians whom Karametra awakened. —*The Theriad*

Artist: Jasper Sandner TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[molkolsdal]

A domestic object: spoon with a large scutiform bowl. The handle has a small, apparently male figure at the end.

Bannu, 2nd century - 3rd century AD

[michael-svetbird]

THE BRONZES OF SAN MARIANO Exhibit: A collection of Etruscan bronze artefacts dating 6 BC, discovered in 1812 in the municipality of Corciano, San Mariano, 13 km west of Perugia, combined and displayed together [for the 1st time] in -Museo Archeologico dell'Umbria. The bronzes are from: - Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia - Staatlichen Antikensammlungen, Monaco - The British Museum, London - Staaliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin - Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen - Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris - Musée du Louvre, Paris

Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell’Umbria, Perugia | MANU [Floor 1]

Web : https://www.musei.umbria.beniculturali.it/musei/museo-archeologico-nazionale-dellumbria

FB : https://www.facebook.com/MANUmbria

IG : @ museoarcheologicoumbria

👉 Pic 01: Zeus defats a giant [gigantomachia] Fragment of Etruscan chariot external decorative plate covering, Bronze with paint overlay, 530-520 BC.

👉 Pic 02: Griffin and Leopards-? Fragments of Etruscan furniture or box decorative plate coverings, 550-520 BC.

👉 Pic 03: 2 Leopards [close-up] Fragment of Etruscan furniture or box covering, 550-520 BC.

👉 Pics 04-06 | Fragments | Close-ups: Heracles fights with Ares and his son Cycnus [in presence of Hera-? behind them]. The Amazons, daughters of Ares, arrive at a gallop [on the right]. Another interpretation - Amazonomachy: Heracles fights with 2 Amazons in hoplite armour, other Amazons on approach [the 9th Labour-?]. Fragments a chariot [probably] external decorative plate covering, 520 BC. [Pic 05: ©MANU | The image is not in public domain].

👉 Pic 07: The group of 3 vertical plates with mythological figures: Chimera and Hermes; Artemis-? and Demeter-?; Paris-? and a goddess. Furniture, altar or throne coverings, 520-510 BC.

👉 Pic 08: Sphinx or Griffin, Furniture Covering-?; Winged Goddess Bronze Statuette [1 of 2], 550-500 BC.

👉 Pic 09: Sphinx, Fragment of a chariot covering, 530-520 BC; Lion's Head, Fragment of a chariot or furniture covering, 560-500 BC; Fragment of a female statuette [Kora-?], 550-540 BC.

👉 Pic 10: Research drawings by Walter Briziarelli [1913-1975], a Perugia-born Architect, Museologist, Illustrator and Designer, study 1953-57 https://www.briziarelli.it/walter-briziarelli/walter-briziarelli-biografia.html ©MANU | The image is not in public domain

MANU | Michael Svetbird phs©msp | 07|07|24 6300X5200 600 [I.-X.] The photographed objects are collection items of MANU and other Museums mentioned above [Non-commercial fair use | No AI | Author rights apply | Sorry for the watermarks]

📸 Part of the "Small-Format Sculpture and Miniature Artifacts" MSP Online Photo-gallery:

👉 D-ART: https://www.deviantart.com/svetbird1234/gallery/69450077/small-format-sculpture-and-miniature-artifacts

👉 FB Album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.859777984390780&type=3

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[blueiscoool]

2,700-Year-Old Urartu bronze Shields and Helmet Discovered in Turkey

Three bronze shields and a bronze helmet dedicated to Haldi, the chief god of the Urartians, were discovered during excavations at the Ayanis Castle in Van province in eastern Türkiye.

The discovery was announced on the social media account of Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism.

Ayanis Castle was built on a rocky hill close to Ağartı village whose old name was “Ayanis” and situated on the east bank of Lake Van, 38 km east of the capital Tuşpa.

Ayanis Castle, where the temple of Haldi, one of the most intact Urartian temples, is located, was built by the last great King of Urartu, Rusa II, in the mid-7th century BC. Written evidence shows that the fortress was destroyed by a major earthquake and associated fires 20 to 25 years after its construction.

In the Ayanis Castle, known to be the last castle of the Urartu Kingdom, the archeological excavations are ongoing since 1989. The excavations were conducted under the presidency of Prof. Dr. Altan Çilingiroğlu within the scope of Ege University “Van Project” until 2012. The studies are rendered by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Işıklı, associate in the Archeology Department, Literature Faculty, Atatürk University since 2013.

For the last few seasons, the excavation team has been trying to uncover the structures associated with the Haldi Temple in the citadel. In the 2024 excavation season, three bronze shields and a bronze helmet dedicated to Haldi, the chief god of the Urartians, were unearthed. The artifacts found during the excavations in the monumental temple complex dedicated to the god Haldi reflect the richness of Urartian metalwork.

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Işıklı said in his statement, ‘In this year’s excavations, we unearthed 3 bronze shields and 1 helmet, which were found in very good condition. The shields and helmet are dedicated to Haldi, the chief god and god of war. As you know, Ayanis Castle suffered a great earthquake. Because of this earthquake, there is a big collapse caused by the mudbrick walls. many artifacts are deformed because of this. but the artefacts found are in very good condition because they were found on the floor of the room at a depth of about 6-7 meters. Of course, we have some minor fractures and we will complete these with restoration and conservation.’

“There is also a bronze helmet among the artifacts found. We guess that it is a decorated and ceremonial helmet. Because we can see some decorations now, of course, it will be possible to see these ornaments and decorations more clearly after a comprehensive restoration and conservation,” he added.

Professor Işıklı stated that there is strong evidence that the site was used by a royal and religious elite group. After 36 years of excavations, the Ayanis fortress has yielded a rich collection of bronze artifacts, especially bronze weapons. To date, more than 30 bronze shields have been unearthed during the excavations of the castle.

By Leman Altuntaş.

[holidaysincambodia]

Standing bronze bull statue from Anatolia - approximately 3000 BCE

[ltwilliammowett]

Roman Bronze Ring with Galley Intaglio, c. 1st-4th century AD

[thepastisalreadywritten]

[the-cricket-chirps]

Three kneeling figures in poses of jubilation, c. 715-332 BCE. Late Period. Egypt. Bronze