Object: Funerary plaque

C/1984/4/7
Funerary plaque
Southern Arabian Peninsula
1st century BCE
Material: Alabaster

In ancient times the area of southern Arabia, in the modern countries of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Oman, was home to a number of kingdoms that prospered through caravan trade routes with the cultures of the Mediterranean. Some of these kingdoms include: Saba (referred to as Sheba in the Bible), Hadramawt, Himyar, Qataban and Ma’in. There was often warfare between them over control of frankincense and myrrh: highly prized aromatics burnt on altars all over the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean world. The most important deity of these kingdoms was the Moon-god. This god was known by many names but was always shown in art as a bull. The Qatabanians called this deity Amm, and thought of him as their patron deity. Bull head plaques like this one were especially popular on funerary stele at Heid ibn Aqil, the cemetery at Tamna. A similar plaque can be found in the British Museum.

The stone used to carve this plaque and many other pre-Islamic Southern Arabian sculptures is alabaster. This type of stone is sedimentary, which means it was formed when sediments were compressed together over time by water and/or other layers of sediment and cemented together by the combination of minerals and chemicals. Sedimentary rock tends to be softer and easier to carve than igneous or metamorphic types of rock. Alabaster was a popular stone for carving in ancient times and examples of it can be found in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian arts as well as those of Southern Arabia. These ancient artists would shape the stone using stone or metal drills, chisels, saws, and hammers. While the materials used to make these tools have changed over the centuries many of the tool forms used for sculpting stone remain the same today. Below you will find a video showing modern versions of these types of tools and how they are used.

[Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Object: Glass bottle

C/1946/5/1
Glass bottle
Roman Syrio-Palestinian (?)
Workshop of Ennion, Sidon, (modern day) Lebanon
1st century CE
Materials: Glass

Glass was invented in Mesopotamia around 2500 BCE. The first glass containers were produced approximately one thousand years later. It is thought that glass was used as a substitute for semiprecious stones, and it remained a luxury item until the modern era. Most glass vessels in the ancient Mediterranean were used as perfume bottles and resembled shapes of Greek pottery.

The first glass vessels were formed using a core technique. This technique used a clay core attached to the end of a metal rod. The core was dipped into molten glass which was then marvered, or rolled, on a stone to smooth the surface. Glass blowing was not invented until the first century BCE. Shortly after the invention of glass blowing, the technique of mold blown glass emerged. Mold blown glass vessels, like this one, are formed by blowing a bubble of glass inside a form, or mold. The force of the air pushes the glass into the shape of the mold and allows the artist to create glass vessels in a wide variety of shapes.  A video showing how mold blown glass is made can be seen here.

It has been suggested that this vessel may have been made in the workshop of Ennion, one of the earliest known and most famous glass blowers. While this bottle is not signed by Ennion it is similar in shape, decoration, and dimensions to other bottles that have been connected to Ennion’s workshop. Ennion is believed to have worked in or near the city of Sidon, located in what is now Lebanon, and may have moved to Italy later in his career.

Similar glass vessels can be found in the Miho Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, the Yale University Art Gallery, and more. [Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Object: Cuneiform cone

C/1943/1/1
Cuneiform cone or nail
Babylonian
Isin-Larsa, Babylonia (modern day Tell es-Senkereh, Iraq)
ca. 1930 BCE
Materials: ceramic

This object is a baked clay cuneiform cone, or nail, from the “House of Justice” built by the Babylonian king Lipit-Ishtar near the ancient city of Isin-Larsa. Lipit-Ishtar is best known for writing a code of laws. This code was similar to the better known Code of Hammurabi, but written nearly 200 years earlier. The code of Lipit-Istar included laws on theft, inheritance, slave ownership, land ownership, and other topics. This code was studied and used for more than a hundred years after the death of Lipit-Istar but today only parts of the code are known and preserved.

Cuneiform cones, or nails, were commonly buried under the foundations, or built into the walls, of important public buildings and temples as ritual dedications. This type of inscription was mass produced, typically more than 100 cones were used for each structure. They were usually inscribed with the name of the person who commissioned the building, the name or purpose of the building, and sometimes a prayer or request for a divine blessing of the building. The translation of this cone (taken from Classical Antiquities: The Collection of the Stovall Museum of Science and History) says,  “I am Lipit-Ishtar, the humble shepherd of Nippur, the upright farmer (of Ur), the tireless one of Eridu, the fitting lord of Uruk, king of Isin, king of Sumer and Akkad, the favorite of Inanna. When he had established justice in Sumer and Akkad, in Namgarum, the eminent place of the gods, the house of justice, he built.”

Here is a video that shows how cuneiform tablets were made.

Today, cuneiform tablets and cones are sought after by collectors and museums alike. Unfortunately, their desirability, combined with the unstable political situation in the middle east has led to looting of ancient archaeological sites. The looting of ancient sites is a world wide problem and irreparably damages thousands of sites throughout the world each year.

Credit: John Russell

The photo at the left was taken at the site of Isin-Larsa around 2003 and shows the devastating effect of looting on archaeological sites. In order to discourage looting the International Council of Museums (ICOM) has put together a “Red List” for highly volatile areas like Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, and others. The Red List describes the general types of artifacts that are thought to be most at risk for looting, so that these may be identified and detained wherever they surface. These objects are protected by legislation, through UNESCO, UNIDROIT, and others. As a result they are  banned from export and may under no circumstances be imported or put on sale. An appeal is being made to museums, auction houses, art dealers and collectors not to acquire them. If you would like to see cuneiform tablets or cones in person please visit one of the many museums around the world that have legally collected examples for you to enjoy. For instance, cuneiform tablets are part of the permanent collections of: the Sam Noble Museum, the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Arizona State Museum, the Oriental Institute, and the Kelsey Museum, just to name a few. Additionally, a digital library of cuneiform inscriptions is currently being developed by the University of California to help make cuneiform more accessible to everyone. [Kathryn S. (Barr) McCloud]

Object: Bronze Pin

C/1998/1/61
Luristan: Bronze Pin
Iran
ca. 1400-700 BC
Middle East
Materials : Bronze

The Luristan bronzes are well known among the artifacts of ancient Persia, in modern day Iran. The earliest bronzes date back to the fourth millennium BCE and extend through the Bronze Age, ending about 650 BCE. Unlike their contemporaries of Mesopotamia, Luristans did not have written records. They did, however, develop techniques for fashioning objects from bronze. It is unclear exactly how bronze production developed in Luristan, but most likely the technique originated in the Mediterranean and expanded to the Middle Eastern region through three phases.

The Lusristan bronzes are usually decorated in distinct styles including animal, human, and anthropomorphic figures. Many objects are fashioned in wax forms and cast in bronze as seen here. The objects range from decorative sacred items to utilitarian items. The object pictured above is a bronze pin. Pins are not particularly uncommon, as many have been found in excavations of Luristan sites. The pins were used for decoration in hair styles and fastening clothes. In addition to using bronze for bowls, drinking vessels, and decorative items, the Luristans also used it for weaponry. The British Museum has a great example of a bronze ax head that was found in a grave and mostly likely used as an offering because it is too curved for practical use. Bronze is found even in the poorest of Luristan graves, which has led to looting over time. In the early 20th century, many tombs and archaeological sites were looted and bronze objects appeared in European and Middle Eastern markets.

[Eileen Schaumleffle]

Object: Religious Text

E/1958/29/2
Persian: Page from the Qur’an
Levantine Area
ca. 11th century
Materias: Paper, ink

This page of the Qur’an includes verses 72-75 of sura 39 and verses 2-7 of sura 40 and is representative of many hand-written Qur’an manuscripts. Composed in the cursive style, the Arabic calligraphy serves as ornamentation itself, in addition to beautiful illumination.

The Qur’an is considered divine speech to adherent Muslims around the world, and its poetic, literary beauty is understood to be miraculous by believers and the supreme work of Arabic literature by scholars. This aesthetic value of the Qur’an is often overlooked, but is of utmost importance both religiously and historically. Indeed, Islamic art derives almost all of its inspiration from the beauty of the Qur’an, as exemplified by the prolific use of Arabic calligraphy – often verses from the Qur’an, the name of the Prophet Muhammad, or Allah – to decorate mosques and in visual art.

The illumination of Qur’an manuscripts is intended to reflect the beauty of the Arabic itself, the beauty of the content of each verse, and the visual beauty of the calligraphy. The written composition and illumination of Qur’an manuscripts, then, is understood to be a religious art, conducted not only by the most masterful calligraphers and artists, but also the most pious. Since the Qur’an is considered unsurpassed, and unsurpassable, in beauty by Muslims, simply to reproduce the words of the Qur’an is the highest artistic achievement. Indeed, given the skill required to produce these incredibly ornate manuscripts, it is not surprising that the epitome of Islamic art is Qur’anic manuscripts such as this one (see picture on right).

The verbal, or spoken, Qur’an also has an aesthetic value of its own. Prayer in the mosque, or outside the mosque, consists exclusively of Qur’anic recitation. The recitation of the Qur’an in prayer is very structured, with prescribed rules for every detail of the performance from the length of the verses to the pronunciation of vowel sounds. The rhythm of Qur’an recitation is quite musical, though Muslims are adamant regarding the non-musicality of recitation. This rhythmic quality is produced in part due to the complex rhyme structure of the Qur’an itself, but also due to the regulations for how Arabic sounds are to be produced during the recitation. To hear a prayer recitation click here.

[Allana Taylor]

Object: Bracelet

C/1998/1/9
Iran/Luristan: Bronze Bangle Bracelet
Middle East
1400 – 700 B.C.
Materials: Bronze

This object is a bronze bangle bracelet. The ends of each terminal have two stylized duck heads. The heads are flat and face away from the opening with circles carved on each side as eyes. The heads sit on separate oval shaped planes, which attach to a small circle on the bracelet’s band. The body of the bracelet has three bands. The outer bands are decorated with dot indentations, while the center band has “v” stamped decorative striations. The inside of the bracelet is smooth. The bracelet is nearly a perfect circle, with a few slight bends.

It is believed the origin of bracelets dates back approximately 7,000 years to ancient Egypt. Bracelets were made of wood, bone, and plant fibers initially, and later of copper and bronze. The earliest known bracelets in the Middle East were worn by the Sumerians who inhabited Southern Mesopotamia around 2500 B.C. Bracelets, as well as earrings, necklaces, and rings, were worn by women to show off the wealth and social status of their husbands. Jewelry often had religious connotations in addition to the perception of wealth and adornment.

The use of the duck in ancient Iranian art symbolized their belief that ducks were one of only a few creatures able to pass between the “Three Worlds” — Underworld, our World, and Realm of the Sky. Ducks were at home on land or water; they dove or fed beneath the surface of the water, which was considered the entrance to the Underworld. Finally, they were able to fly into the sky amidst the clouds and out of human sight.

This bracelet is from the Luristan territory (also known as Loristan) along the western Iran and eastern Iraq border. The first known people to occupy the territories currently inhabited by the Lurs were the Elamites, who settled in the area as early as 3000 B.C. Later the Kassites, who were known for their bronze artifacts, lived in Luristan around the second millennium B.C. The Kassites conquered Babylonia in 1747 B.C. and continued to dominate Mesopotamia for the next six centuries.

[Debra Taylor]

Object: Figurine

C/1984/4/6
Yemen: Carved Face Votive
Middle East,  Marib, Wadi Beihan, Aden (Yemen)
1st Century B.C.
Materials:  Alabaster

This object is a carved face votive of alabaster.  The wedge-shaped stone has one rough surface and the opposite is smooth with a carved stylized face.  The face consists of a 1.5” band representing hair across the top of the face (forehead).  The nose is long, wedge-shaped and extends down the face.  The surface of the nose is flat and smooth.  The eyes are elliptical with raised eye lids and a center pupil.  A mouth is represented by a raised ellipse which is incised in the center.  The three remaining sides of the square frame the face.   This represents a beard and is stained with a red-orange ink (possibly henna).

Ancient Yemen was centered around the Port of Aden on the Gulf of Arabia.  The country engaged in the lucrative trade of frankincense and myrrh.  It was invaded by the Romans in the 1st century A.D., and converted to Islam in A.D. 628.  According to Judeo-Christian legend, the Biblical Queen of Sheba was from Yemen.

Alabaster has been mined and worked in Yemen since Pre-Islamic times.  The ancient Yemenis carved it into stelai and monuments, as well as thinly sliced the mineral for use as windows.  Alabaster is the name applied to two distinct minerals:  gypsum and calcite.  Gypsum is the alabaster of today, while calcite is the alabaster of the ancients.  The two kinds are distinguished from one another easily, because of differences in their relative hardness. The gypsum kind is soft enough to be scratched with a fingernail.  The calcite kind is too hard to be scratched in this manner; however, it is easily carved with a knife.

[Debra Taylor]

Object: Coin

C/1981/1/27
Judaean: Coin
AD 66-70
Materials: Bronze

This small bronze coin was minted by Jewish rebels who attempted to free Judaea from Roman rule during the First Jewish Revolt in A.D. 66-70.

Herod was in Rome in 40 BC, when the senate appointed him king of Judaea (the area surrounding Jerusalem). He entered Palestinian region with a Roman army, and by 37 BC he was firmly in control of his new kingdom. He ruled Judaea until his death in 4 BC, becoming known to history as Herod the Great.   Known as a great builder, Herod founded new Roman cities, and created a new Temple on the holy mount in Jerusalem.  However, he was also known as a violet ruler.  He killed his wife and her family in an outburst of jealousy.

In his will Herod divided the kingdom between three of his sons. Their inability to control an increasingly turbulent Palestine prompted Rome to give more power to its provincial governors, or procurators. These rulers could not pacify the Jewish people, who were resentful of Roman rule and horrified by any encroachment of Roman religious symbolism (including what they considered the idolatrous theme of a divine emperor). During this tumultuous period the Zealots emerged.  The Zealots were a radical political group committed to ending Roman rule in Palestine.

In A.D. 41, Herod Agrippa was appointed king of Judaea.  He was the grandson of Herod the Great.  For a while, under the rule of Agrippa, Palestine seemed set to enjoy a stability associated with the long reign of Herod the Great. But when Agrippa dies in A.D. 44, the region once again returns to the rule of Roman governors. By this time the violent actions of the Zealots had acquired much support, reinforced by their assassination of Jews who collaborate with the Romans. The Zealots were prominent in the popular uprising which in A.D. 66 expelled the Romans from Jerusalem.  They also played a large part in the revolutionary government which briefly ruled Palestine following the revolt.

The First Jewish Revolt is crushed when Emperor Nero sent General Vespasian and his son Titus to Judaea.  They make progress in restoring Roman order to Palestine. Nero’s suicide prompted Vespasian to return to Rome, leaving Titus in Palestine.  In A.D. 70, Titus besieged Jerusalem and demolished parts of the city wall.  The great Temple built by Herod was looted and burned, with much of the spoils returning to Rome with Titus.

First Jewish Revolt coinage was issued by the Jews after the Zealots captured Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple from the Romans in 66 AD at the beginning of the First Jewish Revolt. The Jewish leaders of the Revolt minted their own coins to emphasize their newly obtained independence from Rome.

In the Revolt’s first year (66–67 AD), the Jews minted only silver coins, which were struck from the Temple’s store of silver. During the second (67–68 AD) and third (69–70 AD) years of the Revolt bronze prutah coins were issued. In the fourth year of the Revolt (70–71 AD) three large sizes of bronze coins were minted, possibly because the supplies of Temple silver were diminishing.

[Debra Taylor]