Zephyrus' Zestful Zenith

04/02/2024

A wooden money purse from Herculaneum, carbonised as superheated pyroclastic flows swept over the town during the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius now widely believed to have taken place in October 79 AD. These decorated wooden purses with sliding lids were otherwise unknown in the historical record due to their perishable nature but a number have been found during excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, some still with their coins inside. From the House of the Double Atrium, 1st century AD

04/02/2024

Treasures of Pyramids of Giza, Egypt.

04/02/2024

Alabaster head of king Amenemhat III from a sphinx statuette.

Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1860-1814 BC.
Now in the Louvre. E 10938

03/28/2024

Papyrus of Khonsu-mes
21st Dynasty, c. 1000 B.C.
Thebes
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Ägyptische Sammlung, INV 3859

Khonsu-mes receives libation of food and drink from the tree goddess. The tree goddesses are usually associated with the namesake or manifestation of the goddesses Hathor, Isis or Nut. Hathor was often referred to as the “Lady of the Sycamore”.
The sycamore tree held important iconography and status in ancient Egypt, essentially known as the Tree of Life symbol, and would be depicted offering the deceased sustenance.

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03/28/2024

Apollo Ivory Mask (5th Century BC) :

A unique life-size ivory head of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, it is from a 5th Century BC, chryselephantine statue. Many experts believe that it was carved by classical sculptor Phidias, considered to have perhaps been greatest of all Ancient Greek sculptors.

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03/28/2024

An archeologist carefully cradles a plaster cast of a child lost during Pompeii in his hands, feeling the weight of history and tragedy within it. The cast is a sad representation of the horrifying event that unfolded nearly two millennia ago in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii. Preserved in time by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the cast captures the final moments of a child and their mother, forever frozen in a haunting embrace.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD was a catastrophic event that shook the region and left an indelible mark on history.

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03/28/2024

A unique one-handled "kantharos" from Attica, Greece, 460 BC.

03/27/2024