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A geometry of devotion, rising step by step
toward something unseen, yet deeply felt
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#HomeDecor #Mesopotamia #Ziggurat #AncientArt #InteriorDesign #WallArt #HistoryAesthetic #Sumerian #DesignInspo #Sumer #history
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Bottle with seated figure Nasca artist(s) 1–300 CE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 362 Unlike their northern counterparts, who used two-piece ceramic molds for manufacturing vessels, Nazca potters shaped containers by coiling and modeling. Figure vessels like the present example are rare and have an early date in the Nazca ceramic sequence, which lasted for at least 700 years. This engaging polychrome bottle takes the shape of a seated, compact human figure. It has a single spout and strap handle. The large head sits atop the broad shoulders, and the figure's legs are pulled close to the body, with arms and hands held tightly to the chest. Details such as fingers, toes, nails, and facial features are geometricized. The eyes and mouth are slightly raised, while prominent are the nose and a protuberance on the forehead. This mysterious knob may be a reference to fishermen, who are often shown with such a feature. The figure wears a head cover and a striped hipcloth. On his left upper arm is a stylized long-beaked bird, probably a sea bird, and on his right an anthropomorphized fish, perhaps a killer whale or shark. Marine imagery features prominently in all Nazca art, reflecting the economic importance of ocean resources. A source of constant wealth as well as danger, the sea played a major role in myths of all coastal peoples in the Andes.
Fisherman bottle
polychrome pottery
100-300 CE
Nazca culture
Peru
#handmade #craft #art #pottery #bottle #seatedfigure #nazca #nasca #culture #peru #precolumbian #prehispanic #ancientart #ancientpottery #tribal #tribalart #precolumbianart #ancientamericas #fisherman #marine #symbols #fish #bird
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Debates over painted ancient statues highlight a key tension: scientific accuracy doesn’t always align with modern expectations of “authenticity.”
#Archaeology #AncientArt #CulturalPerception
daily.jstor.org/the-trouble-...
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#handmade #art #pottery #cup #nazca #peru #precolumbian #prehispanic #ancientart #culture #ritual #religion #shaman #magic #gesture #portrudingtongue #trophyhead #taster #fertility #intermediary #sacrifice #cosmicorder
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This figurine is in the Jaina style, named after a small island off the coast of Campeche, Mexico. Jaina was a Maya center occupied from the Late Preclassic period (ca. 300 BCE–250 CE) to the Late Postclassic period (ca. 1200–1500 CE), with a peak population in the Late Classic (ca. 600–800 CE) and Terminal Classic (ca. 800–900 CE) periods. A large number of figurines and anthropomorphic whistles similar to this one have been recovered from the island. Like this example, figurines from Jaina are mold made, with individual details added by hand. They depict a variety of subjects, from seated young women to warriors to anthropomorphic beings. While many of these artifacts lack archaeological context, excavations have recovered figurines in the burials of adults and infants. Although this style of figurine is closely associated with Jaina Island, source testing of ceramic material in other museum collections indicates that Jaina-style figurines may have been produced and traded throughout Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, and Chiapas, Mexico. Jaina-style figurines seem to represent ideal “types” of people rather than individual portraits. The portliness of this figure, combined with his heavy jowls and protruding belly, suggest ties with the “Fat God,” a poorly understood character who appears throughout ancient Mesoamerican belief systems. Because his status as a deity is unclear, some scholars, such as archaeologist Christina Halperin, refer to him as the “Fat Man.” First appearing in art from the Preclassic period, the “Fat Man” is a common figurine subject, characterized by his corpulent stomach, sagging jowls, and closed, puffy eyes. The “Fat Man” is associated with humor and musical performance, and in the Classic period he may have been a ritual clown, much like the court jester in Medieval Europe. In some examples he wears a textured bodysuit, dances, and holds a fan.
Fat Man figure
pottery, pigment
circa 600-800 CE
Maya culture
Jaina Island, Mexico
- the mythical Fat Man/God of the Maya!
#art #sculpture #handmade #pottery #Maya #mayanculture #jainaisland #mexico #mesoamerica #precolumbian #prehispanic #ancientart #ancientsculpture #fatman #fatgod #god #jester
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A portrait of a dignitary, likely a priest or shaman. The finely modeled face is adorned with two undulating serpents whose heads face each other at the center of the forehead - a symbol of ritual power and access to invisible realms. Wari culture Peru double-spout vessel in polychrome terracotta circa 700-1000 CE.
Double-spout vessel
polychrome terracotta
700-1000 CE
Wari culture
Peru
#handmade #pottery #ancientart #art #prehispanic #precolumbian #wariculture #peru #vessel #priest #shaman #ritual #magic #doublesnakes #religion #ancientcultures #ancientperu
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The rain-god Chaac erupts from his cave flanked by swirling cascades of water, and with a fisher-bird for his crest!
carved stone
c. 695-738 CE
Maya culture
Copan, Honduras
#handmade #art #ancientart #carved #stone #mayaculture #copan #honduras #chaac #snakebody #raingod #precolumbian #prehispanic
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In Ñuu Savi (Mixtec) and surrounding Mesoamerican cultures like the Zapotec, bat heads symbolize night, death, sacrifice, and the underworld. They are associated with caves—seen as portals to the spirit realm—and act as guardians, representing a connection to ancestors, agricultural protection by eating pests, and transformation. The Mixtec people are one of the oldest and most culturally rich Indigenous groups in southern Mexico. They call themselves Ñuu Savi, meaning People of the Rain in their language, reflecting their spiritual bond with nature and the weather that sustains their crops. Their homeland, known as the Mixteca region, stretches across the highlands of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero, with misty mountains, fertile valleys, and sacred mountain peaks that shape their identity. The Mixtec are remarkable artisans and storytellers. They create intricate gold jewelry, turquoise mosaics, and beautifully illustrated codices that record their myths and dynasties. Their ancient deerskin manuscripts preserve one of the most complete Indigenous histories in the Americas. Their artistry and craftsmanship were so advanced that Mixtec goldsmiths were highly sought after by other Mesoamerican kingdoms. Even after the Spanish conquest, the Mixtec held on to much of their identity. Their villages remain centers of weaving, pottery, and farming, and their language is still spoken by hundreds of thousands today. The Mixtec story, like the Zapotecs, is one of endurance. They’ve carried their traditions through centuries of change, keeping their rain-soaked mountains and ancestral ways alive in modern Mexico.
Bat head carving
jade
c. 1300-1521 CE
Ñuu Savi culture (aka Mixtec)
Mexico
#handmade #carved #jade #jadeite #bathead #death #transformation #agriculture #rebirth #nuusavi #mixtec #mesoamerican #mexico #ancientculture #ancientart #art #prehispanic #precolumbian #arthistory #culture #religion #bats
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A Mayan monkey tail spiral design, often found on Classic Period (300–850 AD) polychrome ceramics, primarily symbolizes the mythological transformation of the Hero Twins' older half-brothers into monkeys. It represents a blend of punishment, artistry, and the cyclical nature of life. The Popol Vuh Transformation: According to the Maya creation epic, the Hero Twins (Hunahpú and Ixbalanqué) tricked their arrogant older brothers, Hun Batz and Hun Chuen, into climbing a tree. The tree grew impossibly high, and when they tried to climb down, their sashes turned into tails. The spiral tail is a direct reference to this transformation moment. Following their transformation, the monkey brothers became the divine patrons of artists, scribes, musicians, and sculptors. Therefore, the motif often signifies creativity and the arts. The spiral itself, sometimes called Hunab Ku in this context, represents the continuous movement of energy, transformation, and the balance of the cosmos.
Monkey Tail spiral design plate
pottery, pigment
c. 300-800 CE
Maya culture
Mexico
#handmade #oneofakind #monkeytail #spiral #design #ancientart #pottery #Maya #mayanpottery #ancientpottery #mexico #mesoamerica #prehispanic #precolumbian #archeology #religion #culture #belief #transformation #art
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This Mochica portrait vessel is an exceptionally realistic ceramic piece that captures the detailed features of a high-status individual, distinguished by its serene and dignified expression, almond-shaped eyes, and prominent nose. The head is adorned with a headdress beautifully decorated with geometric patterns in cream and brown tones, complemented by large ear ornaments that hang down along the sides of the face. At the top, the characteristic stirrup handle and spout are visible - distinctive elements of Moche pottery that fuse functionality with an artistic mastery unparalleled in Pre-Columbian sculptural portraiture.
Stirrup spout vessel
pottery
circa 200-600 CE
Moche culture
Peru
#handmade #ceramic #pottery #portrait #vessel #stirrupspout #mocheculture #peru #prehispanic #precolumbian #ancientart #ancientculture #mochepottery #moche
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Xochipilli, the “Flower Prince,” was the god of flowers and patron of music, song, dance, and gambling. Under his other name, Macuilxochitl, he was also the patron deity of the ballgame, in which betting was a common practice. The god figure is seated with his legs drawn towards him and his arms resting across his knees. He wears a loincloth and sandals, and his head is adorned with the feather crest of the tropical quetzal bird, whose song is the first to be heard at dawn.
Xochipilli, the god of flowers, plants, and music
clay and pigments
1200-1400 CE
Aztec
Mexico
#handmade #ceramic #clay #pigments #religion #art #xochipilli #aztec #prince #god #flowers #plants #music #sport #mexico #mesoamerica #precolumbian #prehispanic #sculpture #ancientart #ancientmexico
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Seated figure
carved greenstone
900-600 BCE
Olmec culture
Mexico
#handmade #carved #green #stone #seatedfigure #olmec #olmecculture #mesoamerica #ancientmexico #prehispanic #precolumbian #ancientculture #sculpture #art #ancientart #precolumbianjade #nephrite #stone #carvedstone
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The Mesoamerican ballgame is among the most important and enduring cultural features of the Pre-Columbian world, and its accompanying accoutrements of yokes, hachas, and palmas comprise one of the most important categories of stone sculpture. The objects known as hachas, the Spanish word for “axes”, were originally named for their tapering form’s supposed resemblance to large stone axe heads. Like yokes and palmas, these enigmatic stone artifacts probably represent ritual effigies of actual ballgame equipment that was probably made of lighter and more perishable materials. These ceremonial objects in stone were evidently of high value, but many questions remain around the context in which they were originally used. The bold and assured carving of the present hacha illustrates several features that are particularly distinctive to hachas depicting bats. These include the large, pricked, ears, the depiction of the tragus, the fleshy form at the lower part of the ear, and the perforation in the upper half, which Shook and Marquis note “seldom occurs on specimens in other categories” (Edwin M. Shook and Elayne Marquis, op. cit., p. 77). Interestingly, this perforation is present on almost every hacha from the great Mayan city state of Palenque (ibid.). Although illustrating features distinctive to a bat, something in the powerful physiognomy of this hacha seems to suggest a snarling jaguar. This hacha differs from most depictions of jaguars in hachas – although the fleshy snout suggests the big cat more than the bat – but Shook and Marquis note the resemblance, and state that “perhaps bat/jaguar/serpent would more accurately describe this representation.” (ibid., p. 80). The serpent, which here arches up from the bat’s snout, its slithering head atop the bat’s ear, was a creature with “important mythological connotations, and often associated with water and rain.” (ibid., p. 171). Hachas with secondary representations are rare.
Snake-Bat-Cat Hacha
carved stone
circa 550-950 CE
Maya culture
Mexico
#hacha #maya #snake #bat #cat #zoomorphic #carved #stone #Maya #mayanculture #mesoamerica #palenque #mexico #ancientart #precolumbian #prehispanic #mesoamericanballgame #ceremonial #ritual #sculpture #art #mayanart #ancientmexico
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Apsara Dancer
Sculpture of stone base
Polo sculpture. X century
Depiction of Buddha awakening
In the Cham Sculpture Museum
#history
#ancientart
#sculpture
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Seated Ruler with Pampas cat
ceramic
250-550 CE
Mochica culture
Peru
#ancient #ancientart #mochica #culture #peru #ancientamericas #precolumbian #prehispanic #southamerica #handmade #ceramic #seatedruler #pampascat #figural #art #sculpture
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anticaeviae
🗿 Salamine Ivory Sphinx
📍 Nicosia, Cyprus Museum - 8th century BC
From these contacts was born the oriental style, characterized by motifs such as sphinxes, griffons and rosettes.
📸 @HeritageMatterz via X
#archaeology #cyprus #salamis #ancientcyprus #ancientart #ivories
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Ruins of Roman theater of Arles, 1st c. A.D. Original theater had 33 rows and could seat 8000. A few columns and the base remain. Photo taken on a beautiful fall day in 2025.
Arles Arena in the heart of Arles, Provence, France. Dated 90 A.D. Two-tiered amphitheater is one of the best examples and best preserved of Roman theaters in France. Photo taken on a beautiful fall day in 2025.
Roman Ruins.
Roman Theater of Arles (left) and Arles Arena (right).
1st Century A.D.
Arles, Provence region, France.
#architecture #travel
#photography #Roman
#WeekKforKaput
#AlphabetChallenge
#ancientart #amphitheatre
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in 1994, three friends stumbled upon the Chauvet Cave in southern France, uncovering stunning cave art over 30,000 years old. These masterpieces offer a glimpse into the creativity of early humans. 🎨🗿 #AncientArt #Archaeology
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Medieval Danse Macabre Motif with Death dancing together with a horned Boar creature while playing the Hurdy Gurdy
Medieval Danse Macabre Motif with Death dancing together with a horned Boar creature while playing the Hurdy Gurdy , Colored Version
🩸|The Boars Melody Danse Macabre|🩸
"Follow the Boars melody through the woods, like the wind through leaves and moss. Follow its melody and shed your fears in the silence, to embrace its chants with the sound of rhythmic hooves on this ground you call your home."
#art #medievalart #ancientart
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Ancient geometry meets modern space. 🏺
Bring the timeless power of the Ziggurat of Ur into your home—where history, symmetry, and story rise together.
eyes-of-the-heart.com/products/sum...
#HomeDecor #AncientArt #Mesopotamia #InteriorDesign #WallArt #HistoryInspired #AncientHistory #pyramids #art
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Mace head depicting a jaguar, its open mouth revealing powerful fangs. The ears are raised and alert, while the eyes, set within circular cavities, intensify a fierce expression that gives the figure an immediate sense of tension, as if ready to leap upon its prey. The volumes are compact and powerful, reflecting a deliberately massive and expressive conception. The Chorotega were a powerful, culturally advanced indigenous group that migrated from Mexico to Pacific Nicaragua and Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula, forming the southernmost Mesoamerican culture. Famous for intricate, hand-polished ceramics and strong agriculture, they were fierce warriors with a complex society, featuring elected leaders and a strict religious caste.
Jaguar mace head
nephrite jade
500 BCE - 500 CE
Chorotega culture
Costa Rica
#handmade #ancientart #culture #chorotega #costarica #mesoamerica #precolumbian #prehispanic #carved #nephrite #jade #jaguar #macehead #weapon #ceremonial #ritual #religion #art #craft #oneofakind
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photo of the ceramic leaf-nosed bat head bottle with single spout, side profile facing left
photo of the ceramic leaf-nosed bat head bottle with single spout, quarter turn profile
photo of the ceramic leaf-nosed bat head bottle with single spout, back view
photo of gallery label: “Cupisnique artist; Tembladera, North Coast, Peru Bottle with leaf-nosed bat head 1200-800 BCE Ceramic, cinnabar The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1968 (1978.412.210) Recorded provenance: Alan Lapiner, Arts of the Four Quarters Ltd., New York, by 1968; the MPA, New York, 1968-78 Potters occasionally applied red pigments to vessels after firing to create a more dramatic visual effect. Iron-based ochres were common, but sometimes potters used cinnabar, a mercury-rich mineral, to create bright reds. Cinnabar was imported to the North Coast from Huancavelica, a highland region some five hundred miles south of where these vessels were allegedly found.”
#Baturday 🦇:
Cupisnique artist; Tembladera,
North Coast, Peru
Bottle with leaf-nosed #bat head
1200-800 BCE
Ceramic, cinnabar
on display at The Met (1978.412.210)
#IndigenousArt #AndeanArt #PeruvianArt #AncientArt
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#bronze #ancientgreece #450BCE #warriors #greekwarriors #bronzesculpture #ancientbronzesculpture #sculpture #art #ancientart
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amentenofre
Detail from the granite sarcophagus of King Ramses III (ca. 1184–1153 BCE, 20th Dynasty). Now in the Louvre Museum...
#ancientegypt #egyptology #kemetic #goddesses #ancientart
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“Gold finger-ring; hoop of twisted wire intertwined with beaded wire and terminating on each side in two serpents' heads, which emerge from under a rosette at either end; the bezel is in the form of a frog lying at full length, with head half-hidden beneath one of the rosettes.” “Gold ring with a frog between snake-heads. The hoop consists of three plain twisted wires with beaded wires laid along the channels. There is a corrugated sheet collar at either end, from which emerge two snake-heads. Between each pair of snake-heads is a rosette with spiral-beaded wire borders. The bezel of this unusual ring takes the form of a frog, made from a die-formed gold sheet with a plain back sheet. The frog's back legs grasp the pair of snake-heads behind it.”
#FrogFriday 🐸:
Finger Ring (with #Frog & #Serpents)
Western Greek, 400-350 BCE
Gold, L 1.70 cm, Dia. 1.30/1.80 cm, 3.04g
British Museum 1872,0604.52 www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...
#AncientArt
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I engraved this tiny sparrow into a special faceted piece of glass that reminded me of a cut gem. The bird was inspired by ancient Egyptian stone carvings of birds. The background I gilded with 22k gold leaf ✨
#etsy #glassart #miniaturepainting #glassengraving #ancientart #egyptian #birdart
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#ainsamiyagoblet #ainsamiya #luwianstudies #archaeology
#archeology #bronzeage #ancientneareast #cosmology
#ancientart #archaeologynews #mesopotamia #creationmyth
#4000yearold #silvergoblet
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vd8...
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/...
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Old temple
Done!
.
#ink #inktober #temple #sketch #sketch #drawing #wip #workinprogress #Fiverr #fiverrseller #Inkigayo #sketchbook #commissionopen #art #nonai #traditionalart #sketchart #ancientart #doodle #doodling #justdoit
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