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Arctic, Aleut, Attu, Post-Contact
plain twine, wild rye grass with crossed openwork, patterned twined start, intersecting layered spokes, and plaited finish; silk embroidery (catalogue card)
Overall: 2 x 11.5 cm (13/16 x 4 1/2 in.)
Gift of W. A. Price
The central part of this three-panel painting reproduces the wooden icon screen ("iconostasis") that stands in front of the altar in Orthodox churches. Small in size and easily portable, the piece was used for personal devotions. Its imitation of monumental church decoration reminded the viewers that since God is omnipresent, prayer in private is the same as praying in church. It was probably made on Corfu, the resting place of St. Spyridon, who is portrayed on the right end of the central panel. For several centuries, this Greek island was a colony of Venice, hence the influence of Italian baroque art seen in the ornamentation of the frame.
Orthodox Eastern
closed: 26 7/8 x 16 9/16 x 4 5/8 in. (68.2 x 42.1 x 11.8 cm)
open: 26 7/8 x 29 1/8 x 4 5/8 in. (68.2 x 74 x 11.8 cm)
each wing: 26 7/8 x 7 5/16 in. (68.2 x 18.5 cm)
medium: tempera and gold on wood
style: Post-Byzantine
culture: Orthodox Eastern
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Gifford was an American landscape painter belonging to the second generation of Hudson River school artists. Based in New York City with a studio at the Tenth Street Studio Building, Gifford took annual summer trips to the Catskills, the Adirondacks, and other scenic locations in New England. This sketchbook accompanied the artist on his expedition in 1859 to New Hampshire and Maine, where he drew sites such as Dixville Notch, the White Mountains, and Peaks Island, Casco Bay. Gifford used such graphite studies as the basis for oil paintings worked up in his studio, such as A Home in the Wilderness (1866).
America, 19th century
graphite
Sundry Purchase Fund
The horse was a favorite artistic subject in ancient Iran, where horsebreeding flourished. This muscular Sasanian stallion was descended from the royal and sacred Nisean breed of the Achaemenian Persians. Although Sasanian horse-trappings were elaborate, they did not include stirrups for mounting. In this rendition, the steed lies still, as camels in the Near East do today, waiting for its rider to mount. The medallions on each shoulder contain busts, perhaps of rulers of different parts of the Sasanian Empire, holding their rings of authority.
Iran, Sasanian Empire (224–651 CE)
silver, partially gilt
Overall: 12 x 10.8 x 32.7 cm (4 3/4 x 4 1/4 x 12 7/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund
[url=http://www.airforceshooting.org/hays.html]Col Hays[/url] receiving the [url=http://www.odcmp.com/NM/Trophies/PT_Gen_Spaatz.htm]General Spaatz award[/url]
Incorporating the first three letters of the city name—ΑΘΕ—with then-iconic images of the patron goddess Athena and her owl, the Athenian tetradrachm was among the most widely traded and most recognizable coins of the ancient world. The olive leaves on Athena’s helmet and the small crescent moon behind the owl date this coin after the Persian Wars.
Greek, minted at Athens (Attica)
silver
Diameter: 2.3 cm (7/8 in.)
Did you know...
The basic design of Athenian tetradrachms is now back in use, on Greek one-Euro coins.
Gift of J. H. Wade
This exceptionally large and elaborate plaque depicts a human being costumed as a jaguar, with claws on hands and feet, and a jaguar-head helmet. At the Zapotec capital, Monte Albán, dignitaries in feline garb are portrayed in several relief sculptures. A pendant similar to this one was found in an architectural dedicatory offering deposit at Monte Albán.
Mexico, Oaxaca, Zapotec, 6th-8th Century
jade
Overall: 15.1 x 7.3 x 0.7 cm (5 15/16 x 2 7/8 x 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund