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Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
lacquer with pewter and mother-of-pearl inlay
Overall: 24.2 x 21.6 cm (9 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mary B. Lee, C. Bingham Blossom, Dudley S. Blossom III, Laurel B. Kovacik, and Elizabeth B. Blossom, in memory of Elizabeth B. Blossom
This precious volume was obviously highly prized by its owner, the French-born King of Navarre, who had his coat of arms painted on no less than twenty folios. Rather than directly commissioning this manuscript from a specific workshop, it seems that Charles the Noble acquired his book of hours -- perhaps ready-made for the luxury market -- while on a trip to Paris in 1404-05. A collaborative effort, six painting styles are evidenced within the pages of this codex, those of two Italians, two Frenchmen, and two Netherlanders. The painter who was responsible for the planning and decoration of the book, and who produced seventeen of the large miniatures, was a Bolognese artist known as the Master of the Brussels Initials. His principal assistant, responsible for most of the borders, was a Florentine who signed his name "Zecho" da Firenze on folio 208 verso.
France, Paris
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Codex: 20.3 x 15.7 x 7 cm (8 x 6 3/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
The Moche were unique in ancient Peru in creating realistic human portraits, usually in the form of ceramic vessels. This large example may represent an important captive who, like some Moche prisoner figures, wears double earrings and a hank of hair over the forehead.
Peru, North Coast, Moche style
earthenware with colored slips
Overall: 30.5 x 28.9 x 25 cm (12 x 11 3/8 x 9 13/16 in.)
Gift of Guerdon S. Holden
Duncan Phyfe
American (born Scotland), near Lock Fannich, Ross-Shire, Scotland 1768/1770–1854 New York
29 1/4 x 22 1/8 x 15 1/2 in. (74.3 x 56.2 x 39.4 cm)
medium: Mahogany, marble, tulip poplar, white pine
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 60.13 1960
Purchase, Paul Peralta Ramos Gift, 1960
Thomas Hovenden
American (born Ireland), Dunmanway 1840–1895 Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
17 1/2 x 12 in. (44.5 x 30.5 cm)
medium: Graphite on tan wove paper
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 62.198.4 1962
Rogers Fund, 1962
During the contest between Zeus and the giants (the Gigantomachy), Zeus, shown in his chariot, tramples two giants in human form with serpent legs. The prototype for this intaglio is a gem now in the National Museum of Naples. Both are signed in Greek "Athenion," the name of an ancient gem engraver.
1 7/16 x 1 3/4 in. (3.6 x 4.5 cm)
medium: sardonyx
Walters Art Museum, 1942, by purchase.
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
Overall: 2.4 cm (15/16 in.)
Did you know...
The three letters on the reverse—ΑΘΕ—mark this as an Athenian coin.
Gift of Harold W. Parsons
Barry Allen was granted powers of an energy known as the Speed Force after an accident involving mixtures of chemicals. Operates as The Flash
Turkey, Bursa or Istanbul, 16th century (?)
senna knot: wool and silk
Average: 28.6 x 30.5 cm (11 1/4 x 12 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Mail armor was the predominant form of metal body defense for European knights until about 1350. The term derives from the Old French word <em>maille</em> (mesh), implying a protective textile. Each mail garment was constructed of small linked metal rings and "woven" for a specific part of the body. Mail for the torso is a hauberk and typically reached mid-thigh.
Germany (?), first half 15th Century
steel and brass rings, riveted with modern buckles and straps
Overall: 76.2 cm (30 in.); Sleeves: 43.2 cm (17 in.)
Did you know...
Mail was expensive to make and generally only available to warriors of noble birth unless it could be obtained as war booty.
Gift of John L. Severance