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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
Hon’ami Kōetsu was a calligrapher and craftsman who frequently collaborated with the painter Tawaraya Sōtatsu, considered the first master of the Rinpa school. Kōetsu brushed seven poems from the autumn section of a poetry anthology onto dyed paper with motifs designed and printed in gold and silver by Sōtatsu.
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
handscroll; ink, gold, and silver on paper
Overall: 23.2 x 346.6 cm (9 1/8 x 136 7/16 in.)
Did you know...
Before becoming a master painter of screens, Tawaraya Sōtatsu painted fans.
John L. Severance 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
The Chinese immortal Chinnan (Ch. Chennan [Ch'en Nan]) is known for summoning a dragon from dry mud to bring rain in a drought stricken area. Here, he is shown with a stick in his hand that he thrust into the dirt to rouse the dragon. The dragon is in the mud at the bottom. The artist signed the kozuka on the reverse.
Japanese
L: 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm)
medium: shibuichi and gold
culture: Japanese
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Gold discs dangling on the chests of Akan state officials and elites showed their rank and duties. Worn by these <em>akrafo </em>(“soul people”) since the 1800s, they are often linked to <em>kradware, </em>officials who represent and purify (“wash”) the king’s soul. To make them, goldsmiths cast or flattened gold. Muslim North African gold coins likely inspired their form and material, while concentric water rings influenced their composition. This small disc is a typical pre-colonial example: <em>asantehene</em> (king) Prempeh I reportedly owned this disk. The British emptied his treasury after deposing and exiling him in 1896. Gold ornament making ceased until 1924; court officials now wear large discs.
Africa, West Africa, Ghana, Asante Empire/Kingdom, probably Kumasi, member of the goldsmiths’ guild
Gold
Diameter: 9.8 cm (3 7/8 in.); Overall: 1.3 cm (1/2 in.)
Did you know...
Akan goldsmiths were organized into guilds, a kind of specialized group of artisans.
Dudley P. Allen Fund
Italy, 18th century
black chalk with white heightening
Sheet: 32 x 23 cm (12 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund
H. 12 1/2 in. (31.75 cm); W. 9 1/2 in. (24.13 cm); D. 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 15 oz. (1771 g)
medium: Steel, brass, leather
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 14.25.653 1914
Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
The kashira is decorated with various fish and shells executed in different metal alloys to provide a range of colors. The handle is covered in ray skin and wrapped in baleen (commonly called whale bone). This is part of a mounted set.
Japanese
L: 4 5/16 in. (11 cm)
medium: ray skin, silver, shakudo, gold, copper alloys
culture: Japanese
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
porcelain with famille rose overglaze enamel decoration
Overall: 69.8 cm (27 1/2 in.)
Bequest of John L. Severance
Under the Flowers (Sous les Fleurs), published 1897. Imprimerie Champenois, : L'Estampe moderne, Edmond François Aman-Jean (French, 1858–1936). Color lithograph; image: 35.1 x 27 cm (13 13/16 x 10 5/8 in.); sheet: 39.8 x 30.6 cm (15 11/16 x 12 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Elizabeth Carroll Shearer 2016.90
More at clevelandart.org/art/2016.90