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This large marble head, possibly from an over-life-sized sculpture of Hercules, was excavated near the Florence baptistery and adapted and partly recarved to fit a medieval sculpture. Differences in the drill marks on the beard and the hair (those in the hair are finer and deeper than those in the beard) indicate that the head was probably modified in the Middle Ages. Many of the sculpted figures that once adorned the facade of the Duomo in Florence were completed with adaptations of ancient heads. The nose and left ear of this head are modern.
Medieval European
H: 18 3/16 × D: 16 5/16 in. (46.23 × 41.4 cm)
medium: marble
style: Romanesque
culture: Medieval European
Walters Art Museum, June 9, 1949, by purchase.
This scene features a standing god in horned headdress and long robe, with one foot resting on an animal. He is holding a mace in his outstretched hand. A second deity in horned headdress and long tufted robe faces the goddess with both hands raised. In the field between them is a star cradled in a disc. The scene also incorporates a cuneiform inscription in five registers.
Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.
Babylonian
H: 1 x Diam: 7/16 in. (2.6 x 1.2 cm)
medium: hematite
culture: Babylonian
Walters Art Museum, 1941, by purchase.
Each of the four gospels in this book opens on a page with brilliantly illuminated borders depicting the author of the text as well as birds-principally peacocks, symbols of the immortality of the soul-and fountains, representing the fountain of life and the salvation of the soul. This volume consists of 428 leaves with texts in Greek. Its level of sophistication suggests that it was probably written and decorated in a monastery in Constantinople.
Byzantium, Constantinople
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
Sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.)
Did you know...
Gospel Books were carried in procession through Byzantine churches.
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund