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A frustrating point about this site is the overpainting of one figure over another. Here a bird has been pained over a horned serpent with a fancy head-dress or is it the other way around. A small, round headed figure, to the right has red arms and is holding a stick. Note the yellow and red dragon fly in the lower left. All of which may have been painted over other figures.
550–500 B.C
An intricate scene decorates the bezel of this Etruscan ring. Two men approach a fountain where water gushes into a vessel from a lion's head spout. Behind the fountain, a man squats as if hiding, holding a sword. These details identify the scene as a standard depiction of the ambush of Troilos, prince of Troy, by the Greek hero Achilles during the Trojan War. On this ring, however, a strange dog-headed creature, who is not part of the Troilos myth, sits atop the fountain. The creature may actually be jackal-headed and thus meant to recall the Egyptian god Anubis.
All Greek and Etruscan metal rings with engraved bezels ultimately derive from Egyptian and Phoenician cartouche-shaped rings. The cartouche-shaped ring was especially popular in Etruria in the later 500s B.C., where immigrant Greek goldsmiths from Ionia introduced it. The style of the figures is very similar to those on objects in other media produced by these Ionian immigrant artists.
Carved dark amber plaque of four philosophers meeting in a garden. One holding a scroll. 1700's AD (8 ½" x 5 ¾")
100–1 B.C.
The forepart of a stag emerges from the curving body of this gilt silver rhyton. The rendering of the animal is highly detailed, down to the veins in its snout. The wide inlaid eyes and the outstretched legs heighten the realistic effect as the stag seemingly bolts in flight. The horn of the rhyton has raised floral decoration, incised wave patterns on the lip, and is gilded all over. On the belly of the stag is a punched Aramaic (possibly Persian) inscription, perhaps referring to the owner.
The term rhyton comes from the Greek verb meaning "to run through,” and depictions of rhyta show that they were used to aerate wine. Poured into the top of the vessel, the wine came out of a spout or opening between the animal's legs. The spout on this example is now missing, but the hole remains visible.
Stylistic features suggest that the rhyton was made in northwest Iran in the period from 50 B.C. to A.D. 50. This region had been part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire until it was conquered by Alexander the Great. After his death in 323 B.C., the Hellenistic Greek Seleucid dynasty, whose kingdom stretched from Turkey to Afghanistan, ruled the area. In the later third century B.C., however, a group of semi-nomadic people from the steppes of south central Asia called the Parthians began challenging the weakened Seleucid authority in the eastern part of their territory. By the first century B.C., the Parthians ruled the area. This complicated political history left its legacy in the local art and material culture. Rhyta had a long history in earlier art of Iran, but the floral motifs on this elaborate example derive from Seleucid art.
Maybe the artist who created this ancient art at
Indian Hill in the Anza Borrego believed the hand
that created this art was as worthy of representation
as the other powers of nature depicted nearby..
Portrait Bust of a Woman, Antonine Period, A.D. 140/50
Part of the Ancient and Byzantine Gallery
Art Institute of Chicago
Info about bust here on AIC official site.
Strange ghost-like petroglyph with a mouth full of teeth. There are a few more of these scattered around but dont show up too well.
Carved coral Buddha, sitting in Dhyanasana, on a lotus base. Eyes closed in meditation and hands crossed over the lap. 1700's AD (3 ½" x 2 ½")
Golden amber iridescent glass bottle with long neck, handle, and rolled rim. Some Encrustation. Traces of light green. 100 AD (4 ¾” x 2 ½”)