The rearing cobra, also known as the uraeus, was a central symbol of kingship and rule in Ptolemaic Egypt. Cobra figures were dedicated as votives to the goddess Wadjet; they were also incorporated into architecture and furniture as well as royal headpieces. This...
The Etruscan votive statuette of a woman illustrates the Etruscan taste for the archaic style, which lingered in some parts of Etruria (mainly in the north and northeast) long after it had gone out of fashion in central and southern areas.The large head and face,...
Roman bronze statuette of a seated Hermes/Mercury portrays the god in heroic nudity save for a riding cloak on his left shoulder and back. His torso and head turn slightly to the left. The naturalistic style of the figure represents the artistic tradition that...
This funerary portrait is of a woman from the city of Palmyra. Palmyra is well-known for this style of relief portraiture, and there are over 3,000 of these funerary reliefs existing today. These reliefs were most likely mass-produced in local workshops, and the final...
Octavian, grandnephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, was hailed as the bringer of peace and prosperity to the Roman world after a long period of civil and military strife. In 27 BCE, the Roman Senate conferred on him the honorary title of Augustus. Soon after, a...
Polydeukion was one of the favorite pupils of the well-known Athenian sophist and philanthropist Herodes Atticus, who lived in Greece in the 2nd century CE. In the year 147 or 148, the young man met an untimely death, and Herodes commissioned many portraits in his...
Bacchus, or Dionysos, popularly known as the god of wine, was also a deity of fertility and vegetation–particularly of fruit trees, including the vine. His cult was one of the most widely followed in the Roman world. This head possibly once belonged to an...
This ceramic figurine depicts Bes, the ancient Egyptian god known for his role as a defender and protector. In this representation, Bes assumes the form of a warrior with distinct leonine and human features. Bes, considered one of the “domestic deities,”...
