Art from 0-1100 AD

Statue of Dionysos leaning on a female figure ("Hope Dionysos")

100

27 BC - 68 AD
Roman - Sculpture
The torso and head of Dionysos, and most of the archaistic figure are Roman. However, the head was joined to the torso by the sculptor and restorer Vincenzo Pacetti, who also provided arms, lower legs, and other details to complete the composition.

Bird Pendant

100

1st-5th Century
Costa Rica - Pendant
Tropical Costa Rica is the habitat of an enormous number of bird species, many of which acquired symbolic dimensions in jade depictions. This pendant, made of a jadeite of great clarity, features a toucan. Yet its upright stance and folded arms indicate that the figure is anthropomorphic, implying perhaps that it is a masked or transformation figure.

The Adventures of Leucippe and Clitophon

101

2nd-4th Century
Greece - Novel
The Adventures of Leucippe and Clitophon written by Achilles Tatius, is one of the five surviving Ancient Greek romances, notable for its many similarities to Longus' Daphnis and Chloe, and its apparent mild parodic nature.

Wall painting fragment

101

2nd-3rd Century
Roman - Fresco
This charming fragment, depicting a bird surrounded by ivy leaves, is painted with loose, quick brushstrokes unlike the more careful and mannered work of most Pompeian wall paintings. It may have come from a house or, more probably, a tomb, but its origin is unknown. Such types of interior decoration continued throughout the Roman period.

Beryl intaglio with portrait of Julia Domna

200

200-210 AD
Roman - Gem
This likeness of the empress in intaglio is unique in its combination of spiral locks with features of an earlier hairstyle, and is thought to be a nostalgic work from the end of her husband, Septimius Severus', reign as principate.

Niche with the Seated Bodhisattva Shakyamuni Flanked by Devotees and an Elephant

301

4th–5th Century
The lunette embellished the high base of a Buddhist stupa (relic mound) and would have been viewed from below during ritual circumnambulation. Shakyamuni is shown as a bodhisattva wearing the jeweled turban and textiles of a prince. The naturalistic anatomy and the complex classical treatment of interacting devotees seem remarkable given that the relief was sculpted about the fifth century—long after classical traditions in the West had declined.

Yoke-Form Vessel

350

Mid 4th-Mid 5th Century
Guatemala, Mesoamerica - Ceramic
A unique combination of forms, this ceramic vessel joins the U-shaped element commonly considered to be a belt or waist-guard associated with the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame and a cylindrical container that rises from it. Incised onto the surface of both cylinder and lid are four figures, identified as ballplayers by the large belts at their waists.

Dionysiaca

350

Late 4th-Early 5th Century
Greece - Poem
The Dionysiaca is an ancient epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hexameters, the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return to the west.

Tabula (Square) with the Head of Spring

401

5th-7th Century
Egypt, Akhmim (former Panopolis) - Textile
This small tapestry panel comes from Egypt. It was originally used as an appliqué on a larger textile, probably as part of a set. Egypt had a major weaving (especially linen) industry throughout the ancient and medieval period, which brought the country a great deal of its trade and wealth. Unlike the textiles of other cultures, many of these pieces have been preserved by Egypt's hot, dry climate, which prevents rotting.

Pair of Pedestal Plates

401

5th-8th Century
Panama - Ceramics
The images on this pair of pedestal plates depict mythical avian or saurian oomorphs with feathered or scaled backs and chests, and clawed or multitoed feet. Presented with open beaks and in midstep, these creatures follow one another around the edge of the plate, head to tail, each occupying roughly half the space of the image field. Painted in brown, cream, plum, and reddish orange, the polychrome plates have similar but not exact designs.

Ewer with dancing females within arcades

501

6th-7th Century
Iran - Metalwork
Late Sasanian silver vessels, particularly bottles and ewers, often were decorated with female figures holding a variety of festal objects. The females and their decorative motifs recall representations of the maenads, attendants of Dionysus. However, it has been suggested that these figures have been adapted to the cult of the Iranian goddess Anahita.

Storage Jar

Jan 1, 601

7th Century
Egypt - Earthenware
The painted patterns on this large storage jar are arranged to emphasie the swelling shape of the vessel. The animal, bird, and plant motifs are closely related to those found on contemporary textiles.

"Smiling" Figure

Jan 1, 601

7th-8th Century
Mexico, Mesoamerica, Veracruz - Ceramic
The so-called Smiling Figures from the Remojadas region of Veracruz are often regarded as expressions of Mesoamerican humor. These hollow ceramic sculptures are thought by many to be associated with a god of dance, music, and joy. Another
compelling interpretation, however, relates them to a cult of pulque, an intoxicating beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant.

Vessel, Throne Scene

Jan 1, 650

Late 7th-8th Century
Guatamala, Mesoamerica - Ceramic
Maya polychrome ceramic vessels are not only objects of great beauty, but with the painted renditions of Maya myth and courtly life they also serve as historic documents.

Beowulf

Jan 1, 700

7th-10th Century
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative lines. It is the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet".

Gregorian Chant

Jan 1, 801

9th-10th Century
Western & Central Europe - Music
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the western Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in n western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries.

Panel from a Rectangular Box

Jan 1, 901

10th-Early 11th Century
Spain, probably Cordoba - Ivory
This panel, carved from a single piece of ivory in a twice-repeating pattern, once adorned the side of a rectangular casket. The complexity of its decoration as well as the attention to details, such as the eyes of humans and animals, which were drilled and filled with minute quartz stones, demonstrate the refinement and the accomplishment of the caliphal ivory-carving workshop.

Passio Sancti Pelagii by Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim

Jan 1, 930

930-1002 AD
German - Play
Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim was a 10th-century German secular canoness, dramatist and poet. She wrote in Latin, and is considered by some to be the first person since antiquity to compose drama in the Latin West. Her plays contrast the chastity and perseverance of Christian women with Latin women who are portrayed as weak and emotional.

The Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future

Jan 1, 1001

11th Century
Nepal (Kathmandu Valley) - Sculpture
This representation of Maitreya is an extraordinarily radiant, elegant, and sensuous sculpture. Not only is this among the largest early Nepalese bronzes in the West, it is the only example of such refined elegance combined with an almost austere economy of surface decoration.

Ring

Jan 1, 1001

10th-11th Century
German - Metalwork
The ring is one of the most opulent and technically complex extant gold rings from the early Middle Ages. At the center is an elliptical flower form in gold cloisonne enamel. The flower's central element is a cruciform shape in white enamel framed by a greenish field with four crescent-shaped petals in bluish glass.