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A number of cave bears are depicted in Chauvet. Cave bears are identifiable by the steep incline of their foreheads. These three bears are found near the prehistoric entrance [not the present entrance] to the cave, on a panel in a small recess. The bears are painted in red. The central bear has been painted using the natural relief in the cave wall, with the shoulder following the line of the rock surface.
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The sections of the Chauvet cave are geologically distinctive, and the artists used this to differentiate the rock art. The long-eared Owl is found in the second section of the cave, which is separated from the first section by a chamber which contains no wall art, even though there is suitable rock canvas for it - an archetypal curatorial device.
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The Horse is found near the Owl in Chauvet Cave, and has been drawn using the same technique. The figure is complete, showing details such as the full mane, its eye and a furry chest.
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The panel is dominated by two black lions, side by side. The male lion is identifiable by his scrotum, drawn in the background, and a female lion in the foreground, which appears to be rubbing against him. Given the size of this drawing, the elegant and simplistic lines demonstrate a great confidence in the artistís hand.
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These four horses occupy a small recess in the Chauvet Cave. They bare similar artistic attributes. The artist used fingers to mix and spread a charcoal paste and applied it in order to emphasize the main outlines and give relief and shading to the heads.
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This is considered one of the most important panels of the Chauvet Cave. It contains twenty animals. The drama is clear to see, highlighted by the rhinoceroses confronting each other. This is unique in Palaeolithic cave art. The two rhinos were drawn at the same time, probably by the same artist.
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On the left, there are four bison heads, and two more rhinos. Then there are seven bison, pursued by a pride of sixteen lions, mainly depicted by their heads alone. Above all of this drama, at a different scale, there is a large feline figure shown standing face to face with a lion cub. Almost all of the animals on this panel face left.
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This striking natural relief, as you might expect, is adorned with black drawings and engravings: four lions, one horse, two mammoths, one musk ox and a composition creature - half human and half bison - referred to as the Sorcerer. Beside it there is drawn the front view of a woman's lower body with long tapering legs.
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The central piece of the panel is dominated by the panther and the 2 superimposed bears. Whilst the outlines are precise and 'essential', the figures are incomplete. The spots on the panther represent a feline coat, where as the spots on the cave bear probably suggested a thicker fur. The figures are all drawn in red.
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its highly systematic representation is repeated for the other bisons in the Chauvet Cave, with its arched lines, accentuated features and small round eyes. The bison is part of the Bison Panel, with two other bison and an engraving of a partial mammoth. This engraving, along with several others, was made before the black drawings. The panel is covered with clawmarks from cave bears, which predate the cave art.
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This technique would be used quite effectively toward the end of the Early Dynastic Period by the architect Imhotep in designing the pyramid complex of King Djoser. Images of lotus flowers, papyrus plants, and the djed symbol are intricately worked into the architecture of the buildings in both high and low relief.
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Shabti dolls from ancient Egypt. Shabti dolls were the surrogate workers for the deceased in the afterlife.
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Statue of Djoser, Third Dynasty ruler of Egypt, in his serdab.
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A sword or a cosmetic case was designed and created with this same goal in mind: story-telling. Even the garden of a house told a story: in the center was a pool surrounded by trees, plants, and flowers which, in turn, were surrounded by a wall and one entered the garden from the house through a portico of decorated columns. All of these would have been arranged carefully to tell a tale which was significant to the owner.
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Jewelry was commonly fashioned using the technique known as cloisonne in which thin strips of metal are inlaid on the surface of the work and then fired in a kiln to forge them together and create compartments which are then detailed with jewels or painted scenes.
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Granite head from a sphinx of the Egyptian pharaoh Senusret III with youthful features. Egypt. Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty.
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Granodiorite statue which depicts the upper part of a body of an Egyptianized king. The man is probably Roman emperor Augustus. From modern-day Egypt. Roman period, 1st century.
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On this limestone stela, the hieroglyphic inscriptions mention the name of the Overseer of Cattle Neferhotep, son of the Overseer of Cattle Dednub and the chantress Itires. On the lower right border, a standing woman looks to the left and faces to standing men. From Egypt, precise provenance of excavation is unknown.
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The Book of the Dead contains spells which are to be spoken by the soul at different times and for different purposes in the afterlife. There are spells to invoke protection, to move from one area to another, to justify one's actions in life.
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Metal statues were usually small and made of copper, bronze, silver, and gold. Gold was particularly popular for amulets and shrine figures of the gods since it was believed that the gods had golden skin. These figures were made by casting or sheet metal work over wood. Wooden statues were carved from different pieces of trees and then glued or pegged together. Statues of wood are rare but a number have been preserved and show tremendous skill.
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It is decorated in the black-figure technique that originated in the Greek city of Corinth. When the Ure Museum acquired it, in 1947, this amphora, meaning a jug carried from both sides, was taken to be a 'Pontic' creation. 'Pontic' refers to the Black Sea area.
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One side with a lovely pair of swans facing one another and the opposite side featuring a panther standing to right. All in dark brown and red lip enhanced by incising, rosettes in the field and a border of tongues below; an additional rosette below each horizontally aligned handle and a black band inside the rim.
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Another very intriguing item from the same exhibition has been a silver kylix (ancient wine cup) also depicting the top Antiquity hero from Attica, Theseus, but with the Marathonian Bull.
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A silver kantharos (ancient cup) showing the sacrifice of the sacred Golden Fleece ram that took twin siblings Helle and Phrixus to Colchis
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With a combined weight of 20 kg and the stunning number of 165 silver vessels, some with gold coating, the Rogozen Treasure is the largest Ancient Thracian treasure to have ever been discovered in Bulgaria, and, seemingly, anywhere else.
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Greek black-ware salt cellar bowl. With a deep bowl, flared foot, and slightly turned in rim. The surface is smooth and glossy, light mineral deposits.
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Depicting Oedipus and the Sphinx, a scene from Ancient Greek mythology in which Oedipus answers the riddle of the Sphinx, this intact red-figure pottery krater.
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Very large blackware ceramic oil lamp. With round body, disk base and long spout with flat top. Deep central oil reservoir with hollow inset channel to allow for a lamp stand in ancient times.
