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100
Gospel of St. Luke, 100 AD
Called the most complete account, and the best written, of the ministry of Christ, no New Testament is complete without the Gospel of Luke. Along with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, this forms the core of the New Covenant. -
Period: 100 to Jan 1, 1000
Art from around the world, 0 to 1000 AD
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161
Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius, 161- 180 AD
Far older than the photo, of a translation published in 1811, outlines Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius' philosophy of Stoicism. I've included this since philosophy has been a guide to humanity for a long time. Philosophy helps us to ask the right questions. -
400
Therevada Buddhist painting, 3rd century AD
Therevada is the oldest branch of the Buddhist religion. Here, it is more a philosophy than a religion, concerned with the attainment of personal enlightenment. -
500
Byzantine floor mosaic detail, Byzantium, 500 to 550 AD
The Roman Empire had divided into Western and Eastern halves. The center of the Eastern Empire was Byzantium. Things were certainly going well for at least some of the inhabitants, if they could afford to decorate their houses with stunning pieces like this. -
500
Viking brooch, Scandinavia, 500 to 600 AD
An object with cultural associations for me, even if I don't provably have links to the Viking culture. This brooch is made of a copper core with a silver overlay, indicating a great level of technical skill in the craftsman who made this. -
Dec 2, 600
Gold pendant, Pre-Columbian, 5th to 7th century AD
The New World provided many technically advanced pieces of gold work, inidcating skills in mining and refining metals. This piece is of gold over a core of other metals, perhaps copper. -
Dec 2, 600
page from The Book of Kells, Ireland, ca. 600 AD
Irish Christian monks preserved the tenets of Christian religion and added their own cultural art to honor the spirit of that religion. Western Christians owe a great debt to the efforts of small orders of monks. -
Dec 2, 662
Qu'ran, Middle East, 662 AD
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Dec 2, 700
Avar treasure, Albania, 700 AD
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Dec 2, 700
Coptic manuscript, Egypt, 700 - 900 AD
The Coptic Christian sect also honored the words and philosophy of the Bible through decoration. -
Dec 2, 700
Ceramic jar, Japan, 6th to 7th century AD
Ceramic is the oldest artificial material. In the Orient, and to a greater extent in Japan, cermamics were very highly regarded. The details were impressed with cord before firing. -
Dec 2, 1000
Archangelsk gospel, approx 1000 AD
This gospel is not written in Latin but in Cyrillic, developed for the people of Eastern and Central Europe. It holds to the tradition of illuminated writing to honor the message, while the use of the new alphabet rendered it more widely readable to the people of the area. -
Ceramic bowl, Mimbres people, New Mexico. 9th century AD
Though outwardly simple, this bowl is only 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Patience was certainly a factor in the making of this piece. -
Head Vessel, South America, 8th century (approx.)
Stonework in the Meso-American cultures was highly advanced. This is perhaps a ritual object. From an aesthetic point of view, there is much in the way of contrast provided by this piece: the sheen, and the shadows, and the details provided by jewelry. -
leaf from Qu'ran, Syria (?), 9th to 10th century AD
Calligraphy in the Muslim world was intended to honor the importance of the words contained within the book. The letters have a flow and movement suggested by the lines arranged by a scribe. -
3 Holy Women at the sepulcher, Italy, 10th century AD
Religious material given a further honor by the use of ivory. This panel is immensely detailed. -
Korean Buddha, Silla Dynasty, 668 - 935 AD
Also showing great technical skill, this statue is gold leaf over bronze. Buddhism was the foundation of the Korean Three Kingdoms. The buddha was honored in public through statues such as these. -
Akhtala Monastery, Armenia, 10th century
Originally built as a fort, the statement this Christian church makes is of the trimph over the Ottoman Empire. The repurposing of the military toward the spiritual exemplifies the triumph of peace. -
Saint Hripsime church, Armenia, from 618 AD
Built ot house the remains of a martyr, this building is architecturally complex to give it great strength and stability. -
Pyxis, Spain, 950-975 AD
This container is made from ivory, as containers for rare and precious aromatic substances, like musk or frankincense. I've included it again for the level of detail and skill required in execution. -
page from Beowulf manuscript, ca. 975 AD
The epic peom Beowulf is far older than this manuscript. Linguistically, this is Middle English, an important milestone in the evolution of the English language.
