United States or Laos ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
The richest discovery of Phoenician ornaments and objects of art that has yet been made took place at Curium, where, in the year 1874, General Di Cesnola happened upon a set of "Treasure Chambers" containing several hundreds of rings, gems, necklaces, bracelets, armlets, ear-rings, bowls, basins, jugs, paterae, &c., in the precious metals, which have formed the principal material for all recent disquisitions on the true character and excellency of Phoenician art.
There is no better drawing in any of the other paterae. At best they equal, they certainly do not surpass, the Praenestine specimen. The intaglios of the Phoenicians are either on cylinders or on gems, and can rarely be distinguished, unless they are accompanied by an inscription, from the similar objects obtained in such abundance from Babylonia and Assyria.
The character of the decoration is to be gathered from the extant statues and bas-reliefs, from the representations on paterae, on cups, dishes, and gems. There was a tendency to divide the surface to be ornamented into parallel stripes or bands, and to repeat along the line a single object, or two alternately.
The complete bronze figure found near Curium, which is supposed to represent Apollo and is figured by Di Cesnola, is probably not the production of a Phoenician artists, but a sculpture imported from Greece. The embossed work upon cups and paterae is sometimes of great simplicity, sometimes exceedingly elaborate.
Recent discoveries of Phoenician artistic remains Phoenician sculpture Statues and busts Animal forms Bas- reliefs Hercules and Geryon Scenes on sarcophagi Phoenicians metal castings Jachin and Boaz Solomon's "Molten Sea" Solomon's lavers Statuettes in bronze Embossed work upon cups and paterae Cup of Praeneste Intaglios on cylinders and gems Phoenician painting Tinted statues Paintings on terra-cotta and clay.
It needs not this little dust for Him to renew form and life and soul to the beloved one we shall soon see again." Each present bowed his head and pressed his hand to his heart. Then a young female child opened a small door within the wall, and I perceived, in the recess, shelves on which were placed many 'paterae' like that which the son held, save that they all had covers.
Upon the altar of the household gods were placed vases of precious metal, paterae enamelled with flowers, double-handled cups, and all things needful for libations.
Here were walls painted in classic fresco; windows curtained with draperies of chocolate and amber; chairs and couches of ebony, carved in antique fashion; Etruscan amphorae; vases and paterae of terracotta; exquisite lamps, statuettes and candelabra in rare green bronze; and curious parti-colored busts of philosophers and heroes, in all kinds of variegated marbles.
Where culture was more advanced, as in Greece and parts of Italy, she looked to introduce, and no doubt succeeded in introducing, the best of her own productions, fabrics of crimson, violet, and purple, painted vases, embossed paterae, necklaces, bracelets, rings "cunning work" of all manner of kinds mirrors, glass vessels, and smelling-bottles.
Some of these "vases of Kaft," as they were called, are pictured on the Egyptian monuments, and Thothmes III. in his annals describes "the paterae with goats' heads upon them and one with a lion's head, the productions of Zahi," or Palestine, which were brought to him as tribute.
Word Of The Day