What is Egyptian Faience?

Faience in Ancient Egypt Faience, also known as glazed composition, is the oldest glazed ceramic in existence. It was created over 6000 years ago and widely used by the Ancient Egyptians. It is mainly composed of silica and mineral based colourants, and is a precursor to glass, which was invented around 2500 years ago. Faience  … Read more

By Anastasia,

  Category: Ancient Egypt
  Tags: , , , , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on What is Egyptian Faience?

The History and Mythology of Gemstones in Ancient Jewellery

Jewellery in Ancient Egypt Jewellery has been worn by ancient cultures around the world for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt both men and women were great lovers of jewellery and adorned themselves with a profusion of charms and amulets. Jewellery also showed wealth and status and offered protection from evil. Although the Egyptians had  … Read more

By Anastasia,

  Category: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Imagery & Symbolism
  Tags: , , , , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on The History and Mythology of Gemstones in Ancient Jewellery

Bronze Age Britain

The Bronze Age in Britain is agreed to have taken place from around 2500 to 800 BC. Archaeologically, it was characterised by the use of copper, and eventually bronze. Copper was used more frequently in the earlier stages of the Bronze Age, but by around 2150 BC the prehistoric Britons had discovered how to make  … Read more

By Virginia,

  Category: The Celts
  Tags: , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on Bronze Age Britain

The Byzantine Empire: Art and Christianity

Byzantine art was largely defined by its Christian character. A lot of its earlier artistic tradition was centred around icons and religious symbols. Byzantine artists used gold liberally – largely on account of its availability in the area and the immense wealth accumulated by the Byzantine Empire. This combination of religious imagery and a disposition  … Read more

By Virginia,

  Category: Byzantine Empire
  Tags: , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on The Byzantine Empire: Art and Christianity

Collecting Guide: Types of Ancient Greek Vase

Greek pottery is one of our main points of contact with the ancient world. Greek pots remain in abundance, beginning with those dating to the Minoan era (from around or even before 3000 BC) up until the end of the Hellenistic period (31 BC). As we might expect, they come in a variety of shapes  … Read more

By Virginia,

  Category: Ancient Greece, Buying & Collecting
  Tags: , , , , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on Collecting Guide: Types of Ancient Greek Vase

The Luristan Empire: Beauty of Bronze

Luristan bronze comes from the province of Lorestan, a region of the Near East. In the ancient world it was settled by a number of peoples, such as the Medes, the Kassites, and eventually the Persians. In 2017, archaeological evidence for Achaemenid contact with the area came to light for the first time. Defining a  … Read more

By Virginia,

  Category: Near East
  Tags: , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on The Luristan Empire: Beauty of Bronze

Apotropaic Art: Amulets and Phallic Pendants in Ancient Cultures

Across the ancient world, we find a number of pieces that would have been worn by their owners for the sake of protection – primarily amulets. Jewellery of this apotropaic nature most often takes shape in the form of pendants, and we find them in abundance from a number of civilisations, especially Egypt and Ancient  … Read more

By Virginia,

  Category: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Buying & Collecting, Imagery & Symbolism
  Tags: , , , , , , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on Apotropaic Art: Amulets and Phallic Pendants in Ancient Cultures

Scythian Gold

Scythians, a nomadic civilisation Despite being a nomadic civilisation, the Scythians proved immensely helpful in the preservation of their own culture for posterity in that they understood the conservational capacity of ice. They went to great lengths to preserve their dead, mummifying them and then burying them in mountainous regions across Eurasia – Kazakhstan, Mongolia,  … Read more

By Virginia,

  Category: Near East
  Tags: , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on Scythian Gold

The Symposium in Classical Cultures

What was a symposium? The symposium was an essential part of male civic life in Ancient Greece. It was an event akin to a dinner party, where men would gather to discuss matters (with a particular focus on the philosophical), to enjoy music, dancing and female company, and, crucially, to drink. It was a key  … Read more

By Virginia,

  Category: Ancient Greece
  Tags: , , , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on The Symposium in Classical Cultures

Dionysus: Madness, Release and Wine

Who was Dionysus? Dionysus, or Bacchus to the Romans, was the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele. A pregnant Semele begged Zeus to reveal his true form to her - mortals, however, could not look upon the undisguised form of a god without dying - and so she perished when he eventually relented. Zeus  … Read more

By Virginia,

  Category: Ancient Greece
  Tags: , , , , ,
  Comments: Comments Off on Dionysus: Madness, Release and Wine