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Votive offerings were gifts that the ancient Greeks and Romans gave to a deity as thanks for bringing good fortune or for granting favours. The offerings served as an important expression of the personal relationship between ancient peoples and their gods and goddesses. Votive Offerings as a Public Act of Devotion Greeks and Romans typically [...]

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 [...]

Mesopotamian Traditions and Roman Craftmanship Intaglios – carved gemstones – usually mounted in rings, were a popular style of Roman jewellery for their aesthetic and practical uses. The technique was established well before the Roman period, most likely in Ancient Mesopotamia. Drill cutting techniques established by the Greeks, allowed the Romans to create intricate intaglio [...]

Animal motifs appear in Roman art because of the important associations and meanings those animals carried. For some animals, such as lions and eagles, the connotations are fairly transparent, either because we still share them today or because such associations were so famous and widespread that they have not been forgotten; others, however, are far [...]

There were many methods used to decorate and embellish ancient items ranging from delicate jewellery, impressive armoury and funerary objects to magnificent buildings and palaces. Each requiring a high level of skill and intricacy. Many techniques travelled across different civilisations and periods, modified slightly to the actual process and look for better precision or influences [...]

In the ancient Near East, cylinder seals were used over a wide geographical landscape, that extended from Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) to the valley of the Indus River. There were various ancient Near Eastern cultures, that once flourished in the ancient Near Eastern landscape, that developed distinctive imagery representations and iconic glyptic styles expressing different mythological [...]

In terms of religion, the Romans believed in a polytheistic faith; the people recognised and worshipped multiple gods and goddesses. These supernatural being experiences were moulded into short narratives known collectively as Roman mythology. Roman deities and their linked myths were vital to ancient society, they presented educational teachings including the obedience of moral expectations, [...]

The use of glass evolved over the ancient periods through techniques, styles, colours and uses. The ancient Egyptians are thought to be one of the first to manufacture glass by producing small glass beads for necklaces. Originally faience was a main material used by the Egyptians for decorating and making amulets and jewellery. This was [...]

In terms of religion, the Romans believed in a polytheistic faith; the people recognised and worshipped multiple gods and goddesses. These supernatural being experiences were moulded into short narratives known collectively as Roman mythology. Roman deities and their linked myths were vital to ancient society, they presented educational teachings including the obedience of moral expectations, [...]

Throughout China’s long past, no animal has affected its history as greatly as the horse. Ever since its introduction in China around the end of the 3rd Millennium BC, the horse has been an integral figure in the creation and survival of the Middle Kingdom. Their importance in the transportation of goods and supplies, and [...]