George B. Fry III (b. April 16, 1943): Untitled (Loges $2.50), n.d. - gelatin silver print (Smithsonian)
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i12bent: George B. Fry III (b. April 16, 1943): Untitled (Loges...
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missfolly: The Studio of the Painter by Giorgio Vasari
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seeyoulateraggregator: William Blake.
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Stele: princess Nefertiabet and her food Steles representing the...
Stele: princess Nefertiabet and her food
Steles representing the deceased’s nourishment in the afterlife were the principal element of Egyptian funerary art. This is one of the most ancient and best preserved. Nefertiabet was a princess during the reign of King Cheops; the best artists of the day were called upon to portray her food for the afterlife. The fundamental funerary scene
The seated woman is facing rightward, as is the inscription above her head (“The king’s daughter, Nefertiabet”). This was the usual orientation for writing, recognizable from the direction of the heads of the animal hieroglyphs. The princess, wearing a panther-skin dress, sits on a stool with bull’s feet, adorned with a papyrus umbel. She stretches one hand toward a white stone pedestal table on a cylindrical terracotta stand, which bears slices of white bread with a golden crust. These elements represent the purely pictorial part of the stele; the remainder—more than half the total surface— is adorned with text only. The image itself is very pictographic, as if detached from time and space. The scene is a familiar one, reproduced thousands of times and consecrated by time and usage: the deceased’s nourishment in the afterlife. A simple palette of colors—red, yellow, black, and green (now faded)—embellishes the extremely delicate relief work.
A play between text and image
The text is presented in a variety of ways. All the inscriptions are oriented toward the princess (apart from her name), since they express the offerings made to her. A double rectangle above the table contains the inscription of items such as cosmetics, drinks, and various delicacies. A large vertical panel on the right, divided into three sections, lists the many pieces of fabric offered to the princess. Finally, a number of ideograms used pictorially, in front of the princess’s face and around the table, express the essential elements of the offering: “libation” (in front of her face), “lustration” before her chest, “leg of beef”, “ribs”, “duck”, “linen”, “crockery”, “bread”, “beer”, “meat and poultry”, “thousand”, “thousand”, “thousand!”. The words here are an integral part of the image.
A vital function
Both text and image have a role to play in this timeless work. On the death of Nefertiabet (no doubt a sister of King Cheops and daughter of Snefru), this stele was embedded in the outer wall of her tomb at Giza, at the foot of the great pyramid. It was subsequently walled up, and thereby protected from the ravages of time. The stele’s raison d’être was essentially practical: the images it featured (Nefertiabet’s food and material possessions) were brought to life from the moment of its creation and for ever after—thereby ensuring the princess eternal life and its attendant pleasures.
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decorated sacred bull - sanawad (india)
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walkingliberty: The five Pandawa brothers. From left: Puntadewa...
The five Pandawa brothers. From left: Puntadewa (Yudistira), Bima, Ardjuna, Nakula, and Sadewa.
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava (Sanskrit: पाण्डव pāṇḍavaḥ; also, Pandawa) are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu (Sanskrit: पांडु), by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. All five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi.
Together, the brothers fought and prevailed in a great war against their cousins the Kauravas, which came to be known as the Battle of Kurukshetra. Their alienated half-brother Karna fought against them and was eventually slain by Arjuna.
The story can be read at Wikipedia…
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Faravahar (Middle Persian: prʾwhr) is one of the best-known...
Faravahar (Middle Persian: prʾwhr) is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism, a state religion of the ancient Persian Empires despite the fact that it had existed well before the creation of that religion.
The Fravahar’s face resembles the face of human being and therefore, indicates its connection to mankind. There are two wings which have three main feathers. These main feathers indicate three symbols of ‘good reflection,’ ‘good words,’ and ‘good deed,’ which are at the same time the motive of flight and advancement.
The lower part of the Fravahar consists of three parts, representing ‘bad reflection,’ ‘bad words,’ and ‘bad deed’ which causes misery and misfortune for human beings.
There are two loops at the two sides of the Fravahar, which represent Sepanta Minu, and Angra Minu. The former is directed toward the face and the latter is located at the back. This also indicates that we have to proceed toward the good and turn away from bad.
The circle in the middle of the Fravahar’s trunk indicates that our spirit is immortal, having neither a beginning nor an end.
One hand of the Fravahar points upwards, showing that we have to struggle to thrive.
The other hand holds a ring. Some interpreters consider that as the ring of covenant, representing loyalty and faithfulness which is the basis of Zarathustra’s philosophy. www.crystalinks.com/faravahar.html
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The Spartan Diet: Inside the Spartan syssition
The Spartan Diet: Inside the Spartan syssition:
Nice info and picture relating to “black broth”
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walkingliberty: Death of the Firstborn. (From Egypt :...
Death of the Firstborn.
(From Egypt : descriptive, historical and picturesque. Cassell, 1881-1882) Ebers, Georg (1837-1898), Author.)
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centuriespast: Luca Cambiaso, attributed toItalian,...
Luca Cambiaso, attributed to
Italian, 1527-1585Resurrection, c. 1570
Pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash, over traces of graphite, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper
Art Institute of Chicago
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John Chrysostom’s Easter sermon
Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!
If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.
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Limestone false door of Ptahshepses The capital of Egypt during...
The capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was Memphis (also known as Men-nefer (‘established and beautiful’) and Ineb-hedj (‘white walls’), as it had been during the Early Dynastic period (about 3100-2613 BC) . Memphis is located to the south of the junction between the Nile valley and the Delta. The necropolis (cemetery) associated with the city stretches for over thirty kilometres along the west bank of the Nile and includes the famous sites of Giza and Saqqara. The ‘false door’ was a standard feature of tombs in the Memphis region. This is a particularly large and impressive example of the ‘palace façade’ type, so-called after the royal brick palaces that were thought to look like this. Ptahshepses was a high priest of Ptah and, according to the two right-hand columns of text, one of the royal children of the reigns of Menkaure and Shepseskaf, the last two major kings of the Fourth Dynasty (about 2613-2494 BC). If the four remaining large columns had another royal name at the top, Ptahshepses’ career would extend at least until the reign of Niuserre in the Fifth Dynasty. There is even a mention of a temple of Niuserre’s successor Menkauhor. It is possible then that Ptahshepses lived from about 2490 to about 2400 BC, a very long life for anyone at that time.Limestone false door of Ptahshepses
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From Upper EgyptEarly Predynastic period, Naqada I, 4000-3600...
From Upper Egypt
Early Predynastic period, Naqada I, 4000-3600 BC
The earliest three-dimensional representations of humans from ancient Egypt have been found in graves of the Predynastic period (sixth millenium - about 3100 BC). In the majority of cases they were found singly, but groups of up to as many as sixteen have been recorded. This example is one of a type of statue which shows a female figure with the arms either folded below the breasts or hanging down beside the body. Some examples were carved from limestone, but they are mostly of bone or ivory.
From their nakedness and from their emphasized sexual organs it has long been assumed that these figures were placed in the grave to act as concubines to the deceased in the Afterlife. However, they have not been exclusively found in burials of men but also of women and children, which suggests that their purpose was more generic. It is now thought that their presence was to provide magical support for the owner’s rebirth and regeneration.
The large and striking eyes are inlaid with lapis lazuli. The use of this rare material bears witness to the extensive trade network that must have existed in the Near East at this early a date, for the nearest lapis lazuli quarries are to be found in modern-day Afghanistan
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How different, much more energetic and virile than the later...
How different, much more energetic and virile than the later represenations…!
Museum Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Catalogue Number: Cleveland 66.114
Beazley Archive Number: 275976
Ware: Attic Red Figure (White Ground)
Shape: Lekythos
Painter: Attributed to Douris
Date: ca 500 - 495 BC
Period: Late Archaic
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reed crandal 1962
reed crandal 1962
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fernsandmoss: Emil Schildt My name is Emil Schildt. I was...
Emil Schildt
My name is Emil Schildt.
I was born in 1958, but I am only 35 years old!!
and I am keeping it that way…;-)
I am originally trained as a classical musician, playing the flute, but after my final exams, I needed a break…
and I am still on that break..
it was in 1987..
I attended Vrå Højskole back in 1979-80, and here I met an American, who had used to much money, so he could not pay for the fare home…
As a result of that, he asked if I please could buy his old camera..
I did - not knowing that this purchase would change my life..
While finishing the music academy, the photography slowly took over…
More and more of my free time was used in practicing photography - and my fellow music students were my models.
I did a lot of portraits, but it was also here I started doing nudes.
In the beginning, I had no idea how to go about this “photography-business”..
But I kept at it, and the many, many mistakes I made, helped me in a way, to explore different approaces/techniques..
My mother made me, from an early age, appreciate the good old craftsmanship - not in photography, but more in furniture and such..
(from the artist’s site).
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Satyr and Maenad, terracotta, 17.5”h, Augustan period, c....
Satyr and Maenad, terracotta, 17.5”h, Augustan period, c. 31 B.C. - 14 A.D.
(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York):
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Dancing Warriors, stone, late Republican period. (Vatican...
Dancing Warriors, stone, late Republican period. (Vatican Museums, Rome):
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prudence-never-pays: Latin! The most stolen poster of the...
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centuriespast: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van RijnDutch,...
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Dutch, 1606-1669The Great Jewish Bride, 1635
Etching on paper
Art Institue of Chicago
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