We i t z
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Ancient Byzantine COLLECTION Gallery 150 –154
Ancie nt & By zan tine
Age of Spiritualit y Egyptian G r ee k Roman Etruscan Byzantine Coins
Gallery 150 –15
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INTRODUCTION
The collection of the Art Institute’s Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art spans nearly 4,000 years and is comprised of significant artworks from ancient Near Eastern, Byzantine, Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, and Roman cultures. Highlights of the department’s 5,000 objects include sculpture in stone, terracotta, and bronze, as well as vases, mosaics, glass, jewelry, and coins of outstanding quality. Together they offer a comprehensive survey of the art of the ancient and medieval Mediterranean world.
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Egyptian
gyptian Gallery 154 The head was thought to be one of the most important features of the body in the afterlife.Even if the mortal remains decayed or were destroyed, the representation of facial features ensured the function of those parts of the body. Amulets, such as the gold Eye of Horus inlaid in the center of the headdress, magically protected the body. Toward the base, the artist included a scene of the deceased meeting Osiris, god of the underworld. Although made when Rome ruled Egypt, the head cover is thoroughly Egyptian: the skin is gilded like that of the gods, and the face is generic and idealized.
Mummy Head Cover, Roman Period, (1st century B.C.) Cartonnage (gum, linen, papyrus), gold leaf, pigment 46 x 33.3 x 28 cm (18 1/8 x 13 1/8 x 11 in.) W. Moses Willner Fund, 1910.221
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These three figures are chiseled so deeply into the stone that they, like the head of man on the left, are nearly carved in the round. From the preserved portions of males’ right arms, it is clear they once clasped hands in farewell. Their impassive expressions contrast with the poignant gaze and gesture of the woman in the center, who places her right hand, palm up, on the standing man’s shoulder. Perhaps he is the one who has died.
Fragment of a Funerary Naiskos (Monument in the Shape of a Temple), about 330 B.C. Marble 152.4 x 111.8 x 33 cm (60 x 44 x 13 in.) Alexander White Collection, 1928.162
Gallery 151
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r om a n Roman sculptors often adapted the forms of earlier Greek artworks for use in entirely new contexts. This statue evokes the figures of seated, draped goddesses displayed in the pediments of the Parthenon, the renowned temple on the Acropolis in Athens. Among the Romans, this statue type was widely used for sculptures of female deities such as Juno (the Greek Hera), the consort of Jupiter (the Greek Zeus), as well as for portraits of empresses and other prominent women. Here the figure’s head and arms, now missing, were made separately and attached by means of dowels, the holes for which are visible.
Statue of a Seated Woman, 2nd century A.D. Marble 82 x 63.5 x 38.2 cm (32 3/8 x 25 x 15 in.) Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund, 1986.1060
ETRUSCAN Gallery 152 Roman sculptors often adapted the forms of earlier Greek artworks for use in entirely new contexts. This statue evokes the figures of seated, draped goddesses displayed in the pediments of the Parthenon, the renowned temple on the Acropolis in Athens. Among the Romans, this statue type was widely used for sculptures of female deities such as Juno (the Greek Hera), the consort of Jupiter (the Greek Zeus), as well as for portraits of empresses and other prominent women. Here the figure’s head and arms, now missing, were made separately and attached by means of dowels, the holes for which are visible.
Votive (Gfit) in the Shape of a Woman’s Head, about 500 B.C. Terracotta, pigment 26.5 x 22 x 18 cm (10 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 7 1/4 in.) Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund, 1975.342
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byzantine Gallery 153
This image of a grazing tiger probably came from a larger composition with other animals that decorated the floor of a semipublic space within a private home, such as a reception or dining room. This animal is represented against a white ground decorated with florets. A bell hangs from the camel’s neck as it reaches toward an object, perhaps a vessel filled with water, at the lower right. The knobby contours of the camel’s body are accentuated by areas of shading in subtly modulated colors, including black, brown, brick red, and olive green.
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Mosaic Fragment with Grazing Tiger, 5th century A.D. Stone in mortar 143 x 166.5 x 6.5 cm (56 1/4 x 61 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.) Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Mayer, 1970.1065
COINS Gallery 154
The purpose of the first portrait coins was to identify the ruler. The front side became a mirror of the sovereign’s self-image. The back was often used to communicate the ruler’s accomplishments or intentions. The profile portrait was used because it suited the very shallow depth and limited surface of the coin. The tiny images were carved by engravers into bronze dies, one for the front and another for the back. Whereas modern coinage is cast by pouring molten metal into molds, these coins were struck, one by one. This coin portrays Caracalla (r. A.D. 211–217) as an adult who killed his brother in order to rule alone.
Aureus (Coin) Depicting the God Serapis, A.D. 216 Gold Diam. 2 cm; 6.62 g OB: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG GERM REV: P M TR D XVIIII COS IIII P P Gift of Martin A. Ryerson, 1922.4885
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