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Mytological Animals

MYTOLOGICAL ANIMALS

5,202 photos
Hanging bowl from the Sutton Hoo burial, Anglo-Saxon, late 6th-early 7th century. This once magnificent and highly valued bronze hanging bowl has elaborately ornamented and inlaid hook-mounts, with extra ornamental square mounts in between. Inside, uniquely, is a free-standing silvery bronze fish that could rotate and appear to swim, indicating that the bowl may have held water for hand washing after a feast, or perhaps something stronger. Red, blue and pale green enamel were used, with inlaid glass, blue rods and bright patterns of millefiori. It was repaired using silver patches decorated in the local Anglo-Saxon style and is typical of medieval Celtic art from Britain and Ireland. The bowl was found in 1939 in a richly furnished ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. The burial, probably of King Raedwald, Anglo-Saxon ruler of East Anglia, is the most lavishly equipped tomb surviving from the early middle ages. M&ME, 1939, 10-10,110
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Hanging bowl from the Sutton Hoo burial, Anglo-Saxon, late 6th-early 7th century...

Gold belt buckle fom the ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, early 7th century. It is hollow and made in two parts joined by a hinge. The master-craftsman who made it devised a locking system involving a complex system of sliders and internal rods which fit into slotted fixings. These fill the interior leaving little space for the safe storage of a relic, a function which has been suggested for such hollow, high-status buckles. The surface of the buckle and the tongue plate are decorated with writhing snakes and intertwining four legged beasts. Their bodies are highlighted with punched ornament filled with black niello. At the toe of the buckle, two animals gently hold a tiny dog-like creature in their gaping jaws. On the shoulders are two birds' heads with cruel, curving beaks (perhaps a reference to Odin, a god from Norse mythology). The metal and decoration of these buckles reflected the wealth and status of their owners. M&ME, 1939,10-10,1
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Gold belt buckle fom the ship-burial at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, early 7th century....

The Franks Casket, Anglo-Saxon, first half of the 8th century. Box also known as the Auzon casket, made from the bone of a beached whale, richly carved on the sides and lid in high relief with a range of scenes. The decorated panel in the lid shows a Germanic story about a hero named Ægili who is shown defending his home from armed raiders. A runic inscription can be seen on the right. The style of the carving, and dialect of the inscriptions, show that the casket was made in northern England for a learned patron. It reflects the intellectual interest at this time in the Bible and history as it makes clever play of symbolism. The Frankish scholar Frithegod, who was active in Northumbria, may have taken it to France. Silver fittings were removed leaving scars which mark their original positions. The non-decorated part of the lid almost certainly replaces a carved piece. M&ME, 1867,1-20,1
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The Franks Casket, Anglo-Saxon, first half of the 8th century. Box also known as...

Attic red-figured kylix with Zeus and eagle abducting Ganymede; 470 BCE.
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Attic red-figured kylix with Zeus and eagle abducting Ganymede; 470 BCE.

White kylix showing Leda and the Swan.
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White kylix showing Leda and the Swan.

Greek black-figured oenochoe with charioteer and horse; 6th century BCE.
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Greek black-figured oenochoe with charioteer and horse; 6th century BCE.

Relief showing horsemen. Pentelic marble; West frieze from the Parthenon, Athens,Greece; 447-33 BCE. The frieze represents the Panathenaic procession. Only two slabs of the West Frieze were removed by Lord Elgin and the rest of the West Frieze remained in situ on the Parthenon until it was removed to the Akropolis Museum in the late twentieth century. The overall subject of the West Frieze is the preparation for the procession with figures lacing up shoes, getting attired, and mounting horses. The directional flow is from right to left (south to north) with some figures that turn back to the south in order to create a compositional unity with the South Frieze. Slab 2 (displayed at the British Museum, London) is one of the most well-known, featuring two magnificent, heroically nude riders (probably carved by two different sculptors). The front rider has a three-quarters face and he looks back and raises his left hand to his head, a signal to the cavalcade behind him.
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Relief showing horsemen. Pentelic marble; West frieze from the Parthenon, Athen...

Red-figured ceramic skyphos with owl; 4th century BCE.
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Red-figured ceramic skyphos with owl; 4th century BCE.

Gold amphora-rhyton with centaur handles on each side (3rd BCE). Panagyurishte Golden Treasure. See also 12-01-01/19
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Gold amphora-rhyton with centaur handles on each side (3rd BCE). Panagyurishte...

Attic red-figured vase showing Amazon fighting a cavalry (detail); 4th century BCE.
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Attic red-figured vase showing Amazon fighting a cavalry (detail); 4th century B...

Back wall of the Tomb of the Lionesses, Tarquinia, Italy; around 530-520 BCE. Below the lionesses is a large krater with two musicians playing lyre and twin pipes. They are accompanied by dancers.
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Back wall of the Tomb of the Lionesses, Tarquinia, Italy; around 530-520 BCE. B...

Tomb of the Lionesses, Tarquinia, Italy; around 530-520 BCE. Depiction of two dancers. Detail of 03-05-06/43
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Tomb of the Lionesses, Tarquinia, Italy; around 530-520 BCE. Depiction of two da...