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Red-figured squat lekythos, Athens, Greece, c420-c400 BC. The elegant faces of the women in this garden scene and their fine, multi-pleated drapery are very characteristic of the style of the Meidias Painter and his associates. The names of all the figures are written alongside in white letters. The seated figure is Aphrodite, goddess of Love; Eros, her son and messenger, sits on her shoulder. The figure to the right of them is Peitho, goddess and personification of Persuasion. Peitho is attaching sprays of leaves to a basket known as a kanoun, which was carried in processions. The three female figures to the left of Aphrodite are Kleopatra ('Of noble parentage'), Eunomia ('Good Order') and Paidia ('Games and Playfulness'). These personifications cluster around the goddess, offering fruit or a necklace. The late fifth-century Athenian cult of 'Aphrodite in the Gardens' is likely to have stressed the goddess's links with nature and the renewal of vegetation. GR, 1856.5-12.15 (Vases E 697)
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Red-figured squat lekythos, Athens, Greece, c420-c400 BC. The elegant faces of t...

Black-figured neck-amphora, from Vulci in Etruria, made in Athens, Greece, c530-c520 BC. This particular amphora is unusual, with its handles reaching right up on to the rim. The delicate, small-scale, black-figure work on this vase has been attributed to the painter Psiax, one of the first painters to work also in red-figure. Another more influential painter who worked in red-figure on larger vases potted by Andokides was an anonymous artist known as the Andokides Painter. The Andokides who signed this pot may well be the same Andokides whose name appears (with that of another potter) on a marble inscription on a statue base found on the Athenian Acropolis. If so, his potting had certainly made him rich as only the rich could afford to dedicate bronze or marble statues. GR, 1980.10-29.1
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Black-figured neck-amphora, from Vulci in Etruria, made in Athens, Greece, c530-...

Pottery 'Kamares' cup, Minoan, c1950-c1850 BC. Pottery in this style is called Kamares ware, named after the Kamares cave near to the palace of Phaistos. The cave was apparently sacred to the Minoans, and contained votive offerings that included quantities of such pottery.The period from the foundation of the Minoan palaces of Crete (1950 BC) to their first major destruction (around 1700 BC) is known by archaeologists as the 'First Palace period'. At this time, this characteristic type of pottery was produced, with red, orange and white painted decoration on a dark background. Sets of cups and jugs have been found, and it has been suggested that these may have been used in ritual, though Kamares pottery presumably also graced the dining tables of the First Palaces. GR, 1906.11-12.74 (Vases A 477)
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Pottery 'Kamares' cup, Minoan, c1950-c1850 BC. Pottery in this style is called K...

Terracotta scent bottle in the form of a fat, squatting man, Greek, c520 BC. This scent bottle is in the form of a fat man in a semi-seated position, with his hands across his rotund stomach. He is a caricature, made for comic effect. Many bottles of this shape are known, and it has been suggested that the figure type shows Egyptian or Phoenician influence. Rhodes was prosperous in antiquity because of its key position. It lies close to the coast of Asia Minor, which gave the inhabitants opportunities for contacts and trade. During the sixth century BC the scent trade was important. The scent itself may have been imported, but bottles to contain it were made on the island in a variety of materials and shapes. The full range of scent bottles included both human figures and heads and a wide variety of animals. GR, 1861.10-24.2 (Terracotta 86)
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Terracotta scent bottle in the form of a fat, squatting man, Greek, c520 BC. Thi...

The Muse Casket, Late Roman, 4th century. Unusual domed silver casket; panels around the scalloped body of the casket bear repoussé figures of eight of the nine Muses. They can be distinguished by their costumes and individual attributes; for example, Terpsichore (Muse of lyric poetry and the dance) holds a lyre, Calliope (Muse of epic poetry) has a scroll, and Urania (Muse of astronomy) has a globe. The iconography associates the owner with the Muses' accomplishments. The casket was designed to be hung from chains and holds five small silver bottles for perfumes and unguents, probably for use in the bath, highly valued by Ancient Romans. The inhabited vine scrolls emerging from kantheroi (two-handled drinking cups) on the body and lid of the casket evoke a delightful, paradisaical atmosphere. This casket from the Esquiline treasure in Rome most probably belonged to a Roman woman named Projecta. M&ME, 1866,12-29,2
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The Muse Casket, Late Roman, 4th century. Unusual domed silver casket; panels ar...

Silver handle from the Capheaton treasure, Roman Britain, 2nd or 3rd century AD. This incomplete handle with gilded details features the goddess Minerva above a temple which is set close by a water-source. A figure makes an offering before the temple. The scene is highly reminiscent of the precinct of Sulis Minerva at Bath. The fragments of highly decorated silver vessels that make up the Capheaton treasure were found in 1747, at Capheaton, Northumberland. They may be treasure from a temple. The decoration is purely Roman, and depicts religious and mythological subjects. P&EE, 1824.4-89.59-65
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Silver handle from the Capheaton treasure, Roman Britain, 2nd or 3rd century AD....

Silver tigress from the Hoxne hoard, Roman Britain, buried in the 5th century. This statuette of a prancing tigress was intended as one of a pair of handles for a large silver amphora or vase, though no other part of such an object was found in the hoard. Tigers and other large feline species were associated with Bacchus, and the amphora to which this tigress belonged would no doubt have had Bacchic decoration. The figure is a solid casting with stripes inlaid in niello to create a black contrast with the silver background. The Hoxne (pronounced 'Hoxon') hoard is the richest find of treasure from Roman Britain. Alongside the approximately 15,000 coins were many other precious objects, buried for safety at a time when Britain was passing out of Roman control. P&EE, P.1994 4-8 30
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Silver tigress from the Hoxne hoard, Roman Britain, buried in the 5th century. T...

The interior of a flanged silver bowl from the Mildenhall treasure, Roman Britain, 3rd-4th century. It has a dropped horizontal rim and niello decoration. It was not designed to have a lid, however a deep domed cover was made some time in the fourth century, either for another bowl, or perhaps specifically to fit this one. This bowl is the earliest vessel in the Mildenhall treasure, made in Gaul in the third century. P&EE, 1946 10-7 11;P&EE, 1946 10-7 12
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The interior of a flanged silver bowl from the Mildenhall treasure, Roman Britai...

Flanged silver bowl and cover from the Mildenhall treasure, Roman Britain, 3rd-4th century. It has a dropped horizontal rim and niello decoration. It has a border of Bacchic ornament in relief. The small statuette of a triton which forms a knob may not have been part of the lid's original design. It was not designed to have a lid. The deep domed cover was made later, some time in the fourth century, either for another bowl, or perhaps specifically to fit this one. This bowl is the earliest vessel in the Mildenhall treasure, made in Gaul in the third century. P&EE, 1946 10-7 11;P&EE, 1946 10-7 12
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Flanged silver bowl and cover from the Mildenhall treasure, Roman Britain, 3rd-4...

Fluted silver bowl from the Mildenhall treasure, Roman Britain, 4th century. Decorated with a chased leaf pattern on the flat panels. The centre of the bowl has geometric decoration in the form of an interwoven six-pointed star. This motif, like other geometric and floral designs, was often used decoratively in the Roman period, but it had no connection with Judaism. The formal adoption of the Star of David as a Jewish symbol took place only after the medieval period. Large bowls of this type were evidently intended to hold water for washing hands at table. P&EE, 1946 10-7 15/17
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Fluted silver bowl from the Mildenhall treasure, Roman Britain, 4th century. Dec...

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...

Two Roman amphorae, used for the transport of shrimp.
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Two Roman amphorae, used for the transport of shrimp.