From Germany to the UK. In 1847 Sir Charles Isham journeyed back from Germany and returned with 21 smaller friends. These were small figures which themselves had evolved from what the Italians had called Gobbi. The garden gnome had arrived. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the term ‘gnome’ entered usage in England and after the …
Between the rockery and a hard place. Priapus and the garden gnome. Read More »
Those more familiar with my blog may notice a pattern of the more bizarre and unusual topics or objects from antiquity appearing here. So this continues with a stele found in Edessa in Macedonia and dating to the Hellenistic period (though some point to a Roman date). The exact time this piece appeared is perhaps …
Third #VaseVlog2018 of the year and it’s the turn of the Francois Vase and in particular the depiction of a the Calydonian Boar hunt.
With the Ides of March upon us you’ll read a fair few articles and pieces about Julius Caesar. Thought I’d share the vlog I did on the pugio, this was the dagger most likely used by Caesar’s assassins and became part of a Roman legionary’s kit.
The scene of a deity pursuing a mortal libinously is not exactly a rare event in antiquity. From vases to reliefs and even the backs of mirrors the love affairs of the Greek gods were an easy option for an artist to bake into life on a vase or tease out of marble. Normally the …
Eos and her lovers: Proof that the early bird gets the worm Read More »
Second #VaseVlog2018 and it’s one of those cheery decapitation images courtesy of Perseus. But perhaps there is a bit of humour here, I hope you enjoy
Ever wonder what the lorica segmentata looks on a grizzled veteran? Well, I can cover the grizzled look whilst I work on the veteran. A short overview of the lorica segmentata.
Hirsuite Hellenes. For the ancient Greeks the beard was a cornerstone of masculinity. To be in possession of a full beard marked you out as a fully adult male and in the societies of the Classical period (and earlier) this was not to be taken lightly. Presuming that you were a citizen male the growing …
Taking it on the chin: The beard in Greece and Rome. Read More »
As we have seen in the previous article, apiculture had become a sophisticated industry by the time Homer was composing epithets and gruesome deaths. The Mediterranean and its trade routes facilitated an easy exchange of ideas and technologies. One civilisation, the Minoan may well have passed on technologies or offered alternatives to those already used …
As it’s World museum selfie day on Jan 18th here’s a few pics from my visits to museums over the years. Couple in there of me in Roman kit as part of a museum Roman day, always great fun. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]
