FrogFriday 🐸:

Carving of a frog, 700-800 CE Maya culture, Topoxte, Guatemala Shell & quartz, 21/8 x 23/4 x 1/4 in (6.7 X 7 x 0.4 cm) Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala From the exhibition “Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea”

“Originally part of a sumptuous burial offering from the island of Topoxte in Lake Yaxha, this shell carving portrays a smooth and nimble swimming frog, limbs in motion, with pale eyes of inlaid stones. Its captivating color and delicate pattern come from the natural appearance of the Oliva porphyria shell, which is found in the Pacific Ocean in southern Central America.“

#TwoForTuesday :

Pair of Owl-Shaped Jars

China, Henan province, Western Han dynasty, 206 BCE-9 CE

Amber brown-glazed low-fired pottery

19 x 13.8 x 11.8 cm (7 1/2 x 5 7/16 x 4 5/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

2020.178.1-2

“Pottery vessels in the shape of owls were made since Neolithic times and throughout the Bronze Age. These jars in the form of vigilant owls may have provided a tomb occupant with grain in the afterlife. However, the meaning of these mysterious birds and the association of the owl motif with burial sites in China is not fully understood.”

#TwoForTuesday :

Cranes and Serpents, 475-221 BCE (Warring States Period)

China, State of Chu (reportedly from Hunan province,Changsha)

Lacquered wood with polychromy

132.1 x 124.5 cm (52 x 49 in.)

On display at Cleveland Museum of Art 1938.9

“A different style of ritual art developed in the state of Chu in South China. In addition to bronze vessels, lacquered wood artifacts expanded the repertory of ritual implements.

This extraordinary sculpture was probably a drum stand for supporting a suspended drum in ritual ceremonies. It is unique among other excavated drum stands of the Chu, which typically show two birds standing on tigers. The theme of the bird stepping on the serpent was common in the Chu visual culture. Yet the slender proportions and seemingly flimsy structure of this particular set raise the question of whether it was utilitarian or mostly served symbolic functions in the tomb.

The birds' and serpents' bodies have designs painted in red lacquer and yellow pigment against the black lacquer. Scientific analyses confirm the additional use of a blue or green pigment that has been discolored over time.”

#FrogFriday 🐸:

Frog-Shaped Guttus (Oil Vessel)

South Italian, Apulian, 4th c. BCE

Painted ceramic

Diameter: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); Overall: 5.8 x 11.2 x 9.1 cm (2 5/16 x 4 7/16 x 3 9/16 in.)

On display at The Cleveland Museum of Art 1985.176

“Guttus is a Latin word referring to a small vessel with vertical spout and ring handle, probably used for pouring small amounts of precious oils. Often, mold-made ceramic gutti take the form of animals, with realistic painted decoration. This lifelike frog features black stripes and alternating black and white circles.”

#TwoForTuesday: two heads are better than one?

Composite Lion and Bull

Northwest Iran, possibly Koffrabad, western Gilan Province, 1500–1000 BCE

Bronze, cast, 11.4 x 9.7 x 14.8 cm (4 1/2 x 3 13/16 x 5 13/16 in.), 0.98 kg

On display at The Cleveland Museum of Art 1969.122

Additional description from CMA:

“Combining the strength of the lion and the fertility of the bull, this creature must have served as an object of worship in a temple or shrine.”

For #MosaicMonday :

Fragment of a Floor Mosaic: Grape Harvester and Peacock

Byzantine, Northern Syria, 5th c.

Marble tesserae

133.5 x 144.8 cm (52 9/16 x 57 in.), 132.449 kg (292 lbs.)

On display at Cleveland Museum of Art 1969.112

“These mosaics once decorated the floor of an early Christian church in northern Syria. The grape harvester and the peacock allude to well-known Christian themes: the grapes represent the Eucharistic wine and thus the blood of Christ, while the peacock was a symbol of immortality.”

For #MosaicMonday :

Mosaic of Tigress and Cubs

Eastern Roman Empire, 4th c.

Tesserae, 142.9 x 135.4 cm (56 1/4 x 53 5/16 in.)

On display at Cleveland Museum of Art 1987.65

More info from CMA:

“Despite its rectangular shape and creation from mostly square tesserae, this mosaic incorporates many curves in its composition, particularly for the tails of the tigers. With one cub on her back and two before her, the mother tiger reaches out with one paw and an open mouth, whether to scold or to play. Unlike lions, leopards, and bears, #tigers appear relatively rarely in Roman art, with the tigress seen more frequently than her male counterpart.”

Red-Figure Fish Plate, c.340–330BCE

attributed to Asteas/Python Workshop (South Italian, Paestan, active c.360–320BCE)

Ceramic, Dia. 38.3 cm (15 1/16 in.)

On display at Cleveland Museum of Art 1985.50

“Perfect for serving seafood, this plate features images of sea creatures (octopi, mullet, bream, and various shellfish) around a well for dipping or collecting juices. Although first developed in Athens, red-figure fish plates became popular in South Italy and Sicily in the 4th century BC. All feature a short foot and a small central depression, but those produced in the workshop of Asteas and Python, like this one, are the largest and most ornate. Archaeologists have studied the fish and other sea creatures represented, identifying many of them with species still found (and eaten) in the Mediterranean.”

Jar with snakes and giraffes

Egypt, Lower Nubia, Karanog Cemetery

Meroitic Period, 100 BCE - 300 CE

Ceramic, paint; H. 34 cm, Dia. 29.4

Penn Museum E8183

“Undulating snakes curve around the top of this jar. On the frieze below, giraffes - which were native to Upper Nubia - eat from tall trees.”

For #InternationalRabbitDay 🐰:

Rabbit ornament

Sino-Siberian, Warring States period, 5th–1st c. BCE

Gold, L 2.4 cm (15/16 in.)

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 50.1531

Today is both #ElephantAppreciationDay and #WorldRhinoDay so here is an image featuring both animals:

[Asian] Elephant and [Indian] Rhinoceros in File, cylinder seal (impression), Harappa, Indus Valley, c. 2500 BCE

With bonus crocodilians! (Gharials?)

The photo is of an enlarged impression made of the original cylinder seal from the 1930s excavations at Tell Asmar. Even though it was found in Mesopotamia, it was identified as an import from the Indus Valley. See full record here: https://archive.org/details/ancientsealsofne34marti/page/n19/mode/2up

#NationalHummingbirdDay :

Bottle with Hummingbirds

Nazca culture, Peru, South Coast, 1-400CE

Ceramic, slip, H. 6 × Diam. 5 in. (15.2 × 12.7 cm)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1978.412.91

“Double-spout bottles such as this one were used as funerary offerings. They were also an integral part of the ritual consumption of food and corn beer carried out at Cahuachi. The use of bottles with elaborate decoration was related to feasts, processions, and other prestige building activities carried out by high-status individuals and households. Nazca iconography includes a great variety of plants, animals, and more than twenty species of birds. This bottle shows hummingbirds with long thin beaks feeding on flowers painted at the base of each spout.”

Bonus baby version:

Double Spout Bottle

Nazca, Peru, Central Andes, Rio Grande de Nasca, 1st-6th c. CE

Ceramic, H. 3 1/8 × Diam. 2 in. (7.9 × 5.1 cm)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1994.35.61

Baboon Cup

100 BCE-300 CE (Meroitic Period)

Egypt, Lower Nubia, Karanog

Ceramic, Paint

“In ancient Egypt, baboons were associated with the god Thoth. They also had a connection to the rising sun. The baboon depicted on this cup holds a triangular object that resembles the ancient Egyptian word for ‘gift.’”

On display at Penn Museum E8463

Rabbit Effigy Vessel

Mexico, Southern Veracruz, Classic Veracruz Culture, 600-900 CE

Ceramic, H 15.4 x L 15.7 x W 8.2 cm

On display at Penn Museum 68-30-1

Happy #AndeanBearDay! The Andean Bear, aka Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus), is South America's only extant bear species.

Spectacled Bear Bottle Moche culture, Peru, 5th-7th century Ceramic, slip, H. 6.75 × W. 3.5 in. (17.1 × 8.9 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 63.112.5

"This ceramic stirrup-spout bottle was sculpted in the shape of a seated, cross-legged spectacled bear with human arms and hands resting on the knees. The bear wears a cream-colored tunic and a headdress tied under the chin, painted using red-ochre and cream slips. The creature’s face features a broad, vertical white stripe in the center, flanked by two red stripes, emulating both the natural coloration of the bear’s face and the type of face paint seen on ceramic portraits of human warriors. ...

Spectacled bears are less common in Moche iconography than other animals, but they may have been revered for certain powers. Spectacled bears may be small in comparison with its North American counterparts, but they are among the largest land carnivores in South America, found in both the cloud forest of the Andes and in the dry Prosopis forests of the desert coast. Although spectacled bears are more herbivorous than other bears, they are also known for their prowess in hunting, capable of bringing down sizeable prey, including deer and llamas. In Moche times they may have been seen as analogous to warriors, known for their strength and their ability to fight and capture prisoners. The bears may also have been associated with the world of the dead, as those on the coast are primarily nocturnal."

For this #Baturday, look what I found to go along with SharkBat: CrocBat! 🐊🦇

Pendant, bat with crocodilian* wings Nicoya, Costa Rica, dated 1-500CE Stone (jadeite?), 1 3/4 × 1/4 × 5 1/4 in. (4.4 × 0.6 × 13.3 cm) Bowers Museum 2002.3.46

*🆔Both the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) and Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) are native to Costa Rica.

For the previously shared SharkBat, see this post:

New research: “Monumental snake engravings of the Orinoco River” | Antiquity | Cambridge Core -

ABSTRACT:

“Rock art of the Middle and Upper Orinoco River in South America is characterised by some of the largest and most enigmatic engravings in the world, including snakes exceeding 40m in length. Here, the authors map the geographic distribution of giant snake motifs and assess the visibility of this serpentine imagery within the Orinoco landscape and Indigenous myths. Occupying prominent outcrops that were visible from great distances, the authors argue that the rock art provided physical reference points for cosmogonic myths, acting as border agents that structured the environment and were central to Indigenous placemaking along the rivers of lowland South America.”