Earth & Anthro

Coffret, Metropolitan Museum of Art: Medieval Art

Rogers Fund,1925 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Walnut, carved & lined with glass (some colored)

Florentines rescuing a painting, as David watches over the Piazza della Signoria. 

Didrachm with head of Hercules (obverse) and she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus (reverse)

Roman, Republican Period, 269-266 B.C.

silver

Greek bronze helmet with a ram's head, due to its size, probably used for ceremonial purposes

525 - 500 BCE

Etruscan votive offering in form of upper part of human face

Late Etruscan period

Silver brooch, part of the Galloway hoard, a Viking age treasure hoard uncovered in Scotland, dated circa 900 AD

Gold geese earrings, Greece, 3rd-1st century AD

Unknown Wild Boar late 6th century BCE Greek Leaded bronze Cast, lost-wax process 8.7 x 14.1 x 3.5 cm (3 7/16 x 5 9/16 x 1 3/8 in.)

Observations: The patina is primarily exposed underlying red with some areas of green surviving. The exposed red and the deep pitting is probably the result of a partial electrolytic stripping of the original corrosion products. In spite of this, considerable surface detail has survived. The right rear foot and lower leg are lost. The three surviving legs are broken off and repaired. All three of the reattached feet are consistent in appearance with the rest of the bronze. A small amount of green paint appears to have been added to the proper left side, presumably to even out the red color resulting from the cleaning process. The weight of the bronze indicates it is a solid cast. Although there is a line along the ridge on the back that could be taken for a mold line, it is incised rather than raised and appears to be anatomical or design-related rather than a mold line that would have indicated casting using the indirect lost-wax process. The slightly soft and irregular features in the head and elsewhere point to a direct lost-wax technique. The vertical lines in the ridge of bristles are slightly soft in their contours and appear to have been incised in the wax. The condition of the surface makes it difficult to judge, but there is probably some cold-work finishing in the face, feet, and tail.

The sculpture in the image is the Winged Victory of Samothrace, also known as the Nike of Samothrace or Vitória de Samotrácia.

Here are some key details about the sculpture:

Subject: It represents the Greek goddess Nike, the personification of victory.

Creation Date: The sculpture was created around the 2nd century BCE, likely between 200 and 190 BCE.

Purpose: It was created to commemorate a naval victory.

Discovery: The statue was found in fragments on the island of Samothrace in 1863.