Ancient Beard Art

Head of a ruler or noble (we have no idea who), Mesopotamia, ca. 2000 BCE. Some scholars suspect that this may be one of the rare pieces of Mesopotamian art that actually attempts to depict what an individual looked like rather than a stylized depiction.

Head of a Foreign Warrior, 200s BC, Cleveland Museum of Art: Greek and Roman Art

Size: Overall: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.) Medium: marble with traces of paint

Painted Etruscan Antefixes - part I

An antefix (from Latin antefigere, to fasten before) is a vertical block which terminates and conceals the covering tiles of a tiled roof. It also serves to protect the join from the elements.

During the Archaic period, antefixes were produced in great numbers throughout Etruria, especially in Caere, southern Etruria (modern-day Cerveteri). Accordingly, many examples have survived. These painted terracotta objects were commonly used on the eaves of a roof, in order to protect the end tiles from the elements. They also formed part of the architectural decoration of buildings and were believed to banish bad luck.

Antefix with a head of Silenus and anthemia nimbus / Cerveteri, Lazio, Italy /  4th century BCE 

Antefix with a Maenad head /  Portonaccio Temple at Veii, Italy / 510 BCE

Antefix with the head of Silenus / Cerveteri, Italy / 480 BCE 

Antefix with female head with nimbus / Lanuvium, late-Archic temple of Juno Sospita /  5th century BCE

Antefix with the head of Silenus / Italy / 4th century BCE

Janiform Kantharos, c. 470-460 BC, Cleveland Museum of Art: Greek and Roman Art

Size: Overall: 19.6 x 17.2 cm (7 11/16 x 6 ¾ in.); Diameter of base: 8.5 cm (3 3/8 in.); Diameter of rim: 15.3 cm (6 in.) Medium: molded earthenware with slip decoration

Hercules, c. 30 BC - 20, Cleveland Museum of Art: Greek and Roman Art

Half-human, half-divine, not very bright, but very strong, this hero was the most popular of all mythological figures. His intellectual weakness made him a sympathetic figure while his persistence in undergoing great trials was inspirational. Roman artists often portrayed Hercules as middle-aged, as though greater maturity would increase his power andvirility. Hercules slew a monster-lion—the scourge of Nemea—by strangling it and beating it with his olive-wood club. He wears the beast’s pelt as a trophy, and this statuette’s right hand once held a club. Size: Overall: 14.5 x 8 cm (5 11/16 x 3 1/8 in.) Medium: bronze with silver and copper inlays

Tetradrachm with Head of Zeus, Greek, 312, Saint Louis Art Museum: Ancient Art

Battle of Lugdunum: Septimius Severus defeats the usurper Clodius Albinus. Severus’ victory established him as the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.

Marble disk with a herm of Dionysus in relief (and detail)

Roman, Early Imperial Period, third quarter of the 1st century A.D.

Limestone head of a bearded male wearing a conical helmet, Greek and Roman Art

The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Limestone

Date:6th–5th century B.C.