Eye Inlay (doubled) - Sumerian or Elamite - lapis lazuli, marble - c.2nd half of the 3rd Millennium BCE

Eye inlay - lapis lazuli, limestone and black stone - Syrian, Early Dynastic Mesopotamian - c.2550-2250 BCE

Child’s left eye inlay - glass - Late Period, Egypt - c.664-332 BCE 

 A pair of child’s eye inlays - glass - Late Period, Egypt - c.664-332 BCE

Go ahead, make my millennium.

Interior of the Great Temple of Khnum at Esna

Pair of gold earrings with pendant Erotes, Metropolitan Museum of Art: Greek and Roman Art

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Kellen, 1999 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: Gold

Four Bracelets from Tomb of King Djer

These four bracelets were discovered at Abydos in the tomb of King Djer of the First Dynasty. They were fastened onto a linen-wrapped forearm of a woman, who might have been King Djer’s queen or a member of the royal family.

The bracelets were held in place by linen bandages, which made it possible to recover them in their original order of stringing. Three of the bracelets are composed of various types of beads: gold, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and amethyst. The fourth one consists of 27 plaques representing the palace facade topped by the falcon god Horus.

The bracelets are of exquisite workmanship, demonstrating the skill of the ancient artists in this early period of Egyptian history.

Tetrapylon of Aphrodisias

Aphrodisias, Asia minor (Turkey)

2nd century CE

The Tetrapylon was the monumental columnar entrance to the sanctuary of Aphrodite. It has sixteen columns (4 X 4) supporting elaborate pediments on each side. A complete stone-for-stone reconstruction or anastylosis of the structure, using 85% original blocks, was completed in 1991. It is a richly ornamented prestige building in the style of the Antonine period (mid-later second century CE). One entered on the east side, from a major north-south street, and passed through the gate into a large open forecourt before the sanctuary proper. Looking back from the inside at the west façade of the gate, the visitor would see an even richer elaboration of the architecture that marked this as the interior. One moved through the gate from the public space of the street to the space of Aphrodite. The broken-recessed west pediment is decorated with high-quality relief work of Erotes hunting in acanthus foliage and with deeply carved architectural ornament in an encrusted imperial style that represented majesty and grandeur. A figure of Aphrodite framed in an acanthus calyx in the central lunette was erased in the Christian period and replaced with a crudely engraved cross.

Graveyard quilt

Elizabeth Roseberry [Mitchell] and her family were natives of Pennsylvania. She married Shadrach Mitchell on November 20, 1817 in Green County, Pa. In 1834, the family moved to Antioch, Ohio. They had the first seven of their 11 children with them during the move. In 1836, Elizabeth's young son, John Vanetta, died. At that time Elizabeth started a mourning quilt (different from this one, currently in the collection of the Kentucky Highlands Museum) and put a coffin with John's name on it in the graveyard at the center. The family moved again about 1840 to Lewis County, Ky. Brothers Roseberry and Mathias (called Bub) soon returned to Ohio. In January 1843, Matthias died at age 19; how or why is no longer known. Elizabeth added his name to the quilt that was still only in the quilt-top phase. Batting and backing had not been added and the quilting had not been started. Apparently Elizabeth was dissatisfied with that quilt and started a new one around Matthias' 1843 death. It is this second, finished quilt that is in the Kentucky Historical Society collections. Some fabrics are used in both quilts.

Each paper casket on the periphery bears a relative's name. All of Elizabeth and Shadrach Mitchell's children have a marked casket. The empty coffin space in the lower left corner once held the coffin labeled "Mother," which is now in the graveyard area. Some other family members were added. As each relative died, the year would be added to the tag and moved to the cemetery at the center. First Elizabeth Roseberry Mitchell then her daughters Sarah (Sis) and Elizabeth (Lib) cared for the mourning quilt. After Elizabeth's death in 1867, Sarah continued to alter the quilt until about 1870. Clearly she stopped making alterations before her father's death in 1875 although she lived until 1911. This quilt is an excellent example of nineteenth century mourning customs as well as an illustration of the emotions and experiences that were often expressed by women through their quilts.

One-handled Cup (modiolus), Roman, 1st century BC–1st century AD, Saint Louis Art Museum: Ancient Art

Pendant with Venus and Cupid on a Dolphin by Reinhold Vasters, Robert Lehman Collection

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Medium: enameled gold, rubies, and pearls