AIC: Ancient and Byzantine Art (Bot)
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aicbyzantine.bsky.social
AIC: Ancient and Byzantine Art (Bot)
@aicbyzantine.bsky.social
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Sharing artworks from the Art Institute of Chicago's Ancient and Byzantine Art department.
Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social
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Fragment of Inlays Depicting a Zig-zag Pattern https://www.artic.edu/artworks/67880/
In ancient Rome, there was a high demand for colorful glass that could dazzle banquet guests alongside the expensive silver and gold serving wares meant to impress. Fragments like this one would have once been a part of larger mosaic dishes. The mosaic pattern was made by sagging molten glass into bowl-shaped molds, a technique used on many of these fragments is similar to millefiori, “thousand flowers” in Italian, a modern glass-making method in which tiny rods of colored glass are bundled together, wrapped in a sheet of glass, fused, and then thinly sliced to reveal swirls of a flower-like patterns. They were arranged side by side, sometimes together with bits of colored glass, and fused together with heat. Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson
December 15, 2025 at 7:35 PM
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Sestertius (Coin) Portraying Emperor Antoninus Pius https://www.artic.edu/artworks/141711/
Gift of William F. Dunham
December 15, 2025 at 3:44 PM
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Portrait Head of a Young Woman https://www.artic.edu/artworks/11611/
This elegant portrait is the intentional likeness of a young woman in her early twenties who had a delicate brow, high cheekbones, wide-set eyes, a bow-shaped mouth, and a prominent chin. Her long tresses are arranged in an elaborate hairstyle, fashionable at different times during the imperial period, in which the hair was parted in the center, combed in waves over the forehead, and plaited into braids that were artfully wrapped around the head like a turban. Broken off at the neck, it was once part of a larger statue. Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson
December 15, 2025 at 2:18 PM
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Sestertius (Coin) Portraying Lucilla https://www.artic.edu/artworks/141718/
Gift of William F. Dunham
December 15, 2025 at 10:59 AM
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Obol (Coin) Depicting the Goddess Athena https://www.artic.edu/artworks/9748/
The front of this coin depicts the goddess Athena, facing right. On the back, the mythical hero Herakles is shown strangling the Nemean lion. Gift of Mrs. William Nelson Pelouze
December 15, 2025 at 9:41 AM
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Vessel https://www.artic.edu/artworks/132507/
Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, Robert H. Fleming, and Norman W. Harris
December 14, 2025 at 7:00 PM
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Bracelet https://www.artic.edu/artworks/941/
Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
December 14, 2025 at 5:03 PM
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Portrait Head of a Woman https://www.artic.edu/artworks/15606/
This woman’s name is unknown, but her portrait indicates that she was likely a member of the imperial family. She wears a tall ornamental headband, typically reserved for goddesses and imperial women. Her elaborate hairstyle, with distinct locks woven around the headband, would have required the services of a skilled hairdresser. Moreover, the use of costly marble reflects her family’s wealth, while her commemoration with a finely carved portrait indicates that she was of elevated social standing. Edward E. Ayer Endowment in memory of Charles L. Hutchinson
December 14, 2025 at 3:11 PM
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Denarius (Coin) Depicting the God Jupiter https://www.artic.edu/artworks/139848/
On the front of this coin, the god Jupiter is depicted bearded and wearing a crown of laurels. A sceptre can be seen at his lower left. On the back (reverse), a type of chariot called a quadriga is depicted with the winged goddess of victory flying above, holding a wreath in her hand. Gift of William F. Dunham
December 14, 2025 at 11:07 AM
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Hemidrachm (Coin) Depicting Bucranium https://www.artic.edu/artworks/9682/
The front of this coin depicts the head of a bull, turned downward. On the back the god Apollo faces right. Gift of Mrs. William Nelson Pelouze
December 14, 2025 at 10:14 AM
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Scarab: Menmaatra (Sety I) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/134098/
Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
December 13, 2025 at 8:01 PM
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Fragment of a Portrait Head of Antinous https://www.artic.edu/artworks/13852/
This portrait depicts Antinous (about 111–130), the young lover of Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117–38). His characteristic facial features include an oval face, smooth complexion, almond-shaped eyes, and full lips, as well as his distinctive hairstyle of thick, wavy locks radiating from the crown of his head. This sculpture is a fragment from a larger whole, and for many years it was unclear what form the original, intact work had taken. Recent scholarship indicates that it once belonged to an over-life-size bust of Antinous currently in the Palazzo Altemps in Rome. Gift of Mrs. Charles L. Hutchinson
December 13, 2025 at 3:09 PM
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Amulet of a Papyrus Column https://www.artic.edu/artworks/135848/
Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Norman W. Harris
December 13, 2025 at 12:12 PM
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Fragment of a Floral Inlay https://www.artic.edu/artworks/67869/
In ancient Rome, there was a high demand for colorful glass that could dazzle banquet guests alongside the expensive silver and gold serving wares meant to impress. Fragments like this one would have once been a part of larger mosaic dishes. The mosaic pattern was made by sagging molten glass into bowl-shaped molds, a technique used on many of these fragments is similar to millefiori, “thousand flowers” in Italian, a modern glass-making method in which tiny rods of colored glass are bundled together, wrapped in a sheet of glass, fused, and then thinly sliced to reveal swirls of a flower-like patterns. They were arranged side by side, sometimes together with bits of colored glass, and fused together with heat. Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson
December 13, 2025 at 9:25 AM
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Beaker https://www.artic.edu/artworks/117437/
Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson
December 12, 2025 at 6:56 PM
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Amulet of a Falcon https://www.artic.edu/artworks/140811/
Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
December 12, 2025 at 5:18 PM
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Tremissis (Coin) of Justinian II https://www.artic.edu/artworks/36643/
Coins were an ideal way for Byzantine emperors to circulate their images throughout the empire and beyond, since they were used to pay for imported merchandise and to pay foreign mercenaries. They could also be employed as powerful vehicles for propaganda, promoting dynastic succession and emphasizing the earthly emperor’s god-given right to rule. Justinian II (reigned 685-695 and 705-711) chose to have an image of himself holding a globe surmounted by a cross on the front (obverse) of this coin. On the back (reverse), a Greek cross is shown. From the fourth century on, the solidus was the preferred gold coin issued by Byzantine emperors. The solidus remained essentially unaltered in weight and purity until the tenth century. This coin here the depicts Justinian II is a tremissis, worth one-third of 1 solidus. Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
December 12, 2025 at 1:16 PM
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Statuette of Herakles https://www.artic.edu/artworks/72213/
Gift of Dr. Theodore N. Zekman
December 12, 2025 at 12:25 PM
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Plaque: Menkheperre (Thutmose III)/Sphinx with Crown and Beard https://www.artic.edu/artworks/133797/
Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
December 12, 2025 at 10:22 AM
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Follis (Coin) Portraying Emperor Diocletian https://www.artic.edu/artworks/141669/
The front (obverse) of this coin portrays the head of Emperor Diocletian, facing to the right. The back (reverse) depicts the personification of the city of Carthage, standing and holding fruits in each hand. Gift of William F. Dunham
December 11, 2025 at 7:14 PM
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Coin Depicting the God Dionysos https://www.artic.edu/artworks/142754/
Gift of William F. Dunham
December 11, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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Tetradrachm (Coin) Portraying Ptolemy I Soter https://www.artic.edu/artworks/95975/
Obverse: Head of Ptolemy I to right, diademed and wearing aegis; partial border of dotsReverse: Eagle standing on thunderbolt to left, at left the letter P and a monogram, countermark at right Gift of William F. Dunham
December 11, 2025 at 2:18 PM
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Stamnos (Mixing Jar) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/177/
This refined Athenian stamnos (pl. stamnoi) was used to mix water and wine. Also valued for its beauty, this red-figure vessel (so called because the figures remain the natural color of the clay) portrays either Greek women or maenads, female participants in rites celebrating Dionysos, the god of wine. But unlike the frenzied and whirling figures of other Greek vases, these women convey calm, even elegance. This tender serenity, coupled with a softer, somewhat freer form, is a hallmark of the artist (referred to as the Chicago Painter because of this vase) and has been used to identify other works by him, principally similar stamnoi. Working in the potters’ quarter of mid-fifth-century BC Athens, the painter was active during the construction of the Parthenon, the stylistic influence of which can be seen here. He worked closely with a master potter whose vases were individually shaped in a prescribed range of configurations. With refined designs that are gracefully adapted to its shape, this stamnos is a fine example of red-figure painting during the Classical era. It retains its original lid, a rarity among ancient vases. Gift of Philip D. Armour and Charles L. Hutchinson
December 11, 2025 at 11:45 AM
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Coin Depicting the Goddess Athena https://www.artic.edu/artworks/142925/
Gift of William F. Dunham
December 11, 2025 at 9:29 AM
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Amphora https://www.artic.edu/artworks/136326/
Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, Robert H. Fleming, and Norman W. Harris
December 10, 2025 at 7:24 PM