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dogriley.opensocial.media.ap.brid.gy
Faces from the Getty Villa Museum yesterday. #la #gettyvilla #museum

From the outdoor fountain in the East Garden.
This white face relief looks like a shocked or angry magistrate. There is blue, red, and white tile work behind the face This white face relief has a shocked look on his face, like he just witnessed something horrific. There is blue, red and white tile work behind the face.
February 17, 2026 at 5:04 PM
chapps.bsky.social
On these reliefs, the main side is deeply carved, while the backside, as seen here, is shallowly cut. This depicts the mask of Silenos with a thyrsus and a cista (basket). Appropriate imagery, as theater was Dionysos' domain. 🏺2/ #GettyVilla #ancientbluesky

📸 me
On the reverse of this rectangular marble slab is a very shallow relief depicting a mask of the balding and bearded elderly satyr Silenos, companion of Dionysos. It faces left, with a thyrsos (Dionysian magical staff, topped with ivy leaves) and a cista (wicker basket, probably a cista mystica, part of the Dionysian mysteries).
January 20, 2026 at 6:06 PM
chapps.bsky.social
This object is known as a prometopidion, horse forehead armor, as you can see from the shape of the entire object. The staring eyes of the warrior and the Gorgoneion on the nose are apotropaic - protective. Made in southern Italy (part of Magna Graecia). 🏺 2/

#GettyVilla 📸 me
Here revealed is the full prometopedion, which covered the full forehead and snout of a horse. The rams' head cheekpieces of the warrior's head flare out and provide extra protection for the eyes of the horse. The Gorgoneion - the head of a Gorgon or Medusa - is at the bottom of the snout, looking fierce with bared teeth and a set of fangs.
January 16, 2026 at 3:59 PM
chapps.bsky.social
Under Nero, the Iuventus gained prominence, becoming a favored body for elite young men, marked by Nero's own title Princeps Iuventutis (Head of the Youth) and special events like the Iuvenalia games, a blend of military training, social bonding, and cultic practice. 🏺 2/

#GettyVilla 📸 me
The same two busts in one photo, taken from a right angle. The older boy's bust is up on a plinth, higher than the younger boy. You can clearly see the outline where the acanthus used to be attached to the older boy's chest. The hair is very much like the style seen during the Neronian era, wavy and combed forward.
January 15, 2026 at 6:10 PM
chapps.bsky.social
You can see many more Mycenaean and Minoan artistic and cultural treasures in this Flickr album, which includes many of the pieces from 'The Kingdom of Pylos' exhibit, which ends tomorrow at the #GettyVilla. 🏺 3/

flic.kr/s/aHBqjCjDa2
Mycenaean and Minoan artifacts (including The Kingdom of Pylos exhibition)
Explore this photo album by Stephen Chappell (aka Chapps) on Flickr!
flic.kr
January 11, 2026 at 11:53 PM
chapps.bsky.social
This engraved Romano-Egyptian magical gem (green jasper) depicts the Egyptian god and psychopomp Anubis holding an ointment jar and standing over a lion-shaped bier. The mummified body of Osiris lies on top. 💀🏺 #ancientbluesky 1/

100-125 CE. #GettyVilla
📸 me
Oval green jasper gemstone with an engraved scene of the jackal-headed god Anubis standing behind a funerary bier, which is shaped like a striding lion. Anubis holds an ointment jar over the mummified body of his father, Anubis, who is fully wrapped in bandages.
January 11, 2026 at 1:28 AM
chapps.bsky.social
In the Roman period, Sleeping Eros statues decorated villa gardens, fountains, and tombs. In the latter use, these sleeping toddlers equated death with a long and peaceful sleep. 🏺 3/

Roman, 50-100 CE. #GettyVilla
📸 me
Cupid, the winged child-god of love, lies with his right arm cast around his head, a typical motif to denote sleep. His missing left arm was probably limply extended. The strap for a quiver rests across his chest. Beneath him is a lion’s skin that covers a rocky surface—part of the tail is visible between his feet, and a paw to the right. The lion’s skin is an attribute of Hercules, and one tale tells of Cupid stealing his club, quiver, and lion’s skin, suggesting that even the mightiest are vulnerable to the playful, yet cunning, designs of love. In this sculpture, these symbols of the hero's strength are used to signal the irresistible power of Cupid. The motif of the sleeping Cupid is found in both poetry and art, and surviving sculptures of this type probably derive from a Greek sculpture of the Hellenistic period (323-31 B.C.). The image was used by the Romans in a variety of ways: as a fountain or garden ornament, as a dedication to the gods, and, as was probably the case with this sculpture, as a funerary monument. Sleeping Cupids are often depicted on tomb monuments and sarcophagi, equating death with restful slumber. The image of the sleeping child-god was especially popular on children's graves. Roman, 50-100 CE Marble Getty Villa Museum (73.AA.95)
January 9, 2026 at 6:57 PM
chapps.bsky.social
Interesting. I’ve seen this pop up here and there over the years. Is there a findspot listed?

Reminds me of the one below, from an anonymous private collection, and briefly on display at the #GettyVilla. No decoration on the bell, though. flic.kr/p/2qZ765n
Gilded silver rhyton with horse protome
Silver rhyton with gilding and a horse protome. The figure of the horse has glass eyes and red garnet studs on its bridle. It has a gilded blanket made from the skin of a panther (or wolf?) on its bac...
flic.kr
January 3, 2026 at 9:48 PM
chapps.bsky.social
Although the color of the iridescent glass head flask from the #GettyVilla, below, is quite different from the transparent cobalt blue of the example at the #MetMuseum, it was probably made at the same workshop and perhaps from the same mold. Tiffany would have drooled! 🏺
This vessel features a likeness of a striking young man with hair down past his ears, but it is an idealized portrait rather than a depiction of a specific individual. With its wishbone-shaped handle, long neck, and slightly flared mouth, this large head flask likely functioned as a pitcher. Head flasks began to be made in the first century A.D. and continued to be produced into the fourth and fifth century. An extremely popular type of glassware, head flasks were mold-blown. For this flask, the glassmaker used a two-part mold for the front and back halves of the head. These two halves were joined together and, by inflating the molten glass into the mold, the design was imparted to the glass. The flask's appearance has changed significantly over the centuries. On the neck and right side of the head, a flaky layer, with a rainbow-like appearance has formed. This layer, known as iridescence, was not an effect produced by the glassmaker but is a by-product of aging and weathering. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, glassmakers like Louis Comfort Tiffany and Emile Gallé deliberately created an iridescent effect for their glass. Collectors today greatly value iridescence in ancient glass. Roman, Eastern Mediterranean, 4th-5th century CE. Getty Villa Museum (2004.44)
December 19, 2025 at 7:02 AM
margueritesauvage.bsky.social
Meanwhile life in California, suite 🌴🏞️
#GettyVilla #Manzanar #HagenCanyon #RedRockCanyonStatePark
December 14, 2025 at 4:13 AM
chapps.bsky.social
Fascinating video that very clearly shows how these ancient Roman glass vessels were made, including these two - a glass wine flask in the shape of a cluster of grapes (1-300 CE, #GettyVilla), and a glass cup signed by Ennion (1st half of 1st c. CE, #MetMuseum). 🏺 1/

📸 me
Mold-blown grape flask of translucent violet glass (somewhat faded to be a bit brownish and foggy), the body blown in a two-part mold in the shape of a bunch of grapes. The awry neck ends with a flaring mouth and lip folded inwards. Small fills were added on the body and the lip. A small fragment is missing on the body. Translucent yellow green glass cup with same color loop handles attached to the sides over the upper decorative frieze. The body of the vessel is decorated with a plain band below the rim above two horizontal friezes in relief; on the upper, which is bounded above and below by a fine raised line, two Greek inscriptions, each within a tabula ansata (two handled tablet, used as a visual device on many Roman works of art as a label); one flanked by ivy sprays with leaves and berries and the other by vine sprays with leaves and bunches of grapes; both sets of foliage issuing from two vertically fluted colonettes with base and Ionic capital, set at sides near handles; dividing the upper from the lower frieze, a broad projecting horizontal ridge; on the lower frieze, close-set vertical flutes, rounded at both ends; on outer section of bottom, a diagonal net pattern; three raised concentric circles and central dot on base. Broken and cracked, with one handle missing and large gap and two smaller chips in rim; a few pinprick bubbles; faint weathering and iridescence. Sides blown in a three-part mold, with mold marks extending to ridge below vertical flutes; separate saucer-shaped mold for underside and bottom.
December 8, 2025 at 8:10 PM
chapps.bsky.social
She’d have gone for more upmarket bracelets and armlets of solid gold, w/ gem or glass-inlaid eyes. The Greek woman in the funerary relief below has armlets and bracelets on *both* arms (Greek, Delos, abt. 100 BCE - #GettyVilla).

Nice 2nd c. BCE example from the Art Inst. of Chicago.

Both 📸 me
One of two gold snake armlets (labeled as ‘bracelets’, they seem extra long for that) on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago. Beautifully detailed, with glass eyes, I think. Many Roman sculptures of Aphrodite show her wearing snake armlets and bracelets, just like this one. Greek, Hellenistic period, 2nd century BCE, gold and glass. Art Institute of Chicago, lent by the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, 36 a-b.1994. On this funerary relief, a woman reaches out to lift the lid of a shallow box held by an attendant. The deceased woman must have come from a wealthy family. Numerous elements signal her high status, as do the scale and overall quality of the work. She sits on an elaborate, high-backed chair with a turned leg decorated with lions' paws and an arm support in the form of an eagle. She also wears snake bracelets, presumably gold, on her upper and lower arms. The depiction of the deceased reaching for an item held by an attendant has a long history in Greek funerary art. The small stature of the attendant and her short, cropped hair have been variously interpreted as indications that she is a young relative in mourning, or a servant or enslaved person. The attendant's presence serves to further elevate the status of the deceased, either by representing her familial connections and/or fertility, or by alluding to as someone who could afford a servant or slave. The shallow box held by the attendant raises several questions. The two holes apparent on its base are evidence of an ancient repair, perhaps in the form of two metal pins intended to hold a now lost marble component in place. The thinness of the box indicates that, like many works of ancient art, this relief was not intended as a photographic depiction of reality, but to convey the wealth and status of the deceased. Although the box appears too shallow to hold anything substantial, we can identify it as a jewelry box by comparison with other funerary reliefs that depict women pulling ribbons or jewelry out of larger, more naturalistic boxes.
December 3, 2025 at 5:07 AM
seanduggan.bsky.social
Contemplating a Broken Head

Museums are some of my favorite places for street photography. It's not photography out on the streets, of course, but I find that I use many of the same methods.

#blackandwhitephotography #streetphotography #museums #fujifilmx100v #gettyvilla
A black and white photograph by Seán Duggan of the broken head of a roman statue where the top half of the head is missing, leaving only the nose and lower portion of the head. In the blurred background are bookshelves and a man pausing to look back at the carved stone head.
November 8, 2025 at 8:33 PM
spinninyarns.bsky.social
What’s waiting on the other side? #gettyvilla
Looking through a doorway into an ornately decorated marble hallway with a slightly open door across the hall.
October 29, 2025 at 7:52 PM
authorlaura.bsky.social
Just came back from the Getty Villa and the Pylos Griffin Warrior exhibit. OMG. So fantastic. I didn't realize the objects were so small. #gettyvilla #pylosexhibit
October 6, 2025 at 12:30 AM
jimveg22.bsky.social
September Travel Photo A Day

Getty Villa Malibu

#travelphotography #travel #wanderlust #GettyVilla #GettyMuseum #Malibu
September 25, 2025 at 9:53 PM
chapps.bsky.social
The gem is attributed to the Greek engraver Solon, who worked in Roman imperial circles, fashioning idealized portraits of the emperor Augustus, his sister, and images of mythological figures. The artistically similar gem below at the #GettyVilla is also attributed to him. 2/ 🏺

flic.kr/p/2reHest
flic.kr
September 18, 2025 at 11:11 PM
justnicoleco.bsky.social
A few years ago, I visited the Getty Villa for the first time with my niece Jalyssa — and yep, she took this photo! 📸 Such a beautiful spot with ocean views, art, and tons of photo ops.

Heads up: tickets are free but limited, so grab them in advance!

#GettyVilla #LatinaTraveler #LAHiddenGems
September 9, 2025 at 5:04 PM
chapps.bsky.social
This tiny Mycenaean hydria (water jar) features a very stylized cuttlefish design, showing Minoan influences. The eyes float off the body! But there's a special surprise if you look closely enough ... 👇 🏺 #ancientbluesky 1/

1300-1200 BCE. #GettyVilla
📸 me
A stylized cuttlefish decorates this miniature Mycenaean hydria, a three-handled jar used for carrying water. This type of vase made its first appearance around this time and became a standard shape throughout the history of Greek vase making. Somewhat like an octopus, the cuttlefish is a sea creature with eight short tentacles, as well as two long ones used for catching prey. On this vase, the artist extended the two long tentacles, wrapping them all the way around the body of the vessel. The eyes of the creature are depicted as concentric circles near the sides of the body. The cuttlefish is painted in brownish-black over a cream slip, while details on both the body and the tentacles are highlighted in added white.During the Bronze Age, Minoan artistic styles exerted a notable influence on nearby cultures. Lively trade networks operated around the Mediterranean, and Crete played a decisive role in spreading a new naturalism in the visual arts. Mycenaean figured pottery produced on mainland Greece often reflects Minoan-inspired themes and techniques that originated on the island of Crete. Animated marine motifs adopted from Minoan pottery appear on Mycenaean vessels beginning in about 1500 B.C. Over the centuries, these pictures became more stylized, as can be seen on this vase.
August 28, 2025 at 3:55 PM
chapps.bsky.social
This gorgeous mottled yellow jasper scaraboid gem has a grasshopper engraved on its underside. Difficult to see, it's a masterpiece of the art, possibly made by Dexamenos of Chios or a follower. Grasshoppers had several meanings to the ancient Greeks ... 🏺 1/

435-400 BCE. 📸 me #GettyVilla
The bottom of this carved mottled yellow jasper scarab has an engraving of a grasshopper, perched on a stem of grass, surrounded by leaves. The engraving is enhanced by the stunning mottled yellow jasper. This level of engraving mastery is likely the result of an advancement in lapidary technology, namely the use of the diamond point drill (seemingly first occurred during the 5th century BCE). This afforded the engraver the ability to cut freeform, allowing for a level of naturalism in the details not previously possible. The mottled yellow jasper gem is a mixture of bold orange with veins of black and grey. The engraved lines of the grasshopper catch the light, making it visible if held in just the right way. In Christie's original listing for this scaraboid, their expert felt that the exceptional quality of the engraving in combination with the choice of unusual mottled jasper suggested a connection to the gem engraver Dexamenos of Chios, whose signature is found on four gems. Several of the signed gems are on mottled jaspers, as are the related gems attributed to him. A similar grasshopper on a sheath of wheat on a carnelian scarab in the British Museum, while unsigned, is traditionally associated with Dexamenos. Greek, Attic (?), ca. 425-400 BCE. Mottled yellow jasper. 2.1 × 1.8 × 0.8 cm (13/16 × 11/16 × 5/16 in.) Getty Villa Museum, Pacific Palisades, California (2019.13.4)
August 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
chapps.bsky.social
The coin is ca. 405-400 BCE and both versions can be viewed at the #GettyVilla here in the L.A. area. Both are courtesy of the American Numismatic Society, and I've provided links to the detail pages for the coins on the ANS site on my Flickr descriptions. 4/
August 25, 2025 at 3:33 AM
chapps.bsky.social
Two of my favorite images of the gorgon Medusa, which illustrate how her myth and visage changed over time. On the left, a Greek kyathos (wine ladle) with a monstrous Medusa chased by Perseus. On the right, a Roman gilded silver roundel with a tragically beautiful Medusa. 🏺 1/

#GettyVilla 📸 me
The Greek hero Perseus pursues the monstrous gorgons around the sides of this Athenian black-figure kyathos (wine ladle). In Greek mythology, Perseus, trapped in a foolish boast, was compelled to obtain the head of the gorgon Medusa, whose gaze turned men to stone. Here Perseus, identified by his winged cap and boots, runs along with his sword drawn. The three gorgon sisters with their winged female bodies and horrifying faces are only slightly distinguished from one another in this unusual portrayal of the myth. Typically, Perseus sneaks up on the sleeping gorgons to behead Medusa, and then the two remaining sisters chase him. This is the only example of this scene on Attic kyathoi. Here, Medusa is running, but turned to stare at the observer, her wings flared out and curving upwards, her fingers ending in red talons; her face is typically Greek - a large head, monstrous fangs, red tongue sticking out. Ivy vines run riot in the background, perhaps reminding us that this is a wine ladle, with the presence of Dionysos very near. Greek, Attica, Athens, ca. 510-500 BCE. Attributed to 'near the Theseus Painter' (active abt. 510-490 BCE). Getty Villa Museum, Pacific Palisades, California (86.AE.146) Over time in Greek and Roman art, the image of the gorgon Medusa evolved from that of a horrifying, monstrous creature into a more appealing, almost human representation. This high relief repoussé roundel made in the late 100s or early 200s A.D. replaces the hideous visage and fangs of early representations with an elegant woman's face. The writhing snakes of the early Medusa's hair here give way to a thick windblown hairstyle reminiscent of that worn by Alexander the Great, with two small wings sprouting from her forehead. The snakes are now confined to a single example at each temple with their tails neatly knotted beneath her chin. The knitted brows and tightly closed, downturned mouth give this Medusa a melancholy rather than ferocious expression. A luxury item, this roundel is made of silver with gilding added to Medusa's hair and eyes. Four silver rivets in the border mark the places where bronze guides were fastened to the back so that the roundel could be threaded onto a strap, probably as a bridle ornament. Roman, 150–235 CE. Getty Villa Museum (96.AM.207)
August 23, 2025 at 1:56 PM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
Another work of art at the #GettyVilla @getty.bsky.social was this baklava cheesecake from the café. I am privileged to eat a lot of good food, between my gourmet chef husband and a fair amount of eating out, but this was the best thing to cross my lips in a really long time. #Baking #Cake #Dessert
A rectangular piece of cheesecake topped with shredded phyllo dough and chopped pistachios on top, with a layer of pistachio cream on the graham cracker crust on the bottom, served with a raspberry coulis and fresh raspberries.
August 15, 2025 at 3:58 AM
iolantherosa.bsky.social
We were able to visit the newly re-opened post-fire #GettyVilla @getty.bsky.social. They did an incredible job cleaning it up. I spent happy time in Gallery 216, "Roman Treasury," where they have many small statues and figurines in fun poses that I did gesture drawings of. #Graphite #ArtYear
A page with gesture drawings of 5 comic male figures in bronze from the 1st century B.C.–1st century A.D.
August 15, 2025 at 3:51 AM
chapps.bsky.social
You'd be forgiven if you thought that this figure on the bottom of a scarab ring was Medusa. In fact, it's Hera - Hera Lakinia, recognizable due to her image on the coins of the ancient Greek city of Kroton (Crotone) on the lonian coast of Italy. 🏺 1/

Greek, 4th c. BCE
#GettyVilla 📸 me
The head of a goddess decorates the flat surface of this hollow gold scarab set in a silver swivel ring. Carved in relief rather than engraved as on a stone scarab, the goddess wears a stephane or crown decorated with three palmettes and a necklace with acorn-shaped pendants. Her locks of wavy hair radiate out from her face and she has a fierce expression. She represents Hera Lakinia, a local version of Hera, whose sanctuary was near the city of Kroton in South Italy. Coins of Kroton from the 300s BCE show similar images of Hera Lakinia, supporting this identification. Getty Villa Museum (85.AM.273)
August 3, 2025 at 3:59 PM