Lycurgus Cup
The jade-green chalice with its delicately etched image of King Lycurgus entangled in grapevines is a stunning example of Roman glassmaking. But only upon closer examination can the observer appreciate the true innovation of these Roman artists—their use of nanotechnology. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Blog, Culture, Engineering, Science and Technology, Science Fiction
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, British Museum, dichroic glass, Dionysus, Lycurgus Cup, nanoparticles, nanotechnology, Roman
Today is the first day of the Year of the Horse (in China’s time zone) and the students at the Chinese American International School in San Francisco are celebrating by using their talents to create beautiful depictions of horses. Scroll down to view a slideshow of the artwork that leapt out of their imaginations and trotted into the New Year. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Blog, Culture, Holidays, Kids: Holidays, Kids: Public Life, Public Life
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Chinese New Year, Chinese zodiac, Year of the Horse
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Chinese New Year is an exciting time of celebration, honoring the past and looking forward to the future. One school in San Francisco is celebrating this year—the Year of the Horse—with art and song and dance. AntiquityNOW invited the Chinese American International School (CAIS) to share the festivities with us and let us showcase the remarkable student artists in their midst. One project involved having the students from different grades work together to create their own dragon mural in honor of the New Year. The scales on this elaborate creature were made by the kindergarten and first grade classes and the head was painted by the second grade gold class. As you can see, their dragon is colorful, imaginative and full of historical symbolism—a splendidly sinuous being that reminds everyone of the ancient heritage that still resonates today. Continue reading
The dragon has a long and esteemed history in Chinese lore. In honor of Chinese New Year, AntiquityNOW’s Artist-in-Residence Dan Fenelon has recast this legendary figure into phantasmagorical creations that fuse the ancient and the modern with a whimsical turn—a Fenelon trademark. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Blog, Culture, Holidays, Kids: Art, Kids: Holidays, Public Life
Tagged ancient art, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, art history, china, Chinese holidays, Chinese New Year, Dan Fenelon, dragons, Year of the Horse
When Ashkal, who lives in Pakistan, sent us the above artwork for our critique, we immediately requested his consent to post it on Today’s Muse, AntiquityNOW’s creative section. Ashkal says that his art grows out of his love of learning about the world, its people and diverse cultures. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Blog, Culture, Today's Muse
Tagged ancient art, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Ashkal, Egyptian, fine art, Mesoamerican, Pakistan, Today's Muse
The Star Wars series has defined generations of space enthusiasts and launched fantasy franchises that try to compete, but never beat, the original. Not to be outdone, AntiquityNOW has a new take on this iconic brand thanks to Jason Allen, PhD., who is Coordinator of Social Science at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. Last year Allen created a well-received lesson plan in honor of International Star Wars Day on May 4 that featured both Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings movies. This year Allen will be working with AntiquityNOW on another curriculum that mines the ancient motifs in these series to illustrate how science fiction can reflect life truths, whatever the life form. Continue reading
*Here’s the blog we ran a while back announcing LegacyQuest, the International Children’s Film and Video Festival that will be held during AntiquityNOW Month in May 2014. Please contact Shirley K. Gazsi, president of AntiquityNOW, at sgazsi@antiquitynow.org to discuss any ideas or if you have questions about an entry. We look forward to your submissions!
Discovering the secrets of past lives can often defy conventional wisdom and astound our modern sensibilities. With this in mind, AntiquityNOW (AN) and Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) are launching the first LegacyQuest International Children’s Film and Video Festival open to young people between the ages of 12 and 15 (6th – 8th grades) in the United States and abroad. It will be held in conjunction with The Archaeology Channel (TAC) International Film and Video Festival, May 9-13, 2014, in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
Young people are encouraged to submit videos or films that represent antiquity’s legacy in contemporary life. For example, students may show how today’s green technology has roots in ancient people’s use of thermal energy and wind power to heat their homes and pump their water. Creative and varied perspectives of historical and modern connections can be captured in any form, including documentary, narrative and journalistic, as well as interpretive styles using music or art. Continue reading
The “Minoa” plate in black on white.
AntiquityNOW is pleased to announce the launch of our new store, The Bazaar, featuring original designs by our Artist-in-Residence Dan Fenelon.
Fenelon draws his inspiration from ancient art, iconography and symbols, infusing his pieces with an inventive recasting of familiar and unfamiliar images. Tribal and primitive imagery strike a contrapuntal note to his modern interpretations. Whether an aficionado of ancient designs or a confirmed modernist, individuals will find that Fenelon’s perspective has a beguiling appeal. Continue reading
Tagged AntiquitNOW, cartoon, Dan Fenelon, dinnerware, original art, The Bazaar, tribal, Urban Antiquity, wavedog, Zazzle
This Saturday, October 19th, is International Archaeology Day and organizations around the world will be commemorating the event. Visit the Archaeological Institute of America’s website for information on happenings across the United States and abroad. There’s something for everyone! Continue reading
Image courtesy of DHA
We’ve talked a lot about ancient graffiti in our blog posts and it has always been about the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. In “Wall Posts: Putting Pompeii’s Political Graffiti in a Modern Context” we discussed how politicians campaigned using graffiti on the walls of wealthy homeowners and in “Super Bowl XLVII and the Superstars of Ancient Rome” we explained how people could find a favorite gladiator advertising olive oil or his latest fight on the walls of the city. Recently, an archaeological dig unearthed a collection of graffiti that may be even richer than that of Pompeii. Archaeologists working in the agora (ancient marketplace) of Izmir -or Greek Smyrna- found the “richest Greek graffiti collection in the world” dating back to the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Blog, Communications, Culture, Public Life
Tagged agora, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, graffiti, Greek, Izmir, Pompeii, Smyrna
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