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Mesopotamia - Images from the Metropolitan Museum

Metropolitan Museum releases thousands of ancient images

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TheMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York has just announced the release of more than 400,000 high-resolution digital images from its world-renowned collection, according to a news release inArt Daily.  

The now freely available images, which can be downloaded for non-commercial use, include thousands of ancient figurines, reliefs, paintings, manuscripts, and other artifacts spanning a period of 10,000 years, and covering all the great civilizations of our ancient past, as well as hundreds of cultures across the globe.

The new initiative called Open Access for Scholarly Content (OASC), means that images may be downloaded directly from the Museum’s website for non-commercial use without permission from the Museum and without a fee.  OASC was developed as a resource for students, educators, researchers, curators, academic publishers, non-commercial documentary filmmakers, and others involved in scholarly or cultural work. Prior to the establishment of OASC, the Metropolitan Museum provided images upon request, for a fee, and authorization was subject to strict terms and conditions.

“Through this new, open-access policy, we join a growing number of museums that provide free access to images of art in the public domain. I am delighted that digital technology can open the doors to this trove of images from our encyclopedic collection,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Here we feature just a tiny sample of the magnificent collection now available to the public.

Byzantine Floor Mosaic

Fragment of a Byzantine Floor Mosaic with a Personification of Ktisis (500–550 AD).

This fragment is an example of the exceptional mosaics created throughout the Early Byzantine world in the first half of the sixth century. The rod that she holds, the measuring tool for the Roman foot, identifies her as a personification of the abstract concept of "Ktisis," or Foundation, and symbolizes the donation, or foundation, of a building. Personifications of abstract ideas, as developed by the Stoic philosophers, remained popular in the Early Christian era.

Neo-Assyrian relief carving

Neo-Assyrian relief carving (ca. 883–859 B.C.)

The palace rooms at Nimrud were decorated with large stone slabs carved in low relief, with brightly painted walls and ceilings and sculptural figures guarding the doorways. The throne room contained narrative scenes commemorating the military victories of Ashurnasirpal, while in other areas of the palace were protective figures and images of the king and his retinue performing ritual acts. On this relief slab the king Ashurnasirpal II wears the royal crown, a conical cap with a small peak and a long diadem. He holds a bow, a symbol of his authority, and a ceremonial bowl. Facing him, a eunuch, a "beardless one," carries a fly whisk and a ladle for replenishing the royal vessel. The peaceful, perhaps religious character of the scene is reflected in the dignified composure of the figures.

Bull Leapers Fresco

Reproduction of the Bull Leapers Fresco, attributed to Emile Gilliéron père. Excavated 1901 in the Court of the Stone Spout, Knossos. (ca. 1425–1300 BC)

The well-known fresco at Knossos of a leaping bull was one of at least three similar scenes. The figural portion is framed at top and bottom by elaborate borders of overlapping variegated rock patterns between narrow bands with dentil patterns. There is no evidence to support the restored rock pattern at the sides. Two white-skinned females and a red-skinned male engage the bull, which is rendered in a flying gallop. Bull sports had a long history in Minoan art stretching back to the third millennium B.C. When this reproduction was first exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum it was identified as a circus scene. More recently, scholars have suggested that the scene represents ritual practices, perhaps symbolizing human domination over nature. The original is in the Archaeological Museum of Herakleion, Crete.

Chakrasamvara Mandala

Chakrasamvara Mandala on cloth. Nepal (ca. 1100 AD)

This mandala, or ritual diagram, is conceived as the palace of the wrathful Chakrasamvara and his consort Vajravarahi, seen together at the center of the composition. These deities are important to the Newar tradition of Nepal as well as in Tibet, embodying the esoteric knowledge of Buddhist texts, the Yoga Tantras. The central divinities are surrounded by six goddesses, each set on a stylized lotus petal that forms a vajra—a feature that suggests an early date for this work. Framing the mandala are the eight great burial grounds of India, each of which is presided over by a deity beneath a tree. The cemeteries are appropriate places for meditation on Chakrasamvara and are emblematic of the various realms of existence. The lower register contains five forms of the goddess Tara as well as a tantric adept to the left and two donors on the right. This mandala is one of the earliest large-scale paintings to survive from Nepal.

Ladies in Blue fresco

Reproduction of the "Ladies in Blue" fresco. Emile Gilliéron fils, 1927.  Original on painted plaster (ca. 1525–1450 B.C.).

This group of three women was originally restored by E. Gillieron, pere on the basis of other fragments of frescos excavated before 1914 at Knossos. This copy reproduces the few fragments of burnt and abraded original fresco, represented as slightly offset from the restoration, and shows the extent to which the Gillierons recreated the scene. The original is in the Archaeological Museum of Herakleion, Crete.

View the entire collectionhere.

Featured image:  Neo-Assyrian relief found at Nimrud (883–859 B.C.)

By April Holloway

 

Comments

Gee how generous of them to share human history with the rest of us humans. What a bunch of selfish hoarding pricks.

Wonderful information shared here and in turn got some really nice replies from the visitors. Thanks for sharing and definitely I will be coming here for more ....

I think the article's author either misunderstood the source material or just didn't realize their headline would change the context. The original works are in the public domain, but the photographs of the works belong to the Met, so the Met can control the photographs as they see fit. Anyone wishing to make their own painting or drawing of the image in the photo and monetize that copy, so be it. They just can't make prints from the Met's photos to sell. The public could also monetize their own photographs of the works, but who knows if the Met allows photography of these works when they're on display.

You do your readers a disservice saying this is "public domain". It is not if there are restrictions like "non-commercial" use. True public domain would mean you can do whatever you want with it, including re-use, repurposing, and derivative works for any purpose, including commercial.

Aries follows Taurus in the precession of the equinoxes. The ages and times change at the passage of the 12 constellations. For example: we are moving from the age of Pisces to the age of Aquarius and the next 2135 years are gong to be very different to the last. We can see the changes happening, Neptune the planet naturally associated with Pisces, rules oil for example and Uranus (Aquarius) rules electricity. We will dump oil in favo(u)r of electrically driven engines and we can see this happening now, although slowly. This could not happen before December 21st 2012 when the Mayans predicted the end of the age but now we will see some startling and rapid movements.

The changes of the age were very much more important to our ancestors than the educational system of the western world allows today.

The fresco, above is a depiction of the change of the age from Taurus to Aries and the world saw the demise of Egyptian empire
(read again the story of Moses leaving Egypt and his people wishing to remain in the comfort of the age of the bull (golden calf) but Moses knew better and he knew that the empire was collapsing, he also knew that his people were in danger of the Romans) and the rise of the Roman empire ruled by Mars, Mars in turn rules the colo(u)r red, knives, war, bloodshed and the animal is the Ram, yes the Battering Ram, etc.

Mars is red as the leaper is red, signifying Aries overtaking Taurus (Bull).

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April

April Holloway is a Co-Owner, Editor and Writer of Ancient Origins. For privacy reasons, she has previously written on Ancient Origins under the pen name April Holloway, but is now choosing to use her real name, Joanna Gillan.

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