Canosa Askos (270-200 BCE)
Rather than relying on a single image or a painted scene, this large Canosa askos builds its meaning through a combination of vessel form, colour, and applied figures.
Animals
Objects depicting or inspired by animals, ranging from sculptures to decorative motifs. These works reflect humanity’s fascination with the natural world and its symbolic roles across cultures.
Bull’s Head Rhyton (340–320 BCE)
Made in Apulia around 340–320 BCE, this bull’s head rhyton shows how inventive South Italian pottery could be in the late Classical period. The vessel combines an animal-shaped form with red-figure decoration and added paint.
Regilla Votive Marble Bull (160–170 CE)
Carved in Pentelic marble around AD 160–170, this powerful life-size bull once formed part of the great nymphaeum dedicated by Appia Annia Regilla in the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia.
Dove-Bearer from Callatis (c.200-400 BCE)
This Tanagra-type terracotta statuette from ancient Callatis offers a refined image of female presence in the Hellenistic world. The figure stands quietly yet elegantly, wrapped in abundant drapery, with a small dove perched on her right shoulder.
Enthroned Cybele Statuette (c.400-300 BCE)
Seated on a throne and holding a feline companion, Cybele appears not as an ordinary woman but as a divine presence marked by authority, protection, and command over the natural world.
Elderly Bedouin And His Camel (1890s CE)
Bedouins—Arabic nomads tracing their roots to the Arabian Peninsula around 1300 B.C., with even earlier origins as pastoralists who domesticated camels about 4,000 years ago—were navigating colonial influences and modernization in the Ottoman era.
Bedouins Rest Near the Pyramids of Giza (1890s CE)
The image invites the viewer to reflect on contrasts: movement and permanence of the Bedouins, desert survival and ancient stone marvels and everyday life unfolding beside timeless monuments at Giza.
The Family Who Raised Pet Lions (1970s CE)
It began in the summer of 1970 when Nina Berberov and her daughter Eva visited a zoo in Baku and discovered a sickly lion cub, that Eva initially mistook for a dying dog.
Dina Sanichar “Mowgli” (1889-1894 CE)
Discovered in 1867 in the forests of northern India, he was described as a child who had lived for years among wolves, moving on all fours and communicating through growls rather than speech, just like the fictional character Mowgli.
Ibis Eating a Lizard (100 BCE – 100 CE)
This Ibis, dating to around 100 BC to AD 100, blends exotic Egyptian symbolism with Roman artistic flair, offering a glimpse into the cultural exchanges of the ancient world.
Wild Boar Vessel (700–500 BCE)
The wild boar vessel is traditionally dated to between 700 and 500 BC and attributed to the Etruscan culture of ancient Italy. However, recent scientific analyses have complicated this attribution.
Composite Lion and Bull (1500–1000 BCE)
It depicts a mythical hybrid creature with two heads sharing a single body: one fierce, gaping lion head symbolizing power and aggression, and one calm bull head with horns representing fertility and strength.