Antiquities

Information about Antiquities

Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Mesolithic, and other civilizations from Asia and elsewhere may also be covered by the term.

Definition

An Assyrian winged bull, or lamassu, Louvre.

The definition of the term is not always precise, and institutional definitions such as museum "Departments of Antiquities" often cover later periods, but in normal usage Gothic objects, for example, would not now be described as antiquities, though in 1700 they might well have been, as the cut-off date for antiquities has tended to retreat since the word was first found in English in 1513.^[1] Non-artistic artifacts are now less likely to be called antiquities than in earlier periods. Francis Bacon wrote in 1605: "Antiquities are history defaced, or some remnants of history which have casually escaped the shipwreck of time".^[2]

The art trade reflects modern usage of the term; Christie's "Department of Antiquities" covers objects "from the dawn of civilization to the Dark Ages, ranging from Western Europe to the Caspian Sea, embracing the cultures of Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Near East." [1]. Bonhams use a similar definition: "...4000 B.C to the 12th Century A.D. Geographically they originate from Egypt, the Near East and Europe ..." [2] Official cut-off dates are often later, being unconcerned with precise divisions of art history, and using the term for all historical periods they wish to protect: in Jordan it is 1750,^[3] in Hong Kong 1800, and so on.

The term is no longer much used in formal academic discussion, because of this imprecision. Most, but not all, antiquities have been recovered by archaeology. There is little or no overlap with antiques, which covers objects, not generally discovered as a result of archaeology, at most about three hundred years old, and usually far less.

Illegal trade

The Euphronios krater will now be returned to Italy by the Metropolitan Museum

The export of native antiquities is now heavily controlled by law in almost all countries, and by a 1970 UNESCO convention,^[4] but a large trade in Illicit antiquities has resulted. The Sevso Treasure and the Euphronios krater are apparent examples that have come to light, and Getty Museum Director of Antiquities Marion True was convicted by an Italian court in 2004 for trading illegally in them. Forgers have long been active in the field, as the Etruscan terracotta warriors, the Persian Princess and the Getty Kouros show.

Antiquary

An antiquary was originally someone concerned with antiquities, and John Leland was appointed the "King's Antiquary" by Henry VIII, but in modern usage the term is mostly associated with antiquarian books - a category even less precisely defined than antiquities.

References

1. ^ OED
2. ^ OED
3. ^ "Department of Antiquities of Jordan" website
4. ^ "Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property"

Antiquity may refer to:

Generally, "ancient history," and may be used of any historical period before the Middle Ages.
More specifically it means the classical antiquity of Greece and Rome.

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Mediterranean is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. It covers an approximate area of 2.
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Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
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The terms ancient Near East or ancient Orient encompass the early civilizations predating classical antiquity in the region roughly corresponding to that described by the modern term Middle East (Egypt, Iraq, Turkey), during the time roughly spanning the Bronze Age
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The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the 'Middle Stone Age'^[1]) was a period in the development of human technology between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age.
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museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education, enjoyment, the tangible and intangible
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Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that lasted about 350 years. It began in France out of the Romanesque period in the mid-12th century, concurrent with Gothic architecture found in Cathedrals.
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In archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. Examples include stone tools such as projectile points, pottery vessels, metal objects such as buttons or guns, and items
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Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, and essayist. He is also known as a proponent of the scientific revolution.
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For other uses of Christie's please see Christie.

Christie's is a fine art auction house. It was founded in London, England on 5 December 1766 by James Christie.
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Dark Ages or Dark Age refers to the Early Middle Ages, the period encompassing (roughly) 476 AD to 1000 AD.

This concept of a dark age was created by the Italian scholar Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) in the 1330s, and was originally intended as a sweeping criticism of
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Bonhams is a privately owned British auction house founded in 1793. It is the third largest auctioneer after Sotheby's and Christie's, and conducts around 700 auctions per year.

The firm has London salerooms in New Bond Street and Knightsbridge.
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Art history is the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and look.^[1] Moreover, art history generally is the research of artists and their cultural and social contributions.
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Anthem
عاش المليك
The Royal Anthem of Jordan
("As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni")¹
Long live the King
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The Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance, in Hong Kong Law (Cap. 53), was enacted in 1976 to preserve the objects of historical, archaeological and palaeontological interest and for matters ancillary thereto or connected therewith.
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antique (Latin: antiquus; old) is an old collectible item. It is collected or desirable because of its age, rarity, condition, utility, or other unique features. It is an object that represents a previous era in human society.
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United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNESCO flag
Org type: Specialized Agency
Acronyms: UNESCO
Head: Director General of UNESCO

Koïchiro Matsuura

Japan
Status: Active

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Illicit antiquities are antiquities, or artifacts of archaeological interest, found in illegal or unregulated excavations, and traded covertly.

The global trade in illicit antiquities connects black-market activities in the countries of origin, by smuggling, to sales through
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The Sevso Treasure is a hoard of silver objects from the late Roman Empire, that may be illicit antiquities.

The treasure trove consists of 14 large decorated silver vessels and the copper cauldron which contained them, and has been dated to the late fourth or early fifth
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The Euphronios krater, sometimes known as the Sarpedon krater, is an ancient Greek bowl used for mixing wine with water which was created around the year 515 BC. It is considered one of the finest Greek vases in existence.
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The Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, is the current home of the J. Paul Getty Museum as well as a research institute, conservation institute, grant program, and leadership institute. The museum opened on December 16, 1997. It is owned and operated by the J.
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Marion True (born November 5, 1948) is the former curator of antiquities of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California.

Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, she studied at New York University and has a PhD from Harvard.^[1]^[2].
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Archaeological forgery is the manufacture of supposedly ancient items that are sold to the antiquities market and may even end up in the collections of museums. It is related to art forgery.
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The three Etruscan terracotta warriors are art forgeries, statues made to resemble work of ancient Etruscans. The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art bought them between 1915 and 1921.
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The Persian Princess or Persian Mummy is a mummy of an alleged Persian princess that surfaced in Pakistani Baluchistan in October 2000. After huge publicity and further investigation, the mummy proved to be an archaeological forgery and possibly a murder victim.
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An antiquarian or antiquary is one concerned with antiquities or things of the past. Also, and most often in modern usage, an antiquarian is a person who deals with or collects rare and ancient "antiquarian books".
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John Leland (September 13 1506 – April 18 1552) was an English antiquary. He has been described as 'the father of English local history'; his Itinerary introduced the shire as the basic unit for studying the history of England—an idea that has been influential
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Henry VIII
King of England, King of Ireland, Prince of Wales

Reign 22 April1509 – 28 January1547
Coronation 24 June 1509
Born 28 May 1491
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