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Ancient Mediterranean + Europe

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A beginner's guide
Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 5th–3rd millennia B.C.E.
Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in a global context, 2nd–1st millennia B.C.E.
In Full Color, Ancient Sculpture Reimagined
Ancient Near East
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A beginner's guide
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Ancient Near East: Cradle of civilization
Cuneiform, an introduction
Writing Cuneiform
Cuneiform Tablets
Lapis lazuli stamp seal
An introduction to Zoroastrianism
Sumerian
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Sumer, an introduction
White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk
Archaeological reconstructions
Warka Vase
Standing Male Worshipper (Tell Asmar)
Relief of Ur-Nanshe
Cylinder seals
Standard of Ur and other objects from the Royal Graves
The ‘Ram in a Thicket’
Akkadian
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Akkad, an introduction
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
Cylinder seal with a modern impression
Neo-Sumerian/Ur III
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Seated Gudea holding temple plan
Ziggurat of Ur
Canaanite
Canaanites, an introduction
Hittites
Hittites, an introduction
Babylonian
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Babylonia, an introduction
Visiting Babylon
The Babylonian mind
Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi
The Ishtar Gate and Neo-Babylonian art
Map of the world
Towers of Babel
Kassite art: Unfinished Kudurru
Amorite
Amorites, an introduction
Assyrian
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Assyria, an introduction
Assyrian Sculpture
Lamassu from the citadel of Sargon II
Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions
The palace decoration of Ashurbanipal
Assyria vs Elam: The battle of Til Tuba
Persian
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Ancient Persia, an introduction
The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia
Capital of a column from the audience hall of the palace of Darius I, Susa
Persepolis: The Audience Hall of Darius and Xerxes
Parthian
Clasp with an eagle and its prey
Sasanian
Sasanian art, an introduction
Silver dish
Pre-Islamic Arabia
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A beginner's guide
Pre-Islamic Arabia, an overview
Nabataean
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Petra: The rose red city of the Nabataeans
Petra: urban metropolis
Petra: rock-cut façades
Petra: UNESCO Siq Project
Al-Hijr (Madâin Sâlih)
Ancient Egypt & Sudan
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A beginner's guide
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Ancient Egypt, an introduction
Ancient Egyptian chronology and historical framework
Ancient Egyptian art
Materials and techniques in ancient Egyptian art
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs overview
The mummification process
Mummification and funeral rites
Private tombs, portals to the afterlife
Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Mortuary Texts
Creation myths and form(s) of the gods in ancient Egypt
Egyptian deities
Egyptian Social Organization—from the Pharaoh to the farmer (Part 1)
Egyptian Social Organization—from the Pharaoh to the farmer (Part 2)
Predynastic, Early Dynastic, and Old Kingdom
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Predynastic and Early Dynastic, an introduction
Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period, an introduction
Decorated jar, predynastic
King Den’s sandal label
Palette of King Narmer
Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara
The Great Pyramids of Giza
Pyramid of Khufu
Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx
Pyramid of Menkaure
King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen
The Seated Scribe
Wooden tomb statue of Tjeti
Statue of seated man, Ankhwa
Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
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Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period, an introduction
The White Chapel
Scarab pendant
Pectoral and necklace of Sithathoryunet
Statues of Senusret III
Statue of an Offering Bearer, Tomb of Meketre
Standing Hippopotamus
Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
Stela of the sculptor Userwer
Apotropaic wand
New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period
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New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period, an introduction
Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
Mortuary Temple and Statue of Hatshepsut
The tomb-chapel of Nebamun
Paintings from the Tomb-chapel of Nebamun
Bottle and toy: objects from daily life
Bronze statuette of Thutmose IV
House Altar depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Daughters
Portrait of Queen Tiye
Thutmose, Model Bust of Queen Nefertiti
Tutankhamun’s tomb (innermost coffin and death mask)
Head of Tutankhamun
Hunefer’s Judgement in the presence of Osiris
Paintings from the tomb of Sebekhotep
Canopic Jar with a Lid in the Shape of a Royal Woman’s Head
Barry X Ball on an Egyptian fragment of a queen’s face
Cult Image of the God Ptah
Late, Ptolemaic, and Roman Periods
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Late Period and the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, an introduction
Meet an Ushabti, an Ancient Egyptian Statuette Made for the Afterlife
Ptolemaic
Egyptian mummy portraits
Faiyum mummy portraits
Decoding the Rosetta Stone
Multilingualism along the Nile
The Rosetta Stone
Roman Egypt
Mummy of Herakleides
Getty conversations
Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush
Ancient Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush, an introduction
Pylon of the Nubian Lion Temple at Naga
Pyramids of Sudan
King Piye and the Kushite control of Egypt
Head of Augustus at Meroë (Kush)
Meroitic period of the Kingdom of Kush
Punic
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Carthage
Ancient Aegean
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An introduction to the ancient Aegean
Cycladic
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Cycladic art, an introduction
Male Harp Player from Keros
Akrotiri, Thera
Minoan
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Minoan art, an introduction
Knossos
Restoration versus conservation: the Palace at Knossos
Kamares Ware Jug
Snake Goddess
Bull’s Head Rhyton
Harvester Vase
Octopus Vase
Palaikastro Kouros
Hagia Triada sarcophagus
Bull-leaping fresco
La Parisienne
Mycenaean
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Mycenaean art, an introduction
The “Palace” and Grave Circle A
Mask of Agamemnon
The Treasury of Atreus
Lion Gate
Ancient Greece
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A beginner's guide
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Ancient Greece, an introduction
Introduction to ancient Greek art
Introduction to ancient Greek architecture
Greek architectural orders
Classic, classical, and classicism explained
Contrapposto explained
Black Figures in Classical Greek Art
Greek sanctuaries as artistic hubs
Olympic games
Pottery
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Greek Vase-Painting, an introduction
Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure technique
Making Greek vases
Dipylon Amphora
Terracotta Krater
Commemorating the Dead in Greek Geometric Art
Eleusis Amphora
Sophilos: a new direction in Greek pottery
François Vase
Exekias
Ajax and Achilles playing a game
Dionysos Kylix
Euphronios, Sarpedon Krater
Euthymides, Three Revelers
Niobid Krater
Daedalic and Archaic
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Tiny timeline: Archaic Greece in a global context
Kouroi and Korai, an introduction
Lady of Auxerre
Marble statue of a kouros (New York Kouros)
Anavysos Kouros
The Kouroi of Kleobis and Biton
Peplos Kore
Ancient Greek Temples at Paestum
Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi
Siphnian Treasury, Delphi
Early Classical
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Pediments from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina
Kritios Boy
Contrapposto explained
Charioteer of Delphi
Artemision Zeus or Poseidon
Riace Warriors
Classical
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Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)
Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower)
The Athenian Agora and the experiment in democracy
The Parthenon, Athens
Parthenon sculptures
The Many Lives of the Parthenon
Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?
Egyptian blue on the Parthenon sculptures
Plaque of the Ergastines
The Erechtheion
Caryatid and Ionic Column from the Erechtheion
Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis
Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens
Grave stele of Hegeso
Late Classical
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The Antikythera Shipwreck
The Antikythera Youth
Lysippos
How an ancient Greek bronze ended up in the Vatican
Apoxyomenos (Scraper)
Farnese Hercules
Capitoline Venus (copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles)
The Alexander Sarcophagus
Hellenistic
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Statue of a Victorious Youth
Getty Conversations
Barberini Faun
Dying Gaul and Ludovisi Gaul
Bronze statue of Eros sleeping
Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace
The Pergamon Altar
Apollonius, Boxer at Rest (or The Seated Boxer)
Spinario (Boy with Thorn)
Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii
Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes, Laocoön and his Sons
Nemrut Dağ (tomb of King Antiochus I Theos)
Ancient Ireland & Britain
Golden lunula and two gold discs (Coggalbeg hoard)
Celtic
The Witham Shield
Etruscan
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The Etruscans, an introduction
Bucchero
The Regolini-Galassi tomb and the Parade Fibula
Temple of Minerva and the sculpture of Apollo (Veii)
Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Louvre)
Sarcophagus of the Spouses (Rome)
Tomb of the Triclinium
The François Tomb
Tomb of the Reliefs
Chimera of Arezzo
Mars of Todi
Aule Metele (Arringatore)
Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
Ancient Rome
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A beginner's guide
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Introduction to ancient Rome
Introduction to ancient Roman art
City of Rome overview—origins to the archaic period
Ancient Rome (virtual reality tour)
Rome’s history in four faces at The Met
Damnatio memoriae—Roman sanctions against memory
Roman funeral rituals and social status: The Amiternum tomb and the tomb of the Haterii
The Modern Invention of Ancient White Marble
Beginner guides to Roman architecture
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An introduction to ancient Roman architecture
Italo-Roman building techniques
Roman domestic architecture: domus
Roman domestic architecture: villa
Roman domestic architecture: insula
Forum Romanum (The Roman Forum)
The archaeological context of the Roman Forum (Forum Romanum)
Imperial fora
Roman art, archaeology and museums
Digging through time
Seizure of Looted Antiquities Illuminates What Museums Want Hidden
Looting, collecting, and exhibiting: the Bubon bronzes
Pompeii
Pompeii, an introduction
The rediscovery of Pompeii and the other cities of Vesuvius
An Indian ivory statuette in Pompeii
Wall painting
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Roman wall painting styles
Painted Garden, Villa of Livia
Still Life with Peaches
House of the Vettii
Villa of Mysteries
Room M of the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor, Boscoreale
Republic
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Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
Temple of Portunus
Maison Carrée
Capitoline She-wolf
Capitoline Brutus
Tomb of the Scipios and the sarcophagus of Scipio Barbatus
Veristic male portrait
Head of a Roman Patrician
Early empire
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Augustus of Primaporta
Ara Pacis Augustae
Mausoleum of Augustus
Gemma Augustea
Gem carving
Pont du Gard
Obelisks and ancient Rome
Preparations for a Sacrifice
The Domus Aurea, Nero’s Golden Palace
Portrait of Vespasian
The Colosseum
The Arch of Titus
The Spoils of Jerusalem, Arch of Titus
Shekel of the Second Jewish Revolt
Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman
The Forum and Markets of Trajan
Column of Trajan
Volubilis
Djémila
Colony of Augusta Emerita, Mérida
Middle empire
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The Pantheon (Rome)
Bronze head from a statue of the Emperor Hadrian
A virtual tour of Hadrian’s Villa
Hadrian: The imperial palace, Tivoli
Maritime Theatre at Hadrian’s Villa
Rome’s layered history — the Castel Sant’Angelo
Pair of Centaurs Fighting Cats of Prey from Hadrian’s Villa
Hadrian’s Wall
Medea Sarcophagus
Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aurelius
The Lullingstone Busts
Triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus
Severan marble plan (Forma Urbis Romae)
The Severan Tondo: Damnatio memoriae in ancient Rome
Baths of Caracalla
Battle of the Romans and Barbarians (Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus)
Leptis Magna
Ancient city of Bosra
Ancient Sabratha
Amphitheater of El Jem
Late empire
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Trebonianus Gallus — emperor or athlete? Rethinking a modern attribution.
Portraits of the Four Tetrarchs
Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine
The Symmachi Panel
The Colossus of Constantine
Arch of Constantine, Rome
Mosaic decoration at the Hammath Tiberias synagogue
Palmyra
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Palmyra: the modern destruction of an ancient city
Temple of Bel
Palmyrene Funerary Portraiture
Temple of Baalshamin
Dura-Europos
Dura-Europos, an overview

The art of gem carving

by The J. Paul Getty Museum

Watch a modern artist engrave a precious gemstone using the techniques of the ancients.

Video from the J. Paul Getty Museum


Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:
Dioskourides, Gemma AugusteaDioskourides, Gemma Augustea, detail with lower registerGemma ClaudiaDioskourides, Gemma Augustea, detail of upper register with (left to right) Roma, Augustus, Oikoumene, and Oceanus

More Smarthistory images…

Cite this page as: The J. Paul Getty Museum, "The art of gem carving," in Smarthistory, December 21, 2015, accessed March 27, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/the-art-of-gem-carving/.

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