A daughter of Constantine, buried in the one stone only emperors could use — and covered in images nobody has fully explained in seventeen centuries.
What a Clay Bowl with a Cheetah Tells Us About the Byzantine World
A humble Byzantine clay bowl decorated with a cheetah reveals a world of imperial prestige, artistic skill, trade, and cultural exchange across the medieval Mediterranean.
The Minoan Swing
The Swing’ is a charming and unusual artifact from Minoan Crete. It’s a clay model depicting a female figure seated on a swing, suspended between two upright posts.
The Four Seasons Allegory in Meissen Porcelain
Meissen porcelain Four Seasons busts (c. 1755) reveal how 18th-century Europe visualized time through allegory, craftsmanship, and classical tradition.
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika’s Interior with Woman and Mirror
Luminous, stylish, and charged with youthful energy, Ghika’s Interior with Woman and Mirror is a masterclass in creative dialogue. Here’s how a Greek modernist absorbed the lessons of Picasso, and painted something entirely his own.
Marble Portrait of Constantine the Great
A Face Between Two Empires: Constantine in Marble presents the marble portrait of Constantine the Great as a turning point in Roman art, where classical imperial imagery, political messaging, and the rise of Christianity converge in carved stone.
Bonifazio de’ Pitati’s Perseus Freeing Andromeda
Displayed on a wedding chest, Bonifazio de’ Pitati’s painting of Perseus freeing Andromeda offers a timeless message: that love, like myth, is a journey from danger to harmony.
St. Paul and Adam in the Earthly Paradise
This ivory diptych pairs Adam’s primordial harmony with Saint Paul’s miraculous acts, presenting a visual argument of restored balance, where faith overcomes disorder, reflecting theological meaning and late Roman cultural tensions.
Still Life with Hawthorn Blossom
In the quiet refinement of 19th-century Danish painting, Jensen’s Still Life with Hawthorn Blossom celebrates May’s fleeting beauty — where delicate hawthorn blossoms become symbols of renewal, transience, and enduring meaning.
Fra Angelico’s story of the Passion
He would never take up his brushes without prayer; and in his Crucifixions, the devotion he felt is seen in the tender, pious expression of every figure.