Minerva Magazine 202
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Making a splash
How did water go from being something to fear to a place of privilege in Greece and Rome? Karen Eva Carr plunges into the cultural history of swimming.
Secrets of their craft
Many metalworkers and ceramicists in Renaissance Europe seemingly had no qualms about killing a lizard – or other animal – for their art. Pamela Smith investigates the intriguing practice of life-casting that turned nature into art, and why artisan authors recorded practical knowledge in words.
Signature style: the artists behind Maya masterpieces
Recent breakthroughs in the study of Maya hieroglyphs have revealed artist signatures on artefacts long considered to be the work of anonymous artisans. Joanne Pillsbury and Laura Filloy Nadal introduce us to the newly identified sculptors and painters who worked in the Maya royal courts.
Palatial pleasures in Parma
The former palace of the Farnese family in Parma contains no fewer than five cultural institutions. Dalu Jones is our guide to the recently renovated Pilotta complex, where the dukes of Parma put art, archaeology, and theatre to use.
Ashoka and the Maurya Dynasty: the History and Legacy of Ancient India’s Greatest Empire
Review by Robert Harding The ancient Mauryan Empire and its third emperor Ashoka (c.304-232 BC) represent a striking departure for Colleen Taylor Sen. The author’s reputation rests on her series of food
Copper Age owl-shaped plaques may be toys, researchers suggest
Thousands of engraved owl-shaped plaques have been discovered in Copper Age tombs and pits throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
On show: a selection of exhibitions from around the world in 2023
The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.
Digging Tell en-Nasbeh, 1929
Between 1926 and 1935, American scholar William F Badè and his team unearthed the remains of a small town at the site of Tell en-Nasbeh in Mandate-era Palestine. Thought to be the
Assyrian palace excavated in the ancient city of Nimrud
Finds from the palace include a large stone vase and inscribed fragments of ivory and of ostrich eggshell.
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East
Review by Diana Bentley The ancient Near East has not always attracted the popular attention it deserves, especially in comparison with other cultures of the surrounding area, like Greece, Rome, and Egypt.
Museum openings and reopenings around the world
The Manchester Museum, Bengaluru’s new art gallery, and the House of the Vettii in Pompeii open to the public.
Minerva: cultivating wisdom
A deity of wisdom and war, born fully grown, and armed, from the head of her father Zeus/Jupiter, Minerva – and her Greek counterpart Athena – played an important part in Greek and Roman religion.
Researchers identify bird species on wall painting from Amarna palace
Kingfishers and pigeons had previously been identified amid this scene in the palace’s so-called ‘Green Room’, but new research has offered explanations of further details.
Sylvanus Griswold Morley
In those days, Mesoamerican archaeology was not for the faint-hearted, and Sylvanus Griswold Morley – ‘physically frail, short of stature, squeaky-voiced and near-sighted’, according to Prudence Rice and Christopher Ward – wasn’t
Neolithic narrative scene identified in Turkey
The discovery was made during excavations that uncovered two separate clusters of Pre-Pottery Neolithic buildings at the site.
Minerva Magazine 199
On show: exhibitions from around the world in 2023
The dates listed below may have changed since we went to print. Check the websites of the museums for the most up-to-date information and bookings.
Alexander the Great in Persia and beyond
Alexander the Great’s ambitions of conquest took him far from his Macedonian home and into Asia and Babylon, where he died. Ursula Sims-Williams investigates the mythical legacy of Alexander in the East, where different traditions cast him variously as an accursed figure, a philosopher-king, and even a prophet.
Underworld: Imagining The Afterlife In Ancient South Italian Vase Painting
Review by David Stuttard On an Apulian funerary vase, a fair-haired young man sits clutching a spear in his left hand as he exclaims in terror, ‘I’m not coming!’ But it is
Conserving artworks after the Beirut blast
Conservation work is being carried out on a painting of Hercules and Omphale, recently attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi, that was damaged during the massive explosion in 2020 in Beirut.
17th-century silk dress from the Palmwood Wreck goes on display in the Netherlands
The garment comes from the Palmwood Wreck, which was discovered in 2014 off the Texel coastline.
Shock and awe: the imaginative work of Henry Fuseli
The drawings and paintings of Romantic-era artist Henry Fuseli showcase his fascination with fantasy, expression, and elaborate hairstyles. Lucia Marchini takes a look at the imaginative work of the artist, and how he challenged conventions in public and private.