_(2)_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
Antiquities are objects fromantiquity, especially thecivilizations of theMediterranean such as theClassical antiquity of Greece and Rome,Ancient Egypt, and the otherAncient Near Eastern cultures such as Ancient Persia (Iran). Artifacts from earlier periods such as theMesolithic, and other civilizations from Asia and elsewhere may also be covered by the term. The phenomenon of giving a high value to ancient artifacts is found in other cultures, notably China, whereChinese ritual bronzes, three to two thousand years old, have been avidly collected and imitated for centuries, and thePre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica, where in particular the artifacts of the earliestOlmec civilization are found reburied in significant sites of later cultures up to the Spanish Conquest.[1]
A person who studies antiquities, as opposed to just collecting them, is often called anantiquarian.
The definition of the term is not always precise, and institutional definitions such asmuseum "Departments of Antiquities" often cover later periods, but in normal usageGothic 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. Non-artisticartifacts 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".
The art trade reflects modern usage of the term;Christie's "Department of Antiquities" covers objects "from the dawn of civilization to theDark Ages, ranging from Western Europe to the Caspian Sea, embracing the cultures of Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Near East."[2]Bonhams use a similar definition: "...4000 B.C to the 12th Century A.D. Geographically they originate from Egypt, the Near East and Europe ..."[3] Official cut-off dates are often later, being unconcerned with precise divisions ofart history, and using the term for all historical periods they wish to protect: inJordan it is 1750,[4] inHong Kong 1800, and so on.
The term is no longer much used in formal academic discussion, because of this imprecision. However, a recent attempt to standardise this and other terms has been carried out.[5] Most, but not all, antiquities have been recovered byarchaeology. There is little or no overlap withantiques, which covers objects, not generally discovered as a result of archaeology, at most about three hundred years old, and usually far less.
The sense ofantiquitates, the idea that a civilization could be recovered by a systematic exploration of itsrelics andmaterial culture, in the sense used byVarro and reflected inJosephus'Antiquities of the Jews was lost during theMiddle Ages, when ancient objects were collected with other appeals, the rarity or strangeness of their materials or simply because they were thought to be endowed withmagical ormiraculous powers.[6] Preciouscameos and other antiquecarved gems might be preserved when incorporated into crowns and diadems and liturgical objects,[7] consular ivorydiptychs by being used as gospel covers. Roman columns could be re-erected in churches.[8]sarcophagi could receive new occupants and cineraryurns could function as holy waterstoups. Sculptural representations of the human form, feared and reviled as "idols" could be rehabilitated by reidentifying their subjects: theequestrian bronze Marcus Aurelius of the Campidoglio was respected as a representation of the Christian emperorConstantine, and in Pavia theRegisole acquired a civic role that preserved it. In Rome the Roman bronzeSpinario was admired for itself by the guidebook writerMagister Gregorius. The classicism of theCarolingian Renaissance was in part inspired by appreciation ofLate Antique manuscripts: theUtrecht Psalter attempts to recreate such a Late Antique original, both in its handwriting and its illustrations.[9]
Many museums hold these artifacts and keep them safe so that we have access to the knowledge they hold about the past. On September 2 the National Museum of Brazil was engulfed in flames. This event caused many artifacts to be lost forever.[10]
Trading of antiquities can be legal or illegal. The looting ofarchaeological sites or museums to supply theblack market in antiquities poses a grave threat to the world's cultural heritage. Irreplaceable archaeological information may be lost.
| Collecting |
|---|
| Terms |
| Topics |
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)[dead link]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
