lotus

Ancient Raving: The Egyptian Festival of Drunkenness

Hathor

Us in the 'modern world' tend to think we've got the market cornered for most things, and partying is no different. Clubs, drugs, drink and casual sex may be frowned upon even by our elders at times, but it seems those in the ancient world had rather less stringent morals when it came to partying hard. And new research suggests the neon-lit acid haze of the eighties was far from the first movement to find a love for rave culture. It seems that rolling stones had barely been invented before the ancient world was partying like Keith Richards on closing night.

The lotus flower used in Indian and Chinese decoration

British Museum expert Anne Howarth gives a free drop-in, 45 minute talk on how the famed lotus flower is used in Indian and Chinese decoration - open to all levels of knowledge.

Event Details
Event Dates: 
Saturday 27 June 2009 - ended
Event Start Time: 
13.15
Event Length: 
45minutes
Event Status: 
past
Event Venue: 
British Museum
Images
Wall painting showing Osiris
Head of an Ammonite king
Head of a colossal statue of King Amenemhat III
Inscribed stela
Pectoral
Marble sarcophagus with scenes from the life of Jonah
Dr. Zahi Hawass at the British Museum - Neil MacGregor Speech
Missing link

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Orthostat relief

Orthostat Relief with Seated Figure Holding a Lotus Flower in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, August 2007

 This Orthostat relief, carved of limestone, depicts a seated figure holding a lotus flower and a characteristic winged disc.  It was excavated at Tell Halaf, and in all likelihood was part of the south wall at the Temple Palace.

Images
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Horse frontlet with nude goddess

Horse Frontlet with Nude Goddess in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2008

 This relief depicts a nude goddess holding lotus flowers and lions.  Frontlets were typically used to shield the faces of horses during battles.  The delicate and decorative carvings associated with this ivory frontlet, however, suggest that it may have been used to adorn a horse during a parade.  

Images
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The Architecture Of Egypt

The Mice And The Lions

About The AuthorKathryn Morgan
Kate studied Art History, Classical Civilizations, and Greek and Latin Languages and Literature at Oxford. When she is not poring over obscure Greek compound verbs in Liddell and Scott she enjoys painstakingly removing large vessels or bones from the ground. In short, she is a vagabond archaeologist and lover of all things ancient.
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