20 Reasons to Fall Down a Museum Rabbit Hole and Not Regret It (21 photos)

There are things that can't be appreciated simply by glancing at a photograph. They require careful examination from different angles, capturing the play of light on their edges, or imagining the weight of the cold metal in your hand. What unites these objects is the craftsmanship with which they were crafted.





For example, an ancient jeweler transformed an amethyst into a bored bulldog, so that it would forever guard someone's umbrella. A Chinese foundryman gave bronze the face of a tiger guarding wine. And a European armorer forged the bascinet—a helmet in which a knight would wait for hours for a spear thrust, peering out at the world through a narrow slit. These artifacts aren't just dusty museum pieces. They are frozen gestures, habits, and characters of people who lived thousands of years ago.

1. The aquamarine head of the Roman Empress Sabina, 2nd century AD, currently housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence, Italy.



2. The 1st-century AD Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain, built from 20,400 granite blocks without mortar





The bridge, which until 1973 carried water from Mountain Springs to Segovia, a distance of 17 kilometers, consists of 167 arches, the maximum height of which is 28.5 meters.

3. Umbrella handle in the shape of an amethyst seated bulldog, Paris, circa 1860



4. Ivory chess pieces. India, 19th century



5. A ceramic whistle from Peru in the shape of a man holding his hands to his mouth, as if shouting or calling out to someone.



A child is above the man's head, appearing to be carried on his shoulders. Cupisnike culture, 200-500 BC, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

6. Bascinet - a type of helmet made of wrought iron.



Because of its shape, it was later called "sparrow's beak" in French, "pig-faced bascinet" or "skull bascinet" in English, and "dog-headed bascinet" in German.

7. Copper mask of a noble warrior. Peru, Moche civilization, 200-500 AD.



8. Eastern Roman mosaic portrait of Ktysis, goddess of generosity, investment, and development



9. Bronze drum stand with images Dragon



A rare massive base on which large drums for royal orchestras of the ancient Jin state were mounted. China, Spring and Autumn period.

10. Tiger-shaped chamber pot. China/Korea, 5th century AD



11. Ivory sculpture of a dog on an ebony box, 17th century AD, currently housed in the Silver Museum of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy.



12. Topplerschleschen - a small residential tower of the late Middle Ages



Located in the Tauber Valley in Germany, it was built in 1388 by Heinrich Toppler, mayor of Rothenburg, as a summer residence. The fully preserved building is furnished.

13. Ritual wine vessel with a "Gong" lid decorated with a tiger and owl



Chinese Shang Dynasty, cast bronze, 13th century BC, Sackler Museum, Harvard University, Boston.

14. This 4,000-year-old male figure with scaly skin is attributed to the Bactria-Margiana archaeological complex, or eastern Iran.



Made of chlorite, calcite, gold, and iron.

15. "Remembrance of Death," carved from ivory, hangs from a rosary. Made in the 16th century.



16. Patterned dish. Iran or Uzbekistan, 10th century AD.



17. Gilded wooden chair of Tutankhamun with a carved image of He, the ancient god of infinity and endless time.



Circa 1332-1323 BC, now housed in the Grand Egyptian Museum.

18. Ancient Thracian bronze greaves from the Golyama Kosmatka burial mound



Early 3rd century BC, currently housed in the Iskra Historical Museum in Bulgaria.

19. Small golden turtle. Costa Rica, Great Chiriqui culture, 700-1550 AD



20. Wool sock from the Coppergate Viking settlement in York, northern England



It was found during excavations in the backyard of a 10th-century AD building.