Online Exhibition The A. V. Lane Collection at Bridwell Library |
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A. V. Lane Collection | Contents | Digital Resources | A. V. Lane | Bridwell Library Home | ||
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Canopic jars.
Alabaster. Egypt, Late Bronze Age, 1500–1200 BCE. These canopic jars were purchased in 1941. The set of four jars feature lids carved to represent the four sons of Horus: the baboon “Hapy,” representative of the North and protector of the lungs; the god “Duamutef” jackel-headed guardian of the East, who protected the stomach; the hawk “Qebhsennuf” of the West, protector of the intestines; and the god “Imsety” of the South, human-headed guardian of the liver. These vital organs, removed during the mummification process, were preserved in canopic jars such as these. On loan to the Dallas Museum of Art |
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Cuneiform Cones | ||||||
Writing developed in Egypt and Mesopotamia more or less
simultaneously and independently between 3500 and 3000 BCE. The wedge-shaped
writing known as cuneiform (from the Latin cuneus – wedge) was used in
writing by the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians,
Persians and others. |
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Incantation Bowl | ||||||
Bowl inscribed with an Aramaic incantation. Terra cotta.
Babylon, c. 500 BCE. |
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Roman Glass | ||||||
Cosmetic Bottles.
Glass. c. 100 CE. These double-chambered glass vials were used to mix pigment and oil for the application of cosmetics. A prior conjecture, disputed by research and comparison with similar ancient artifacts, suggested that these items were examples of lachrymatories, or “tear jars” for the collection of tears in rituals of mourning. The cosmetics vials were purchased by Dr. Lane in 1928 from the collection of Sir John Stirling Maxwell through the London-based antiquities dealers Spink & Son, Ltd. |
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Oxyrhynchus Papyri | ||||||
A. V. Lane secured the permanent deposit of
twelve ancient papyrus fragments from the British Museum through his
connections with the Egypt Exploration Society of London in 1922. These
papyri, all from Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, are still among the most important
early texts in any collection in Texas. From the Egypt Exploration Society of London, British Museum, 1922.
This fragmentary papyrus leaf of the beginning of the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans, when complete, would have been approximately 11 < 7 inches. The upright script, in reddish-brown ink common to the period, is in the “Byzantine” style. In general, the left third of each line is missing. Shown is the recto, beginning with the text of Romans 1:1, where the first legible characters comprise the abbreviated name Iu Cu (“Jesus Christ”). The text on the verso breaks off midway through Romans 1:16. Link to Bridwell Papyri |
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Mummy | ||||||
Mummified human remains. Painted cypress wood cartonnage.
The mummy came to the United States in 1897 as the property of Judge
Alexander Watkins Terrell (1827-1912), the Texas Senator for whom Terrell
County, Texas, was named. Terrell became U.S. Minister Plenipotentiary to
the Ottoman Empire under President Grover Cleveland and served as a diplomat
in a dispute between Egypt and the U.S (1893-97). In gratitude for this
service, the Egyptian government permitted Terrell to return to Austin with
a recently excavated mummy. On loan to the Dallas Museum of Art |
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Cartouche | ||||||
Red quartzite fragment with Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, Egypt, c. 1350 BCE. Donated by A.V. Lane, 1927. Although the date assigned to this fine hieroglyphic inscription in the 1920s was "about 3500 BC," recent research by SMU undergraduate Shelby Justl for Dr. Melissa Dowling has shown that the artifact is a cartouche bearing the name of the sun-deity Aten, from the reign of the pharaoh Akhenaten. Ms. Justl has demonstrated that the inscription is also known from several other cartouches made for Akhenaten. Her translation reads: "In his name comes wealth from Aten."
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Based on an
exhibition curated by Eric Marshall White, PhD, Fall 2001 Webdesign by Elizabeth Haluska-Rausch, PhD Photography by Jon Speck |
Images may not be published without the permission of Bridwell Library. Copyright 2007 Bridwell Library. All rights reserved. |