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Phoenician Art

The Phoenician culture (1500 B.C. to 300 B.C.) flourished on the East coast of the Mediterranean Sea, which was called the "Levant." The artists of these maritime trading colonies took inspiration from Egypt and Assyria, adopted their motifs and created an elaboration on those styles. Phoenician artisans made Egyptianite scarab seals, ivory carvings and even richly encrusted thrones for the Assyrian kings. Phoenician art history later melded into that of the Roman Empire.
  1. Glass

    • Phoenician jars and perfume bottles made of glass were prized throughout the Mediterranean. Phoenician glass vessels were of three types. The most common was colorless transparent glass, followed by exquisitely colored semi-transparent glass and opaque glass that was tinted with metals. Colorless glass was used for common objects such as bottles, which have been found in abundance.

    Ivory

    • Phoenician artists made ornate horse blinkers and frontlets from ivory and carved them with Egyptian themes such as sphinx or cobra. Ornamental plaques, as well as carved and pierced furniture decorations, were made from ivory.

    Seals

    • Carved seals in scarab shapes were characteristic of Phoenician carvers and their strong Egyptian influences. The seals were made of jasper and featured intricate carvings of such themes as Horus and his mother Isis. Genies were also commonly featured, and the seals were most popular around 500 B.C.

Fine Art

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