Lewis Chessmen

We just learned about the Cloisters Cross.

Another ancient sculpture is the Lewis Chessmen.

This is a set of 78 chess pieces carved from walrus ivory tusks or whale teeth.
No one is sure exactly how old they are, but they think they were from around 900 years ago in the country of Norway.

There are some red stains on some of the pieces, so they were probably a chess set of red versus white, instead of black versus white.
All of the pieces are little people, even the knights, bishops and rooks.

The knight pieces are on little horses and are holding spears and shields.
The rooks are standing soldiers holding shields and swords.
Some of them have crazy wild eyes and are so angry they are biting their shields!




(from: wikipedia - lewis chessmen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Swimming Reindeer

Cloisters Cross

We just learned about the Bernward Doors.

Another ancient Romanesque sculpture is the Cloisters Cross.

This cross is almost 2 feet tall, and is carved out of walrus tusks (called ivory).

Even though the cross is not very big, it has 92 carvings and 98 inscriptions.
The carvings are pictures showing stories from the Bible.


(from: wikipedia - cloisters cross)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lion Man of Hohlenstein Stadel

Bernward Doors

We just learned about the Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège.

Another Romanesque sculpture is the Bernward Doors made in 1015 for the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.

These metal doors were made mostly of copper, and have 16 different pieces, each one made with it's own picture.
Each picture is a relief, meaning the sculpture stands out above the background.
The 8 pictures on the left are from the book of Genesis, telling the story of Adam and Even and Cain and Abel.
The 8 pictures on the right are from the Gospel, telling the story of Jesus from the angels visiting Mary to going up to heaven.


(from: wikipedia - bernward doors)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Metz & Co showroom - van der Leck

Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège

We just learned about the Reliquary of St. Maurus.

Another famous sculpture is the Baptismal Font at St. Bartholomew's Church, Liège made in 1107 in Belgium.

It is made of bronze, and the sculptures are in high relief.
High relief means that the parts of the sculpture stick out very far from the background.

The pictures on this sculpture are of the people that wrote the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
These people are sometimes called the Four Evangelists.

This is a baptismal font, which is a tub that gets filled with water for people to get baptized in.
It is still used even today.


(from: wikipedia - baptismal font at st bartholomew's church, liège)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Composition VII - van Doesburg

Reliquary of St. Maurus

We just learned about the Gloucester Candlestick.

Another ancient sculpture is the Reliquary of St. Maurus.

Just like the Shrine of the Three Kings these are sarcophagi, coffins with people's bones in them.
Inside the silver plated golden covered boxes are the bones of St. Maurus, St. John the Baptist, and St. Timothy.

During World War II, this reliquary was buried underneath a church to protect it from armies that would steal it.

It was buried for around 40 years and forgotten, until someone went looking for it and dug it up.


(from: wikipedia - reliquary of st. maurus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Composition II - Mondrian

Gloucester Candlestick

We just learned about the Stavelot Triptych.

Another famous sculpture is the Gloucester Candlestick.

This candlestick is made of bronze, which is a mixture of a bunch of metals like copper, tin and silver.
People believe this candlestick was made up of a bunch of old melted coins.

It has many sculpted little statues on it from the bottom to the top. There are dragons at the bottom, and at the top are the four people who wrote the Bible gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The candlestick has words written on it in Latin. Translated to English they are:
"This flood of light, this work of virtue, bright with holy doctrine instructs us, so that Man shall not be benighted in vice."

This means that sculpture can remind people to follow the teachings of the Bible and live a good life full of light, and not do bad things and live in the darkness.

There are some sculpted figures on the candlestick that are trying to climb up toward the light, and others that are trying to crawl away from it toward the bottom.






(from: wikipedia - gloucester candlestick)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Revolving Torsion Gabo

Stavelot Triptych

We just learned about the Shrine of the Three Kings.

Another ancient roman sculpture is the Stavelot Triptych.

We learned before that a triptych is like a sculpted book that opens and closes.
This triptych opens up, and has two smaller triptychs in the middle.

The smaller triptychs are much older, and are said to have held small pieces of the cross that Christ died on, as well as some dirt from Christ's tomb, and a piece of his mother Mary's robe.

The triptychs are made of gold, jewels and glass, and have pictures showing saints, mother Mary, and the story of the Christian Emperor Constantine's mother when she traveled to find the cross that Christ died on.


(from: wikipedia - stavelot triptych)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dance - Objectless Composition - Rodchenko

Shrine of the Three Kings

We just learned about the Brunswick Lion.

Another Romanesque art sculpture is the Shrine of the Three Kings.

These are three golden sarcophagi, which are boxes for holding people's bodies after they have died.

The three people whose bodies are in the boxes are said to be Three Wise Men or Three Kings from the Bible that brought gifts to Jesus.

They are made of wood, then covered with gold and silver, and over 1,000 jewels and beads, and even some cameos.

The golden outside has 74 sculpted pictures of apostles, prophets, and stories from the Bible.


(from: wikipedia - shrine of the three kings)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tatlin's Tower

Brunswick Lion

We just learned about the Muiredach's High Cross.

Another famous sculpture is the Brunswick Lion, made in the year 1166 in Brunswick Germany.

The statue was made for the Duke Henry the Lion who lived at Dankwarderode castle.

It weighs almost 2,000 lbs, is almost 6 feet tall and is over 9 feet long.
The statue is a hollow bronze sculpture, and was the first large hollow casting like that in a very long time.

There is an old folk tale about the Duke Henry the Lion, saying that he went on a trip and saw a lion battling a dragon.
He helped the lion and together they killed the dragon.
So the lion became his friend, and came home with him.


(from: wikipedia - brunswick lion)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge - Lissitzky

Muiredach's High Cross

We just learned about the Aberlemno Sculptured Stones.

Another ancient sculpture is the Muiredach's High Cross in County Louth, Ireland.

This is 19 foot tall sandstone cross, with many carvings on it of biblical scenes like David and Goliath or Moses.

It was made to honor either an old king or monk named Muiredach.


(from: wikipedia - muiredach's high cross)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Black Square - Malevich

Aberlemno Sculptured Stones

We just learned about the Stenkvista Runestone.

Another ancient sculpture is the group of sculptured stones in Scotland, called the Aberlemno Sculptured Stones.

This is a group of 5 stones, all carved hundreds of years ago and placed as markers in important areas.


(from: wikipedia - aberlemno sculptured stones)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dynamic Hieroglyph of the Bal Tabarin - Severini

Stenkvista Runestone

We just learned about the Gero Cross.

Another ancient sculpture from the same time, was the Stenkvista Runestone.

This was made in Sweden, and it was a large stone carved near a grave to honor someone who had passed.
In the northern countries of Europe, they believed in the mythical Norse gods like Thor.

On the rune stone, you can see what looks like an upside down capital letter T.
That is Thor's hammer Mjölnir.

The words carved in the stone are in old letters called runes, and the words mean:
Helgi and Freygeirr and Þorgautr raised the rune-decorated landmark in memory of Þjóðmundr, their father.


(from: wikipedia - stenkvista runestone)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The City Rises - Boccioni

Gero Cross

We just learned about the Golden Madonna of Essen.

Another ancient sculpture is the Gero Cross, carved around 965 AD.

This crucifix is over six feet tall, and is made out of oak wood, painted, and gilded with some gems.
The oval and sun rays behind the crucifix were added about 700 years later.

It is different from other sculptures of the time, because other crucifixes showed Christ alive with his eyes open looking out.
This crucifix shows him after he died on the cross, looking sad.
Many other crucifixes made after this one copied the same style.


(from: wikipedia - gero cross)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash - Balla

Golden Madonna of Essen

We just learned about the Archangel Ivory.

Another ancient statue is the Golden Madonna of Essen.

This is a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus.
The Virgin Mary is sometimes called the Madonna.

It has a wooden sculpture inside, and is wrapped in gold leaf, which is thin sheets of gold.
The eyes are made from a type of colored glass.

It was made around the year 980, so it is over 2,000 years old.
It is the oldest known sculpture of the the Madonna.


(from: wikipedia - golden madonna of essen)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Le Bal élégant, La Danse à la campagne - Laurencin

Archangel Ivory

We just learned about the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus.

Another famous sculpture is the Archangel Ivory.

This is a carving in ivory of a powerful angel called an archangel holding a scepter, which is like a staff that rulers use, and an imperial orb, which is a ball with a cross on top.

This carving is the right half of something called a diptych, which is almost like the front and back covers of a book that opens, and the carving is on the inside.

Some people think the other half of the diptych was a carving of the emperor, and the archangel was giving him those gifts.


(from: wikipedia - archangel ivory)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Personnage Écrivant - Marcoussis

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus

We just learned about the Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus.

A sarcophagus is a large decorated coffin.
This sculpture shows many different stories from the bible, because Junius Bassus became a Christian before he died.
There are sculptures of Adam and Eve, Daniel in the Lion's Den, the Trial of Jesus, Moses with the ten commandments, and many more.


(from: wikipedia - sarcophagus of junius bassus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Woman with a Fan - Metzinger

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

We just learned about the Great Cameo of France.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs.

Around 300 AD, the Roman empire was ruled by four emperors.
Two senior emperors that were called Augusti, and two junior ones that were called Caesars.

This sculpture was made to show that the emperors were all working together.


(from: wikipedia - portrait of the four tetrarchs)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Portrait of Jacques Nayral - Gleizes

Great Cameo of France

We just learned about the Gonzaga Cameo.

Another Great Cameo of France.

10 12 This is another cameo carving of a sardonyx stone.
It is 10 inches by 12 inches, and has three different layers of people.

It is twenty four different people in the sculpture, and it is a picture of famous Roman people.


(from: wikipedia - great cameo of france)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Simultaneous Windows on the City - Delaunay

Gonzaga Cameo

We just learned about the Gemma Augustea.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Gonzaga Cameo.

Just like the Gemma Augustea, this is a cameo that is made from carving a stone.
This stone was called sardonyx, and is carved into a male and female person.

No one knows who the people were supposed to be when they were carved, but many people think they were supposed to be Zeus and Hera.


(from: wikipedia - gonzaga cameo)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Woman in Blue - Leger

Gemma Augustea

We just learned about the sculpture the Campana Reliefs.

Another ancient Roman sculpture is the Gemma Augustea.

This is a sculpture made out of a type of gem stone called Arabian onyx.
This type of stone has both black and white colors in it, and the gem was cut until there was white on top and black in the background.
When a stone is carved like this it is called a Cameo.

The sculptor then carved out a picture of Ceasar Augustus, surrounded by mythical Roman gods on the top row, and a bunch of workers putting up a trophy on the bottom row.

The artist was Dioscurides, who was a famous gem cutting sculptor for Caesar Augustus thousands of years ago.


(from: wikipedia - gemma augustea)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Fruit Dish on Checkered Tablecloth - Gris