When is a simple, gorgeously iridescent glass perfume bottle not so simple? This depicts a statue famous in antiquity, the Tyche of Antioch. Sculpted by Eutychides of Sikyon in about 296 BCE, this bottle may have been a souvenir of a visit to that city. 🏺 1/ 2nd-3rd c. CE. #MetMuseum 📸 me - ThreadSky

chapps.bsky.social • 29 days ago

When is a simple, gorgeously iridescent glass perfume bottle not so simple? This depicts a statue famous in antiquity, the Tyche of Antioch. Sculpted by Eutychides of Sikyon in about 296 BCE, this bottle may have been a souvenir of a visit to that city. 🏺 1/

2nd-3rd c. CE.
#MetMuseum 📸 me

Comments

lindalee.bsky.social•29 days ago

Very interesting thread and indeed not so simple... 😊

chapps.bsky.social•29 days ago

Thanks!

josettewea.bsky.social•27 days ago

Wonderful, thanks for sharing.

chapps.bsky.social•27 days ago

Any time!

chapps.bsky.social•29 days ago

Wow, engagements on Bluesky really fell off a cliff for me this week, based on some third party analytics. Algorithms must have changed (or my posts suck). Growing pains, I guess.

annedenoon.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yes, rapid expansion & political trauma do seem to be having an effect.

chapps.bsky.social•28 days ago

Ah, well, the golden period couldn’t last. But I just want to be interacting with my peeps.

wittspat.bsky.social•28 days ago

Oh me too. Something very strange has been happening this week, perhaps for the reasons canvassed here. Makes all the beautiful, interesting, posts and the wonderful people all the more important.

snedzamd.bsky.social•27 days ago

People are distracted. Your posts are amazing.

chapps.bsky.social•27 days ago

Thank you so much - that means a lot.

natsky777.bsky.social•28 days ago

Must be algorithms, (plus anger/angst about almost hourly WTF political news globally - I've felt myself enraged too, so very, v. hard not to, alas).Your wonderful content/posts never suck Chapps. You, scholars, and other pedlars of ancient loveliness bring balm for the soul. Much needed, thanks.☺️

chapps.bsky.social•28 days ago

Aww, thank you so much. That's good to hear. It helps me as well - I can tune out the noise and anger everywhere for a while, work on the photos and my reconstructions, and then engage in healthy conversation about my and others' posts.

kissane.bsky.social•29 days ago

I think mass trauma changes the patterns a lot. (Non snarky—I appreciate your work!)

chapps.bsky.social•28 days ago

No snarkiness detected. 😁 Yeah, I think there was another flood of people coming from Xwitter, and the Bluesky folks almost certainly have changed the algorithms to try to engage people in broader topics (the sidebar is now populating with trends).

wittspat.bsky.social•28 days ago

I had only three likes for my last #MosaicMonday post, not helped by an 'Adult Content' sticker hiding the image and a 'Sexually Suggestive' label being added - which is absolutely bonkers. I appealed but no response yet.

alisonfisk.bsky.social•27 days ago

Your posts definitely don’t suck Chapps!!!

ardentarchivist.bsky.social•27 days ago

Indeed.

Ignore the bloody metrics. Life is too short. Post your stuff, interact with colleagues & friends & the occasional enthusiastic eejit like me, and… enjoy. If people are missing out, that’s their problem.

You do your thing and never worry about SM insanity.

👍👍

chapps.bsky.social•27 days ago

Oh, I mostly don’t care about the metrics, but no one likes to post into an empty room. It seems to have changed again, and suddenly people are seeing the posts and responding. Those conversations are what I love the most.

ardentarchivist.bsky.social•27 days ago

👍

chapps.bsky.social•27 days ago

Thank you, Alison! (of course, I’m one of the biggest fans of your posts)

lailokensawen.bsky.social•28 days ago

Engagement has slowly gone down since the 20th, I’ve found. For every 1 post about topics I’m interested in, there’s 10 posts about Trump. I’m not seeing the people I normally see on here posting as regularly. I think people are a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

chapps.bsky.social•28 days ago

I think many may be posting as often, but the algorithm has changed so that we’re less likely to see just the content we’ve seen in the past. Too bad. If I could just see content on history/archaeology/classics, I’d be a happy person.

tikvahchai.bsky.social•28 days ago

Some of the USians I follow are definitely posting more, and that's eating up my mental bandwidth even though I know giving more attention to your posts and similar is better for my mental health.
As they settle into their new patterns, I'll adjust my follows to get better balance. But for now...

chapps.bsky.social•28 days ago

Well, I’m glad my posts are good for mental health! They’re good for mine as well. It takes my mind off current events for a bit.

tikvahchai.bsky.social•28 days ago

Yes, yes. You're lucky to have such a share-able hobby and we're lucky you're sharing it with us.
Thank you.

chapps.bsky.social•29 days ago

The format of an enthroned goddess sitting cross-legged, leaning forward, was endlessly copied, but not all depicted Tyche of Antioch.

Left, a small bronze statuette that is a near perfect copy of the large statue in Antioch; right, a marine goddess and baby Triton. ALT text for more. 🏺 2/

📸 me

chapps.bsky.social•29 days ago

Of course this means that someone wanted to be portrayed as the Tyche of Antioch for their funerary portrait. As you can see, the now headless woman below is wearing clothes you'd see on a Roman patrician woman, and is posed as Tyche. See ALT text. 🏺 3/

1st c. BCE-1st c. CE, Baths of Domitian. 📸 me

chapps.bsky.social•29 days ago

The Romans made several copies of the Tyche of Antioch in marble (the original was bronze), like the one in the Vatican Museums, below. The rock that she sits upon represents Mount Silpius, the swimming figure under her feet is the river Orontes. 🏺 4/

📸 Carole Raddato

chapps.bsky.social•29 days ago

One more example! These four gilded silver furniture ornaments are all Tyches. Left, Rome, dressed as the goddess Roma (armored); Antioch, in her cross-legged pose, foot on Orontes; Constantinople with a cornucopia; Alexandria, her foot on the prow of a ship.

c. 380 CE, Rome. #BritishMuseum 🏺
📸 me

helenus3.bsky.social•27 days ago

That leg-crossed pose looks quite startlingly casual and naturalistic when so many sitting statues have feet planted firmly on the floor! Interesting thank you.

chapps.bsky.social•27 days ago

Yes, isn’t that remarkable? I think this is why Eutychides‘ Tyche statue became such a sensation and was copied over and over again.

ftruci.bsky.social•29 days ago

❤️

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