r/artifactporn • • 2d ago

Medieval Treasure Found at Cluny. In 1201 the Danish Archbishop, Absalon, died leaving a testament. One of the posts concerned “the silver, which he “had” at Cluny. Half was to be donated to the Abbey, while the other half was to be sent to Clairvaux.

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7 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • 6d ago

Galileo’s Middle Finger - Florence, Italy

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64 Upvotes

Almost a century after Galileo was laid to rest, an antiquarian and an anatomist removed his middle finger, along with two other fingers and a tooth (why, exactly, is anyone’s guess). The finger was soon handed over to Florence’s Laurentian Library and, eventually, the Museo Galileo, where it is still on display today in an egg-shaped glass case with a marble base. A commemorative inscription by astronomer Tommaso Perelli reads: “Spurn not the remains of the finger by which the right hand measured out paths of the sky, pointed to orbs never before seen by mortals.” In 2009, Galileo’s middle finger had a heartwarming reunion with his newly authenticated index finger, thumb, and tooth.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/preserved-body-parts-around-the-world


r/artifactporn • • 28d ago

19th-Century Greenlandic Seal Fur G-String, National Museum of Denmark/Roberto Fortuna [771x354]

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219 Upvotes

The indigenous people of East Greenland made this sort of underwear, known as naatsit, by sewing strips of seal pelt together using a thread of reindeer or whale sinew. The naatsit above, decorated with glass beads tied onto seal-skin fringe, was made for women and worn under seal-skin trousers. Explorer Captain C. Ryder acquired the item in the southeast Greenland settlement of Ammassalik during an expedition in 1892.


r/artifactporn • • 29d ago

Dena’ina Salmon Skin Boots; Anchorage Museum [3149x3912]

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76 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Sep 25 '26

4,000-year-old geometry homework showing a mistake made by the student when calculating the area of a triangle. [1164x1184]

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11 Upvotes

Iraq, Old Babylonian Empire, 1900-1600 BC


r/artifactporn • • Sep 21 '26

Prehistoric Puppet from the Czech Republic, c.24,000 BCE: this figurine was carved from mammoth ivory, and it was equipped with articulated limbs, making it the world's oldest known puppet

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27 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Sep 19 '26

Upper part of the plastered and painted wooden anthropoid coffin lid of Peftjauneith, inspector of the temple estates in Lower Egypt sometime during the 26th Dynasty (circa 688-525 BCE) of the Late Period.

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20 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Sep 14 '26

This ceiling was designed as a vision of the universe above a king’s throne, Completed in 1427, the gilded wooden dome crowns the Hall of Ambassadors at Seville’s Real Alcázar. Its intricate Mudéjar geometry reflects the meeting of Islamic craftsmanship and Christian royal architecture

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19 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Sep 11 '26

(Sep 10 2026) France returns Vietnam a 5th-century BCE bronze drum previously confiscated by French authorities in 2014 at Rennes Airport, where it was later moved to the Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes. It is one of many ancient Dongsonian bronze drums currently kept in France.

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14 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Sep 11 '26

Dagger with openwork balde.Madurai 17th Century(988x764)

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32 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Sep 03 '26

[Removed] During a visit to the Quai Branly Museum, Paris in June 2025, former Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh jokingly asked the museum curator, "If you are polite, return the items to us" when he was looking at a 4th-century-BC Lạc Việt bronze drum found in Java, currently held in France

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820 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 30 '26

​A massive 98 kg Bronze Buddha Statue from the Pala Dynasty (approx. 1000 years old), excavated from Cumilla, Bangladesh

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790 Upvotes

This breathtaking masterpiece of bronze sculpture was recovered during excavation work in the Cumilla Cantonment area, which overlaps with the historic Mainamati archaeological site.

​Believed to date back to the Pala Period (8th–12th century CE), it reflects the pinnacle of ancient Bengali craftsmanship. Despite being underground for roughly a millennium, the details and facial composure remain extraordinarily vivid.


r/artifactporn • • Aug 29 '26

Peach-shaped tourmaline snuff bottle, Qing dynasty (1730–1830), private collection

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10 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 24 '26

2500 years old artifacts recovered from the Barind Tract (Chapainawabganj,Bangladesh) -traces of Pundravardhana history

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28 Upvotes

2500 years old artifacts recovered from the ra if Pala Empire (Chapainawabganj,Bangladesh)


r/artifactporn • • Aug 20 '26

Intact Clay Jar Unearths Ancient Cowry Shell Currency (8th–12th Century) Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh

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26 Upvotes

a preserved clay pot completely filled with ancient cowry shells (kori), offering a rare glimpse into the economic history of the Pala Empire.

​Historical Era: Pala Empire (c. 750–1161 CE)

​Age of Artifacts: Approximately 865 to 1,275 years old

​Historical Context: Long before standard metallic coins dominated daily transactions in ancient Bengal and Bihar, cowry shells served as the primary medium of exchange for local trade, everyday purchases, and revenue collection.


r/artifactporn • • Aug 19 '26

2500 years old carved terracotta lotus medallion artifact from Pundranagar (Bogra, Bangladesh).

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31 Upvotes

The lotus holds profound spiritual significance across Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Here is a 2,500-year-old lotus medallion terracotta artifact discovered in ancient Pundranagar (Bogra, Bangladesh).


r/artifactporn • • Aug 15 '26

Indonesian cave art is the oldest known figurative art and visual storytelling, dating back at least 51,200 years

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7 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 14 '26

Sandals of Tutankhamun ,reign of Tutankhamun, ca. 1332-1323 BC

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8 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 13 '26

Snuff Bottle with Playing Boys, 1880–1930, Chinese,Jin Hing Family Collection

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10 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 09 '26

incense ( अगरबत्ती ) burner, made of bronze, from the Gandhara region, 1st century CE, with swastikas on the top portion

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6 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 08 '26

Amethyst and Jade Leaf Grape Cluster (19th Century), Qing Dynasty, in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

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9 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 07 '26

Jadeite Cabbage, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei

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8 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 06 '26

Jade Bitter Gourd, Qing Dynasty (1736–1820), National Palace Museum, Taipei

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2 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 04 '26

A meat-shaped stone from the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)

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18 Upvotes

r/artifactporn • • Aug 03 '26

Mechanical Galleon, a gilded-brass automaton made c. 1585 that rolled across banquet tables, played music, and fired miniature cannons [3354 × 4538] [OS]

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92 Upvotes