Byzantinos

I enjoy walking around the museums with the students.  It is fun to help them figure out how to understand the museums, which for non-archaeologists, can be pretty opaque. At this point, I have particular favorites that I look for:  jewelry, Roman glass, votive offerings, gorgons, animals, and Byzantine pottery.  I don't know why I love it so much.  It isn't colorful (mostly yellows and greens), but the curlicue decorations and the images speak to me.  I love the images on the plates, like this charming bird.

 And then outside, the curlicues remind me of the Book of Kells and the marginalia in medieval manuscripts, and I've always been drawn to those designs.

I don't know why, but the animals are often in awkward positions.