As we continue to make more works available online, survey some of the paintings and objects in M&G’s collection. Click on the images below to enjoy videos, articles, and audio stops.
Tag Archives: Bowen collection of antiquities
Egyptian Pottery Offering Tray
Egyptian, 11th dynasty
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Hebrew Scroll of the Book of Esther
Gazelle skin and wood
Hebrew Scroll of the Book of Ruth
Parchment on olive wood with ivory crown
The Jewish Bible, known as the Tanakh, is divided into three parts: the Law (Torah), the Prophets, and the Writings. The Writings are also in three divisions: poetry, history, and the Megillot. Synagogue worship during the five annual Jewish holidays often include reading of one of the five, short Megillot scrolls. M&G’s collection of antiquities includes two Megillot scrolls: Esther and Ruth. They are the only biblical books named for females, and both tell dramatic narratives of their heroines.
Esther
Esther, a young Jewish woman, becomes the queen of Persia when King Xerxes (or Ahasuerus) chooses her as his bride. Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and guardian, has offended the king’s chief advisor, Haman, by not bowing to him. This public insult provokes Haman to plot the annihilation of the Jewish people in Persia. When Mordecai learns of Haman’s plan, he urges Esther to use her position to save her people.
Initially Esther is reluctant. By decree, anyone entering the king’s presence without being summoned is to be put to death. Her approaching Xerxes could be fatal. Eventually she is persuaded as Mordecai says: “Who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
After three days of prayer and fasting, Esther approaches the King. He extends his golden scepter to her, sparing her life, and tells her that her petition will be granted. She invites the King and Haman to a series of banquets. At the second banquet the king repeats his offer to grant Esther’s petition. She reveals that she is a Jew and tells of Haman’s plan to kill all the Jews in Persia. The enraged king orders Haman’s execution, and it is carried out on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. The King then promotes Mordecai to Haman’s position.
The Book of Esther teaches that Divine intervention often occurs in unexpected ways. The story highlights the themes of courage, faith, justice, the reversal of evil, and the importance of standing up for one’s faith in God, even in times of peril.
After Mordecai’s promotion he writes to all the Persian Jews that they should annually “make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:22). Today the Jewish festival of Purim celebrates this deliverance of the Jews by chanting or reading aloud the Book of Esther as part of synagogue worship. M&G’s Esther scroll is just over 11 ft long, and depending on one’s pace, can take 60–90 minutes to read. During the reading many congregations participate by reciting certain verses and by using wooden noise makers (gragers) to blot out Haman’s name. Purim’s traditional celebratory meal, exchanging gifts of food, and contributions to the poor are based on Mordecai’s instructions.
Ruth
Famine causes Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons to leave Israel and live among idol-worshipers in the land of Moab. While there, the sons marry Moabite women. Eventually Elimelech and his sons die. Naomi, a grieving and bitter widow, decides to return to Bethlehem and instructs her daughters-in-law to return to their families. One does. Ruth, however, says “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16).
In Bethlehem, Ruth gleans in the fields of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi’s late husband. Impressed by Ruth’s kindness to Naomi, Boaz insures she is protected while gathering barley in his fields. Seeing an opportunity, Naomi encourages Ruth to ask Boaz to redeem her, a legal condition that would wed her to Boaz and restore Naomi’s family property. Moved by Ruth’s character, Boaz is inclined to accept but recognizes that a closer relative has the right of redemption. When that kinsman declines to redeem her, Boaz marries Ruth.
The theme of redemption and the virtues of loyalty and faithfulness permeate the Book of Ruth. The universality of God’s providence is also demonstrated. Ruth and Boaz’s son, Obed, is the grandfather of the Jewish King David, which places Ruth, a converted Moabite, in the lineage of the Messiah.
Today many Jewish communities read the Book of Ruth during Shavuot, the two-day holiday that commemorates God giving Moses the Ten Commandments. Shavuot is celebrated during the time of harvest, which parallels the time of Ruth’s gathering barley. Ruth’s acceptance of the Jewish faith parallels the Jewish people accepting the Law delivered to them on Mount Sinai.
M&G’s Megillot Scrolls
To be read in synagogue worship, a scroll must be sefer (ritually clean), meeting a lengthy list of conditions. It must be handwritten by a qualified sofer, using a quill of a kosher bird (or other permitted instrument) with kosher ink, on parchment made of a kosher animal hide. M&G’s Esther scroll, for example, is written on gazelle skin.
Sefer scrolls may not have calligraphic flourishes, illuminations or illustrations. Such additions could distract the reader from thinking about the message of the text. Some Jewish groups, however, permit Megillot scrolls to be embellished. Sefer Esther scrolls have been illuminated with decorative borders and portraits of its characters for centuries. In some Jewish communities a modern scroll of Esther may have colorful, printed scenes of the story between handwritten panels of the Hebrew text. Both M&G’s Esther and Ruth scrolls lack calligraphic or other embellishments. They were probably commissioned for use in strict Jewish congregations.
While groups may differ regarding embellishments of the scroll, its protective coverings (a cloth mantle or a cylindrical box) and the wood dowel on which the scroll is rolled can be ornate. Costly embellishment of the non-textual parts of a scroll reflects a desire to recognize the scroll’s significance and the means of the individual or group commissioning the scroll. M&G’s Ruth scroll is mounted on an olive wood shaft with a carved ivory crown. The scroll is 8.5 ft long and could be read or chanted in about 30 minutes.
William Pinkston, Retired Educator and M&G Volunteer
Published 2025
Clay Tablet
Sumerian, c. 2100-2000 BC
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The Old Master Painting Collection
The Museum & Gallery’s Old Master painting collection provides a rare viewer experience outside European cities and metropolitan areas with beautiful masterworks by recognized artists and their students—all of which are aesthetically exhibited with period furniture, sculpture, and tapestries to lend a period ambiance to the galleries and give patrons a panoramic view of ages past. Of special note, M&G’s baroque paintings represent some of the most important artists and their works in the country.
The Collection is one of the largest and most interesting collections of European Old Master paintings in America. These works of art from the 14th through the 19th centuries beautifully trace the religious, artistic, and cultural history of Western Europe. Included are important works of many major artists such as Vannuccio, Botticelli, Cranach, Gerard David, Rubens, van Dyck, Reni, Domenichino, Guercino, Murillo, Ribera, Honthorst, and Doré. For a glimpse, view this virtual tour.
Patrons can also enjoy M&G’s Bowen Collection of Antiquities with artifacts that span 37 centuries and represent every day life from ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Hebrew cultures; and the Benjamin West Collection, a series of paintings housed in the War Memorial Chapel (on the campus of Bob Jones University).
M&G’s Russian Icon Collection, which dates from the 14th through 20th centuries and includes several icons once owned by members of the Romanov family, the last tsars of Russia.
While not all of the collections are available online, we continue to add more monthly. You can see some of the individual works and objects through articles, short video clips, and audio stops. OR view the variety of Collection objects currently available online here.
Hebrew Demi Omer
70AD
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Toggle Pins
Bronze
Egyptian, 1648-1540 BC (15th Dynasty)
The Egyptian Pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1650 B.C.) began uniting their country after years of civil war and turmoil. The Middle Kingdom brought increased prosperity and public projects which benefited all the people, not just the ruling class. History shows a variety of people groups took residence in Egypt: prisoners of war, traders, craftsmen, diplomats and more from bordering countries.
However, around 1650 BC, one of the well-established foreign groups of people, known as the Hyksos, rose to power as the 15th Dynasty. These rulers continued to maintain the Egyptian traditions and way of life, which Rosalie David explains in Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt, “Foreign influence was minimal in the formative years of the society, allowing the distinctive Egyptian traditions to become firmly established. The culture was so all-embracing and pervasive that, when it finally encountered foreign ideas and customs, these were either readily absorbed and Egyptianized or had little or no impact on the mainstream culture.”
Egyptians focused a great deal on their outward appearance. All men, women and children wore some type of make-up both for beautification and protection from the sun. Egyptians emphasized cleanliness often bathing multiple times per day. To discourage lice, both men and women shaved their heads and wore wigs. Egyptian dress even indicated status and social class. Generally, draped and tied pieces of fabric in square or rectangular shapes formed the basic component of Egyptian garments. The most common textile was linen, which was made from flax, spun and woven by women. The linen was a natural, creamy white color or bleached pure white.
At first glance, these simple metal sticks seem insignificant. However, toggle pins served an important function in ancient civilizations. Ancient peoples used toggle pins to fasten garments closed especially cloaks and mantles much like we use buttons, zippers and other fasteners. They were often used to attach fabric at the shoulders, chest and waist. If needed, more than one could be used for added security. The array of foreigners in Egypt explains the presence of toggle pins in Egyptian excavations. The Egyptians most likely imported toggle pins or aimed their production toward Canaanite residents in Egypt since such pins were associated with Canaanite dress.
Toggle Pin (ca. 17th–16th century B.C.) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bronze toggle pins were most common; however, the wealthy could opt for pins made of gold and silver. On occasion, pins would be formed from bone and ivory. The earliest forms were simple pins with no apparent head, but they evolved into various types such as the nail head, knob head and melon head pins. Some toggle pins contained a hole either for a string to help secure the garment or as a place to hang other decorative objects. Vere Gordon Childe in The Bronze Age: Typology describes how a pin and string were used: “To keep the pin in position a thread was passed through or tied on to its head, looped round the fold of the stuff to be fastened, and the end wound round the shaft again.”
Frank and Barbara Bowen
These Toggle Pins are part of M&G’s Bowen Collection of Antiquities. Collectors Frank and Barbara Bowen took an interest in archaeology believing objects from the Holy Land could illuminate their study of the Bible. They completed five trips to the Holy Land in the 1930s-1940s collecting artifacts. They studied and researched at the American School of Oriental Research in Palestine where they met Sir Flinders Petrie, the famous English Archaeologist and Egyptologist. He became not just their teacher but also their friend, and after Petrie’s death, his wife Hilda (an active archaeologist herself) donated a number of Egyptian antiquities to the Bowens’ collection. After completing their travels, the Bowens actively sought a home for their collection eventually donating it entirely to Bob Jones College in Cleveland, Tennessee for a museum. They stayed with the collection as curators. When Bob Jones College became Bob Jones University and moved to Greenville, South Carolina, the Bowens moved as well and continued as curators and docents. Today, these Toggle Pins along with many other artifacts continue to fulfill the Bowens’ goal of “making the Bible come alive” through studying the objects used in the everyday lives of ancient peoples.
Frank and Barbara Bowen teaching a class of children in the Bowen Museum
Rebekah Cobb, Registrar
Published in 2020
Roman Glass
Iridescent Glass Perfume Bottle
Roman, circa 3rd-4th century AD
Iridescent Glass Vase/Jar
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
Iridescent Glass Double Unguentarium
Roman, circa 3rd-4th century AD
Iridescent Glass Medicine or Perfume Jar
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
Iridescent Glass Cup
Roman, circa 2nd-3rd century AD
Roman, circa 3rd-4th century AD
Iridescent Glass Vase/Jar
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
Iridescent Glass Double Unguentarium
Roman, circa 3rd-4th century AD
Iridescent Glass Medicine or Perfume Jar
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
Iridescent Glass Cup
Roman, circa 2nd-3rd century AD
Iridescent Glass Tear Bottle
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
On loan to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC
Iridescent Glass Bowl
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
On loan to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC
Iridescent Glass Medicine Bottle
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
On loan to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
On loan to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC
Iridescent Glass Bowl
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
On loan to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC
Iridescent Glass Medicine Bottle
Roman, circa 1st-2nd century AD
On loan to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC
Glass, a practical material as well as an artistic art form, was first created more than a thousand years before the Romans conquered the world. Even though the Romans did not invent the scientific process of creating glass, they are recognized as skilled craftsmen in the art.
Roman glass like the uniquely shaped forms in M&G’s Bowen Collection of Antiquities begs the viewer to study ancient glass. What makes it iridescent? What was it used for? Was it just for the wealthy?
The word iridescence is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a lustrous rainbowlike play of color caused by differential refraction of light waves (as from an oil slick, soap bubble, or fish scales) that tends to change as the angle of view changes.” M&G’s Roman glass did not begin as an iridescent piece. The iridescent effect was created by the slow decomposition of the glass over time. The alkali in the glass was drawn out and then mixed with the water within the soil in which it was buried, thus leaving colorful hues on the outside of the glass.
Roman glass bowls and bottles were used to hold precious liquids: oils, perfumes, ointments, cosmetics, medicine and perhaps tears of a grieving loved one. While some speculate that tear bottles were not actually used to capture a grieving person’s tears, Scripture gives credence to the idea in Psalm 56:8, “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” The romance of capturing one’s tears only makes the bottle all the more mysterious and beautiful.
Roman glass was readily available and affordable for the common person to own—so prevalent, that third-century Emperor Gallienus refused to drink from a glass “because nothing was more common.” However, Emperor Tacitus who followed Gallienus’s reign “took great pleasure in the diversity and elaborate workmanship of glass.” These beautiful glass receptacles might have once been owned by a slave, plebeian, patrician, or emperor. Regardless, though, ancient examples of glass are well preserved and have turned more beautiful over time.
To view Roman glass from the Bowen Collection of Antiquities, visit The Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, where many M&G antiquities are currently on loan.
Angie Snow, Museum Educator
Published in 2019
Amulets: Scarabs, Winged Scarab, Rectangular Plaque, Cat, Fly, Hippo, and Goddess Bes
Carnelian, faience, stone, and pottery
Egyptian, ranging from 1786 BC-30 BC
Amulets are an important part of ancient Egyptian culture. The origin of the word is uncertain but some scholars are of the opinion that the word has Arabic roots and means to bear or carry. More commonly, scholars believe the word comes from the Latin word amuletum meaning to avert evil or protect from a spell.
The ancient Egyptians believed that amulets possessed magical powers, which were determined by the amulet’s shape, color, and material. The amulet’s “powers” could be activated by reciting a spell or rubbing the amulet. Amulets were worn by both the rich and poor and might be made of precious stones and metals or cheaper materials such as faience, a ceramic made from quartz. The picture on the right provides a sampling of Egyptian amulets from M&G’s Bowen Collection of Antiquities. From left to right: fly, Hippo, Bes, and Cat.
During the Old Kingdom (2686 BC-2134 BC) these good luck charms consisted mainly of animal forms or symbols derived from hieroglyphs. However, progressing through the Middle Kingdom (2050 BC-1652 BC), amulets began to take on the form of ancient Egyptian gods. Finally, during the New Kingdom (1550-712 BC), amulets appeared in a variety of forms.
These special ornaments were used for two main purposes—in daily life and funeral preparation. In daily life, an Egyptian would wear or carry and amulet for protection or good luck. In funerary ritual, the mummies were often buried with multiple charms to ensure protection in the after-life. The amulets might be part of necklaces and bracelets or interspersed in the layers of linen wrapping the mummified body.
The scarab was the most popular amulet in ancient Egypt; it was formed in the shape of a beetle and became a good luck charm, believed to bring prosperity and eternal life. The Egyptians viewed the beetle as a divine manifestation of the sun-god Ra; just as the beetles rolled balls of dung across the ground, so Ra controlled the movement of the sun in the sky. The heart scarab was placed on the chest of a deceased person. It was believed to help the person “pass the feather of truth test.” This test would allow the individual to pass on into the after-life. The heart scarab had a spell inscribed on the back that can be found in the Book of the Dead. 
Carissa Wells, Elementary Education Coordinator
Published in 2018
