The Aegean Material Culture Lab at the University of Toronto

07/12/2026

some new content about a few lab projects, with Futurum Carrers - a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-to-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEM), and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE): futurumcareers.com

https://futurumcareers.com/what-can-pottery-from-the-past-teach-us-about-containment-today

Professor Carl Knappett is leading a team of archaeologists who are excavating and analysing pottery containers from the Minoan site of Palaikastro in Crete, Greece

08/29/2023

03/11/2022

We've looked at lots of miniatures lately, but today's may be the first to stare right back! 👁️👁️

These eye miniatures at the Royal Ontario Museum were all the rage in the early . Striking and intimate, these were often exchanged as gifts between lovers 💑

Popularized by the young and lovestruck Prince Regent 👑 eye miniatures were often mounted as jewellery, in this case as brooches! While these little recreations of a loved one's gaze were intensely personal tokens, they could also be worn publicly as a declaration of loyalty and affection.

Want to learn more about the wide world of ?
The Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies' virtual conference all about them starts TOMORROW March 10th and runs through to Saturday! Come join in the mini-magic and register at ✨https://crrs.ca/miniatures/✨

03/08/2022

🔆 In the spotlight for today's : this absolutely stunning gold filigree case from Toronto's Aga Khan Museum. Just 4.7cm long (!), this case was produced in Egypt during the Fatimid period (909–1171 CE) and would have held a truly tiny Qur'an!

Its minute size 📏 and the loop on its side allowed this case to be suspended on a cord and worn as a protective talisman. Carrying a little copy of the holy book around in this way was thought to protect the wearer against misfortune.

To learn more about the wide world of , come join 's online conference on "The Miniature: Small Worlds and Dream Worlds" running this week March 10-12!

Details and registration here:
https://crrs.ca/miniatures/

03/07/2022

👠 From the sensational Bata Shoe Museum, today's features some fabulous footwear!

This replica of a 1740s fashion doll is much more than just a toy! Modelling meticulous recreations of the latest fashions, these dolls became important tools for dressmakers in this period to market their wares. Especially for wealthy colonial women far from Europe's fashion centres, these dolls were essential to keeping up with the latest trends. The buckled shoes on this doll, the work of master-dollmaker Sonia Krause, are actually modelled on an 18thC pair also housed at Bata!

This miniaturized masterpiece and many more are on display right now as part of "All Dolled Up: Fashioning Cultural Expectations," a fabulous exhibit all about dolls, clothes, and gender, which runs until Oct. 2022: https://batashoemuseum.ca/dolls/

To learn more about all kinds of tiny marvels and , tune in to our upcoming conference, "The Miniature: Small Worlds and Dream Worlds," happening next week from March 10-12! Details and registration at https://bit.ly/3ox8n

03/06/2022

🕒🕜🕥 A 4000-year-old mini marvel for today's , courtesy of the ROM!

house models 🏠 like this one, known as "soul houses," were placed in modest graves to serve as a home for the soul of the departed. Though this model is simply built, recreating a rural home with a courtyard, it includes some key details of daily living and subsistence, including a miniature grindstone 🪨, a four-legged animal (likely a calf) 🐄, and some onions 🧅 for the deceased to use in the next life!

To learn more about , tune in to our conference on "The Miniature: Small Worlds and Dream Worlds" happening next week from March 10-12! Details and registration at https://bit.ly/3ox8noX

03/04/2022

📚 In honour of , we've got a tiny tome to share from U of T's own Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library! Our is a 14th century Book of Hours 📖 ✝️ These personal psalm books were often pocket-sized so they could be comfortably carried around and prayed with throughout the day.

Books of Hours were often filled with lively illuminations (spot St. George slaying the 🐉). Expensive to produce and with prayer selections often personalized to the owner, these little were a deeply intimate and precious part of many people's daily devotion.

To learn more about all kinds of tiny marvels and , tune in to our upcoming conference, "The Miniature: Small Worlds and Dream Worlds," happening next week from March 10-12! Details and registration at https://bit.ly/3ox8noX

03/03/2022

👑 some intrigue for today's !

This portrait miniature (left), the oldest one in the ROM's collections, is believed to be of Anne Boleyn, the ill-fated second wife of Henry VIII. 16th century royal families commissioned miniatures like this for both personal and political purposes.

The tininess of these portraits made them feel intimate and devotional, while their portability enabled the spread of the monarch's image far and wide 🌎 Likenesses like this one likely helped the unpopular Anne manage her public image and assert political power.

Another queen, Anne's daughter Elizabeth I (bottom right), reportedly kept a collection of miniatures in her bedroom to gift to loyal courtiers (the ROM's got one of those, too)!

To learn more about , tune in to our upcoming conference on "The Miniature: Small Worlds and Dream Worlds," happening next week from March 10-12! Details and registration at https://bit.ly/3ox8noX

03/01/2022

A full spread of mini-magic ✨ for our Monday ! Again from Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, these Ming dynasty burial models recreate practical, domestic items including a stove, a chair, and plates of food, which were placed together in a tomb to be enjoyed by the soul of the deceased.

Known as mingqi or "spirit objects," they're found in Chinese tombs from the Han dynasty onwards, with ceramic ones eventually reserved for wealthy burials. These netherworld microcosms could include everything from servants to farm animals to luxurious courtyard houses (also on view at the ROM)!

To learn more about , be sure to register for
CRRS's upcoming conference running March 10-12! Details and registration at https://bit.ly/3ox8noX.

02/25/2022

Today's : this Bolivian figurine of Ekkeko, the Inca god of luck and abundance 💰🌽 again from the Royal Ontario Museum! This 18cm-tall Ekkeko carries yet tinier models of the things his owner wants to acquire (spot his house, car, basket and feather duster!)

Ekkeko won't hand out riches for nothing, though! These figures are made with wide open mouths so they can receive their favourite offerings: lit ci******es! The longer the unbroken trail of ash his smoking creates, the more good fortune Ekkeko is said to grant you ✨

To learn more about the wide world of , be sure to register for "Miniatures as Narrative: Small Worlds and Dream Worlds," an upcoming U of T-based conference on miniatures running March 10-12! Details and registration at https://bit.ly/3ox8noX