Sources for the use of ancient images in Biblical Studies (Old Testament)

As a biblical scholar working in Old Testament studies and interested in archaeology (and iconography in particular), I am searching for a nice gateway or web portal which collects the main resources one would need to do proper research (and teaching) on ancient visual art, images on seals, coins, etc. in relation to the Hebrew Bible. As I did not yet find such a collection of websites referring me to the appropriate digital and non-digital sources, I compose this blog entry (containing a small collection, but aiming for a high standard!) with a double focus.
1. For those who are looking for a similar tool in Biblical Studies, I would like to provide a small collection with helpful references.
2. Those who could point me to such a high-standard academic gateway (first of all in relation to the First Testament; I know there is slightly more material on the New Testament) is most welcome to respond to this blog.
For 1: enjoy! May this prove to be helpful. For 2: thank you very much for your cooperation!
Izaak J. de Hulster

Where to find images?

• Digs and their websites

• Excavation reports

• Museums (and their depots) and their websites

• Antique dealers, their catalogues, and websites

• Private collections

• Books: catalogues, handbooks, thematic studies

Collections of images (general)

• Pritchard, J.B. The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament (ANEP), 2nd ed., 1969

• Keel, O. The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of the Psalms, 2nd English edition, 1997

Coins

• Meshorer, Y. & S. Qedar, Samarian Coinage, 1999

• Meshorer, Y. A Treasury of Jewish coins, 2001

• Elayi, E.G. & J: Elayi, Le monnayage de la cité phénicienne de Sidon à l‘époque Perse, 2004

• Gitler, H. & O. Tal. The Coinage of Philistia of the 5th and 4th Centuries BC: A Study of the Earliest Coins of Palestine, 2006

• Elayi, E.G. & J: Elayi, The Coinage of the Phoenician City of Tyre in the Persian Period (5th – 4th century), 2009

• Hendin, D. Guide to Biblical Coins, 5th ed. 2010 (expected)

• Menorah Coin Project (many Palestinian coins from many different sources, but database search features are lacking)

Seals (ANE and Israel/Palestine)

• Collon, D. First impressions: Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East, 2nd ed. 2005 (introduction)

• Frankfort, H. Cylinder Seals: a documentary essay on the art and religion of the ancient Near East, 1939

• Porada, E. Corpus of ancient near Eastern seals, 1948 (2 vol.)

• Leith, J.M.W. Wadi Daliyeh seal impressions, 1997

• Avigad, N./Sass, B. Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals, 1997

• Keel, O. & J. Eggler, Corpus der Siegel-Amulette aus Jordanien, 2006

• Keel, O. Corpus der Stempelsiegel-Amulette aus Palastina/Israel: Von den Anfangen bis zur Perserzeit, 1995-... (by 2010: 4 volumes)

• British Museum, Catalogue of Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum, 6 volumes, 1962-2008

• Website on the lmkl seal impressions: www.lmlk.com

Digs

• e.g., www.rehov.org/ (Tel Rehov and Beth-Shean)

• ... [dig sites often have very few photographs of pictorial material]

• See also Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University at museums below

Topics and overviews

• Keel, O. & C: Uehlinger, GGG [Gods, Goddesses and Images of God], English ed. 1998 – history of Israelite religion from images

• Schroer, S., Ikonographie Palästinas/Israels und der Alte Orient: Eine Religionsgeschichte in Bildern, 2005-... (2 out of 4 vol. published) - chronological overview of pictorial material with links to OT

• e.g., B.A. Strawn, What is Stronger than a Lion?, 2005 – lion

• ...

Museums

• Louvre (allows searches on Museum Inventory Number!)

• Israel Museum

• British Museum (for a direct link to search the collection: collection of the British Museum) and its commercial image site: BM images

• Bibel + Orient Museum in Fribourg (Switzerland) with its important database of ancient Near Eastern images BODO

• Ashmolean Museum in Oxford with collections of e.g., terracottas (or with another lay-out terracottas ) and pottery, gems (!) and sculpture

• Classical Phoenician scarab corpus

• Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University with links to the terracottas of Tell Halif and Tel Maresha

Photographs (landscape, etc.)

• Mazar, B. Views of the Biblical World, 1958-1961

• Bible Walks (photos of archaeological sites with small maps of their location)

• Bible Places by Todd Bolen; brief overview of sites with photographs and links

• Bible Land Pictures by Zev Radovan; a commercial site

• Matson Collection . Matson was a photographer related to the American Colony; he and his wife made many photographs in Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century. Work of the American Colony became also part of the Speelman Collection (1926-1931). These collections also contain photographs/slides that have been coloured with oil paint. Another important photographer from this period is the Arab Khalil Ra'ad.

Maps

• A collection of Holy Land maps up to the 1920s

Other helpful online collections of ancient Near Eastern images

• Hittite Monuments (helpful overview of Hittite sites)

• Israel Antiquity Authorities

• Global Egyptian Museum (online) (search function could be better)

Method (of iconographic exegesis: employing ancient images in biblical exegesis)

• de Hulster, I.J. Iconographic Exegesis and Third Isaiah, 2009, FAT-II 36

• de Hulster, I.J. & R. Schmitt (eds), Iconography and Biblical Studies, 2009, AOAT 361

• New Testament: Weissenrieder, A. & F. Wendt & P. von Gemünden (eds.), Picturing the New Testament, 2005, WUNT 193 (esp. 1st article, by Weissenrieder and Wendt)