Gold in antiquity: Did you mean...?

A page of the 1554 Codex Tepetlaoztoc showing the collection of gold tribute by Spanish colonial authorities in New Spain (Mexico). (British Museum, London)

A Chimu gold rattle, 1100-1470 CE. The figure, with earspools and headdress, represents a member of the Chimu ruling class and was a common motif in Chimu art. (Art Institute of Chicago)

A gold female figurine from the Inca civilization, 15-16th century CE, Peru. Height 15 cm. Such precious figures were typically buried with important people. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Almoravid dynasty (1056-1147 CE) gold coin from the reign of 'Abdallah ibn 'Iyad. 1146 CE. (British Museum, London)

Gold coins issued by Samudragupta (circa 335 – 375 CE).

A Moche gold headdress (1-700 CE). The figure represents a fanged deity, a common subject in Moche art. (Larco Museum, Lima)

An aerial view of Gold Beach during the D-Day Normandy Landings of 6 June 1944. The smoke is from German defensive positions struck by Allied naval and air bombardment. (Imperial War Museums)

A beaten gold mask from the Nazca civilization of Peru, 200 BCE-500 CE. 18.4 x 20.5 cm. The mask may represent a shaman in transformational pose, a common motif in Nazca art. An alternative interpretation is that it represents the weeping...

A gold rhinoceros from a burial site at Mapungubwe, South Africa. 11-14th century CE. (University of Pretoria Museums, South Africa)

A Muisca (Chibcha) seated gold figure on a stool (tunjo). Colombia, 10th-16th century CE. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)