Images

This is a funerary relief of a woman who lived in Syria when it was under Roman occupation (64 BCE-260 CE). It dates from the 2nd century CE, and it is made of limestone. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University...

This is a funerary relief of a man who lived in Syria when it was under Roman occupation (64 BCE-260 CE). It dates from the 2nd century CE, and it is made of limestone. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University...

This red-figure terracotta vase was made by the Eucharides Painter (c. 500-475 BCE) who worked in Athens, Greece during the Archaic Period (1000-480 BCE). This piece dates from 480 BCE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford...

This relief of a Greek warrior dates from 600-50 BCE. It is made from marble. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

This mummy mask belonged to a woman who lived in Egypt during the Late Period (c. 712-332 BCE). It is made of linen, plaster, pigment, and gold, and it dates from c. 688-525 BCE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford...

This fruited medallion scroll band was made by the Coptic people of Egypt while under Byzantine occupation (330-641 CE). It is made of wool and linen, and dates from the 7th century CE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford...

This terracotta bull comes from Cyprus and dates from c. 700-650 BCE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

This fragment of a head dates to c. 1400 CE and is made of terracotta. It was found near Jukun and is named accordingly. From the 14th-18th century CE, an aggressive empire called Kororofa held power on the Adamawa plateau of northern Nigeria...

This headrest was made either by the Tellem culture (named for the Tellem caves in which they are found) that lived in the Bandiagara cliffs of Mali from the 11th-15th century CE, or from the area's current inhabitants, the Dogon peoples...

As a result of erosion and mining, one of the oldest and most sophistcated art-producing cultures known in sub-Saharan Africa came to light in the mid-20th century. Hundreds of hollow figures, heads, and fragments made of coarse clay have...