Images

An illustration from a 12th century CE manuscript depicting Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143-1180 CE). (Vatican Library)

A detail of the chariot from the Oseberg burial. Viking Ship Museum, Oslo

Hallgrímskirkja and statue of Leif Eriksson. Reykjavik

The first Viking ship able to navigate the sea easily is known as the Nydam ship, from Denmark, built c. 350-400 CE, though this ship had no sail. Gottorp Castle, Sleswig.

The famous Lewis Chessmen, now in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the British Museum in London, are high-quality examples of the type of chessmen the Scandinavians produced. It is believed the Lewis Chessmen were made in...

This 1st Century CE Millefiori-formed glass bead from Alexandria, Egypt is a part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. On its surface is a complex and beautiful pattern of multi-coloured stars, stripes and flecks.

An illustration from a 13th century CE manuscript depicting Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118-1143 CE).

Byzantine emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118-1143 CE). From a 12th century CE mosaic panel in the south gallery of the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. The emperor is shown offering a gift to the Virgin and young Christ.

This Hellenistic bronze statuette of an African youth dates to sometime between the 2nd-3rd Centuries BCE. It portrays a young worker, likely a blacksmith or other artisan, of Sub-Saharan African origin. While the piece is of unknown provenance...

This beautifully crafted head portrays an "Aethiopian", or black African, and is made out of black bronze, gold, obsidian and carnelian. The piece was once a part of an ornate object like a serving dish although it has been broken off at...