Images

Alabaster bas-relief showing female Apkallus flanking the sacred tree. Neo-Assyrian Period, 865-860 BCE. Panel 16, Room I, the North-West Palace at Nimrud, modern-day Iraq. (The British Museum, London)

Alabaster bas-relief of eagle-headed Apkallus flanking the sacred tree. Neo-Assyrian Period, 865-860 BCE. Room I, the North-West Palace at Nimrud, modern-day Iraq. (The British Museum, London)

Alabaster bas-relief of an Apkallu with four wings. Neo-Assyrian Period, 865-860 BCE. Panel 26, Room B, the North-West Palace at Nimrud, modern-day Iraq. (The British Museum, London)

Two glass pitchers and a bowl from Pompeii. 1st century CE. Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei, (photo taken at the National Maritime Museum, Sydney, Australia)

These sinkers were attached to an ancient fishing rod found at the Shengavit Settlement and archaeological site (c. 3500-2200 BCE) in Armenia. (Shengavit Museum, Yerevan).

Many potsherds have been discovered at the Shengavit settlement and archaeological site in Armenia (c. 3500-2200 BCE). (Shengavit Museum, Yerevan).

These are fragments from a ritual stand that was made from clay at the ancient Shengavit Settlement (c. 3500-2200 BCE) in present-day Armenia. (Shengavit Museum, Yerevan).

An arca was a lockable strongbox for storing money and other valuables. Often placed in the atrium, the public area of the house, as a display of wealth and power. This one is decorated with a worshipper offering a sacrifice at an altar to...

A 13th century CE wooden printing plate and paper bank note from the Chinese Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 CE). (Tokyo Currency Museum)

A detail of the wall paintings in the Han era Dahuting tomb showing two women. 25-220 CE. Zhengzhou, Henan province, China.