Images

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...

This terracotta vase dates from the Predynastic period in ancient Egyptian history, c. 4500-3100 BCE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

Terracotta vessel from the Predynastic Period in Egypt, c. 4500-3100 BCE. From the late Predynastic Period onward, the Egyptians used painted, incised, and polished pottery in life and as burial accessories for both the rich and the poor...

This terracotta vase dates from the Predynastic period in ancient Egyptian history, c. 4500-3100 BCE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

This jar comes from China and dates from the Sui dynasty (581-618 CE). It is made of stoneware with green glaze. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

Vishnu with Lakshmi and Saravati, phyllite sculpture from West Bengal, India, 12th century. The Hindu god Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, is flanked by two female figures. His sister Sarasvati, the patron goddess of knowledge and...

This head belongs to a jina ("conqueror" or "liberator"), a Jain saint who severed the chain of rebirth and achieved a state of omniscience known as nirvana. Jains believe that there have been 24 jinas, each of whom is known as a tirthankara...