Images

A worker's tomb at the site of Deir el-Medina, a village for artists and masons who built the royal tombs in the nearby Valley of the Kings, Egypt. The village was in continuous use from the time of Thutmose I (1520-1492 BCE) until the collapse...

The site of Deir el-Medina, a worker's village for artists and masons who built the royal tombs in the nearby Valley of the Kings, Egypt. The village was in continuous use from the time of Thutmose I (1520-1492 BCE) until the collapse of...

This statue of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut is a prime example of the female king's penchant for blending male and female attributes in her artwork. It depicts the pharaoh bare chested in a kilt, yet with female facial features and breasts...

This limestone and plaster piece depicts the female pharaoh Maatkare Hatshepsut as a sphinx. She has the body and mane of a lion, with the head of a human. Carved between the paws of the statue is a cartouche enclosing the pharaoh's throne...

This black diorite statue of Maatkare Hatshepsut is a unique example of the king's personal artistic style. Most likely dating from the early years of her kingship, Hatshepsut is portrayed as fully-female, with breasts and delicate facial...

This image shows three painted heads of the female pharaoh Maatkare Hatshepsut, each originally part of a full-body osiride statue. Here, the female pharaoh appears as the god Osiris (presumably in mummified form), with her orange skin tone...

The Venus of Willendorf is a limestone statuette likely carved between 24,000 and 22,000 years ago, in the Upper Paleolithic, making it one of the oldest pieces of art in the world. The faceless, voluptuous, female figure is considered typical...

The Venus of Laussel, carved between 20,000 and 18,000 years ago, is a rare example of a pre-historic bas-relief. Her faceless, voluptuous figure is characteristic of the Venus figurines produced throughout Ice Age Europe. Many scholars believe...

One of the oldest known examples of ceramic in the world, the Black Venus was found at the pre-historic site of Dolni Vestonice in Moravia, Czech Republic in 1925 CE. The figure is thought to have been sculpted between 29,000 and 25,000 years...

Swords of the Warring States Period (481-221 BCE) in China. The left sword is of iron while the other two are of bronze. (Shaanxi Provincial Museum, Xian, China)