Images

A gilt bronze dharma wheel used in Buddhist rituals. 13th century CE. (Tokyo National Museum)

A painted silk portrait of Kukai or Kobo Daishi (774-835 CE) who was a scholar, poet, and monk who founded Shingon Buddhism in Japan. 14th century CE. (Tokyo National Museum)

A 1475 CE depiction of the knights of the Round Table from Arthurian legend. Here they receive a vision of the Holy Grail. (Evrard d'Espinques, from folio 610v in Bibliothèque Nationale de France)

A depiction of King Arthur by Charles Ernest Butler (1864-1933)

Statue of Bes. Probably late 18th Dynasty, about 1300 BCE. Said to be from Akhmim, Egypt. From The British Museum, (photo taken at The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia) Several gods were associated with music, including Bes, the protector...

Egyptian gold and silver bangle. Middle Kingdom of Egypt, c. 2055-1650 BCE. This bangle is decorated with alternating animal and amuletic motifs. They all have protective meanings: a snake seizes a turtle, a symbol of evil; the seated...

Egyptian inlaid gold bracelets belonging to Prince Nimlot, one of the sons of Sheshonq I, the first king of the 22nd Dynasty. About 940 BCE. Said to be from Sa el-Haggar (Sais), Egypt. From The British Museum, (photo taken at The Powerhouse...

Wooden funerary stela of Deniuenkhonsu, Singer of Amun-Ra. 22nd Dynasty, about 800 BCE. Probably from Thebes, Egypt. The British Museum, (photo taken at The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia) Deniuenkhonsu is wearing a semi-transparent...

Wooden screen depicting the Shinto god Susanoo defeating the dragon with eight heads, 19th century. Susanoo was the god of storms and Yomi, the underworld. Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas.

The solar barque of Ra. Outer Coffin of Isetemkheb D (Royal Cache TT 320, Deir el-Bahari), Egyptian Museum, CG 610031.