Images

A gold staff finial made by the Zenúes, a people who belonged to the Zenú tribe of ancient Colombia. It features an owl on the edge with a majestic crest, polished golden wings and false filigree openwork on its chest. Distinctive features...

A Poporo is a container used for storing lime that could be procured by crushing seashells and would later be eaten with coca leaves- a tradition in Pre-Columbian South America. This Poporo, made out of gold with a nude female figure carved...

Campanian in origin and dating to 330-300 BCE, the function of this plate is indicated by the painted fish motifs. It is believed that the central hole was intended to hold sauce. Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.

A bronze figurine of a youth or priest offering a libation. 2nd century BCE. Etruscan-Latin. (British Museum, London)

A bronze model of a sheep's liver which was used to train Etruscan priests so that they could divine meaning from the livers of sacrificed animals. The liver is divided into 40 sections with 24 gods named in the inscriptions. From Piacenza...

Gypsum wall panel relief showing Ashurnasirpal II in his chariot attacking the archers of the enemy. Above his horses is the emblem of the god Assur (also shooting arrows).

This plaque, sculpted in low relief and featuring a hole in its center, is characteristic of the period of the archaic Sumerian dynasties, from the 3rd millennium BC. The hole was probably used to attach the plaque to a wall by means of a...

The lid of an Etruscan funerary urn portraying the occupant. Painted terracotta Chiusi, 150-120 BCE. (Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, Germany)

A stone cinerary urn which was hollow to receive the ashes of the deceased. The head acts as a stopper. Etruscan, Chiusi, 500-400 BCE. Height: 1.37 m. (British Museum, London)

A bronze votive statuette of a youth. Etruscan, Chiusi, 530-480 BCE. Height: 27.4 cms. (British Museum, London)