Images

This Byzantine silver platter is one of the largest to survive from the Byzantine Period. It measures almost 72 centimeters across and weighs 6.5 kilograms. The back is stamped with the control marks of Emperor Anastasius I, who reigned in...

This body chains of linked medallions is the largest item of jewellery to survive from the Byzantine Empire. It would have been worn draped over the shoulders and around the hips. In Greek and Roman art, body chains were often associated...

In the Late Roman Period, the Jewish faith was expressed through symbols of personal items in much the same way as for Christianity. The Jewish "Menorah" is depicted on this bread-stamp. The stamp bears the name of "Leontios", which perhaps...

This vessel was used for serving drinks at high status dinners. Typically, item like this was inscribed with good wishes for their users. The inscription around the body of the ewer reads "Pelegrina use to good fortune" in Latin. Part of...

This glass disc came from the base of a drinking vessel, which may have been made as a wedding gift. Many such discs have been found in the catacombs of Rome, suggesting that when one of a married couple died, the vessel's decorative base...

Life-sized, monolithic, polished sandstone sculpture of a female figure, identified as a yakshini, from the Mauryan period, now housed at the Patna Museum, India. Didarganj, Bihar, India, 3rd century BCE

The rock-cut caves at Barabar were built by the Mauryan kings Ashoka and his successors by hollowing out the hillside. These caves were used by Buddhist monks as retreats. The insides of the caves are so highly polished as to gleam like mirrors...

Silla gold earrings from the Couple's Tomb at Bomun-dong, 6th century CE. Height 8.7 cm. National Treasure No. 90. (National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea)

A wing-like ornament, probably to be worn with a gold Silla crown. The wings are decorated with over 400 small gold spangles. From the Cheonmachong or 'Heavenly Horse Tomb', Gyeongju. 6th century CE. National Treasure No. 618. (Gyeongju National...

A gold Silla crown cap from Cheonmaching (the 'Heavenly Horse Tomb'), Gyeongju, Korea. It is made from four gold plates bent and riveted together. 6th century CE. National Treasure No. 189. (Gyeongju National Museum, South Korea)