Images

Calligraphy brushes. Calligraphy was an important art form in many ancient Asian cultures and an essential element of elite education.

Ancient Egyptian ostracon with the beginning of a ghost story. Terracotta from Deir el-Medina, 19-20th Dynasty, New Kingdom of Egypt, found by Schiaparelli in 1905. Museo Egizio, Turin.

The Silla royal tomb Cheonmachong ('Heavenly Horse Tomb'), Gyeongju, Korea. 6th century CE. The tomb was excavated in 1973 CE and, amongst hundreds of other treasures, contained a coffin, gold crown, jewellery pieces, and a painted horse...

The gold crown from the Silla tomb Cheonmachong ('Heavenly Horse Tomb'), Gyeongju, Korea. 6th century CE, gold and jade. Height 32.5 cm. National Treasure No. 188. (Gyeongju National Museum)

A portrait of Choe Chiwon (857-915 CE), a celebrated poet and scholar of the Unified Silla kingdom of Korea. By Chae Yong-shin

The Great Sphinx of Giza measures 240 feet long (73 m) and stands 66 feet high (20 m), oriented on a straight west-to-east axis, Giza, Egypt.

Statue of the 4th-Dynasty king Khafre (2558-2532 BCE).

The Great Sphinx of Giza's construction date is subject to ongoing scholarly debate; the huge monument standing in line with Khafre's pyramid is still a mystery.

The face of the Great Sphinx of Giza has been believed to depict Khafre, although this claim is disputed.

Silver stater coin, from Melos, Greece, c. 450 BCE. Some Greek cities used images for their names, so "readers" did not have to be literate. In Melos, an apple (mēlon) was used. The British Museum, London.