Images

This object is associated with a late Roman emperor, who was at the heart of the changing Roman Empire. This silver dish names Licinius in its Latin inscription. Licinius co-ruled with Constantine the Great during early 300s, but their collaboration...

Skillful Roman cameo-carvers exploited the tonal contrast of some stones. This could be a simple 2-tone contrast or a more subtle variation using all available gradations of shade. Sardonyx was particularly valued as a cameo-stone. From the...

This spectacular whalebone casket was probably made in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria. Modelled on early Christian caskets, it was most likely created in a monastery for a significant (perhaps a royal) patron. The casket's imagery...

The outline is incised and then roughly cut round. A bridle is indicated and, on the extreme left, perhaps the knee of the rider. Presented by the Committee of the British School at Athens. Greek, about 500 BCE. From the Sanctuary of Artemis...

The unfinished state of the sculpture (statuette of a nude young male) reveals how the basic shape for this type of standing figure was 1st "roughed out" with a point. Archaic Greek, 6th century BCE. Found in the quarry at Stamato, Vouni...

A gilt-bronze statue of Maitreya (the coming Buddha). Three Kingdoms Period, c. 600 CE, Korea. (National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea)

A ceramic ewer in the form of a warrior on horseback. 5-6th century CE, Silla Kingdom, Korea. (National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea)

This sardonyx cameo depicts Nike (Victory). The winged goddess wears a long chiton and drives a 4-horse chariot. Skillful Roman cameo-carvers exploited the tonal contrast of some stones. This could be a simple 2-tone contrast or a more subtle...

A painting of a winged horse on a birch bark saddle flap. From the Heavenly Horse Tomb, Gyeongju, Korea. Silla, 5-6th century CE.

5-6th century CE gold earrings from the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE - 668 CE) of south-eastern Korea. From a tomb in the Gyeongju area. National Treasure No. 52. (National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea)