Images

An Aztec (Mexica) shield of wood covered in turquoise and shell mosaic. Likely used only as a ceremonial shield. The design shows solar disks and a long, winding snake crisscrossing the shield horizontally. The shield was dedicated to the...

A detail of a plate commemorating the 1790 Civil Constitution of the Clergy showing a priest swearing allegiance to the French state. The text translates as "I swear to maintain with all my power the Constitution". (Musée Carnavalet, Paris)

A 1775 portrait by Pompeo Batoni of Pope Pius VI (r. 1775-99). (National Gallery of Ireland)

An 1815 caricature of Charles Maurice Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838), bishop of Autun. He is shown with six heads to reflect his ability to survive six regime changes in France.

The Victoria Memorial, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), built in the first two decades of the 20th century in honour of Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901)

A c. 1665 illustration of the British East India Company's fort at Bombay (now Mumbai). (National Archives of the Netherlands, The Hague)

A 1665 painting by Hendrik van Schuylenbergh showing the Dutch East India Company (VOC) Trade Lodge in Hooghly, Bengal. (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

Map of India with Sri Lanka, illustrating locations of European settlements in the subcontinent between 1501 and 1739.

An early 18th-century print showing Johann Tetzel (l.c. 1465-1519), a Dominican Friar who became famous as one of the most effective indulgence salesmen in the Catholic church.

Artist's impression of an Olmec religious ceremony atop a temple pyramid. Created by Amplitude Studios for the video game Humankind.