Images

An obsidian flake from Tikal, Guatemala which has been incised with a representation of a Maya god. Height: 9 cm / 3.5 in. 250-900 CE. (British Museum, London)

Two blocks of unworked obsidian from Guatemala. Obsidian was highly valued throughout ancient Mesoamerica for its cutting edge and polished lustre.

A 1619 portrait by Michiel Jansz of Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg (l.1599-1655) who married the king of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (r. 1611-1632) in 1620. (Gripsholm Castle, Södermanland, Sweden)

A 17th-century painting by Jan Martszen de Jonge showing the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus (r. 1611-1632) in battle.

Formations of the Battle of Breitenfeld, 1631, during the Thirty Years' War. The Imperial army under Count Tilly is on the left; the Swedish army under King Gustavus Adolphus is on the right.

The sarcophagus of Gustavus Adolphus at the Riddarholm Church, Stockholm, Sweden. Engraved Gustavus Adolphus Magnus, meaning Gustavus Adolphus the Great.

Painting of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, 1611-1632, attributed to the artist Jacob Hoefnagel. (Royal Armoury, Stockholm)

Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld, 1631. Painting attributed to Johann Jakob Walther (l. 1604-1677). (Historical Musuem, Strasbourg, France)

A modern reproduction of an Aztec (Mixtec) macuahuitl, used as a combination of sword and club and given viciously sharp cutting edges by adding obsidian shards to its sides. Made by Shai Azoulai.

An obsidian blade from Teotihuacan, Mexico. Length 10.5 inches (26.5 cm). (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)