Images

The oasis state of Khotan with its capital at Yotkan, south of Taklamakan desert, was a prosperous and powerful kingdom. Excavations have yielded many terracotta figures and ceramics of a Hellenistic style adopted from Iran. There are virtually...

The bronze and its inscription were cast for the Duke of Xing, a descendant of a famous historical figure, the Duke of Zhou. The long inscription inside dedicates the vessel to the Duke of Zhou. It records the gift of three groups of men...

The bronze and its inscription were cast for the Duke of Xing, a descendant of a famous historical figure, the Duke of Zhou. The long inscription inside dedicates the vessel to the Duke of Zhou. It records the gift of three groups of men...

Wall painting depicting Bacchus wearing a bunch of grapes with a panther at his feet and most probably Mount Vesuvius. The serpent is Agathodaemon, the "good spirit" of vineyards and grain fields. From the Lararium of the House of the Centenary...

The Agios Triadas monastery at Meteora, Thessaly, Greece. Most of the monasteries at Meteora were founded in the 14th century CE.

Amulet in the shape of Thor's hammer, Mjollnir. It is a commercial copy of an archaeological find dating to the Viking Age (c. 790-1100 CE) excavated at Rømersdal, Bornholm, Denmark. In the Viking Age, talismans such as Odin’s head, Thor’s...

Painting by Frank Dicksee (1853-1928 CE) titled "The Funeral of a Viking", showing a Viking being cremated on a ship pushed out to sea. The painting resides at the Manchester Art Gallery in the UK. Historically, although burial became...

Though similar to small castings found in the provinces of Southeast China, including Guanxi, such figures have been found in royal tombs in the North and may represent tribute bearers. Han Dynasty, 206 BCE to 200 CE. From modern-day China...

This was probably used to support a vessel. The surface of the animal is entirely covered with incised spiraling decoration. Made in Houma. Eastern Zhou period, 6th to 5th century BCE. From Modern-day China. (The British Museum, London).

This is one of a set of Bo, of which a number still survives, made at the Jin State foundry at Houma. The decoration on the bell was made by using pattern blocks, so that exactly the same motifs, made with the same set of blocks, appear on...