Images

This is a painted pottery bird-shaped vessel. The bird's feathers are indicated by the brown pigment. The orifice of the vessel lies below the tail. From Phrygia, Central Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Phrygian, 8th to 7th century BCE. (The...

Only this part of a reddish painted pottery has survived. This is a goose's (or duck's) head. From Samsun, Black Sea Region, in modern-day Turkey. Phrygian, 5th to 4th century BCE. (The British Museum, London).

This bronze figurine depicts a nude man wearing a pointed hat. From Phrygia or Lycia, Central or Western Turkey. 8th to 6th century BCE. (The British Museum, London).

This male trumpeter wears a pointed hat and a short kilt. From Phrygia or Lycia, Central or Western Turkey. 8th to 6th century BCE. (The British Museum, London).

A medieval manuscript illustration depicting the work on an agricultural estate during the month of February. From 'Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry', c. 1412-1440 CE. (Condé Museum, Château de Chantilly, Oise, France)

Boothby Pagnell Manor House, Lincolnshire, U.K. Built c. 1200 CE.

This bronze spout was shaped like a bull's head. The horns are curved and there is an ornamented forelock. From Urmia, north-western Iran. Urartian, 8th to 7th century BCE. (The British Museum, London).

Yue stoneware water-dropper vessel in the form of a frog or a toad holding an ear or wine cup. Glazed. Made in Shanglinhu. From Zhejiang province. South China. Western Jin Dynasty. 265-316 CE. (The British Museum, London).

Great Chalfield Manor, rebuilt 1465-80 CE. Wiltshire, U.K.

A silver denarius issued by the Roman Republican moneyer Manius Fonteius in 85 BCE. The deity depicted on the front has been identified by scholars as either Apollo or Vejovis. The reverse depicted a winged child mounted on a male goat, with...