Images

These are part of a set of nine agate belt plaques with decoration of musicians. From modern-day China, Tang Dynasty, 618-906 CE. (The British Museum, London).

The rings are held together by links without joints in them, and the whole was carved from a small jade pebble. A similar but more elaborate belt ornament has been excavated from the 5th-century tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, found at Suizhou...

This stele is carved with representations of events in the Lotus Sutra, one of the most important texts in early Chinese Buddhism. The Lotus Sutra is reconstructed as a magnificent drama, during which the historical Buddha Shakyamuni is revealed...

This stucco plaque shows the head of Bodhisattva surrounded by a beaded border. From Ming-oi, near Shorchuk, in modern-day China. 6th to 7th century CE. (The British Museum, London).

This bronze mirror is decorated with figures of Xi Wang Mu, the Queen Mother of the West, and her consort, Dong Wang Gong, as well as animals of the four directions and other creatures. Inscribed around the edge is a poem proclaiming prosperity...

This painted pottery figure represents a foreign soldier and was made of a slipped and pigmented earthenware. It was found in a tomb. Northern Wei Dynasty, 386-534 CE. From North China. (The British Museum, London).

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...