Gold in antiquity: Did you mean...?

This coin offers the first evidence for the existence of a local king called "Anarevito". He is not known either from other coin finds or Roman historical accounts. Coin inscriptions often provide the only...

One side (reverse) of this elaborate gold pendant has designs based on coins of the Kushan rulers Kanishka I (100-126 CE) or Huvishka (126-163 CE); it shows an image of the goddess of wealth. On the other side (obverse...

Alchemy is an ancient practice aimed at recreating precious substances using recipes and transformative materials such as the philosopher's stone. Alchemists believed that materials like gold, silver, gems, and purple dye could be recreated...

Never seen by the public before 2011. A small fragment of an ivory plaque from Nimrud. It shows what appears to the right side of the head and neck, as well as right ear of a a figure. The golden overlay is still...

Golden plate with a funeral scene. 9th to 7th century BCE. From Sam'al/Zincirli, modern-day Southern Turkey. (Pergamon Museum, Berlin)

Carved and guilded wood representation of Bacchus (ca. 1677 CE). Attributed to Filippo Parodi. (Museo Castello Sforzesco, Milan)

This vessel has a circular container with a short stem and a hollow foot. It houses a green cosmetic material. It was found with the body of Puabi inside her grave. Puabi was a Semitic Akkadian...

These earrings show the skill and the quality achieved by Byzantine jewellers. They come from a treasure of 36 pieces found in Egypt (the treasure is shared between museums in London, Berlin, and New York), which...

The jar was precious, not only because of the golden handles, but also because of the material it is made of; malachite. Only one other example is known. It came from the tomb of pharaoh Djer, making it likely that...

This body chains of linked medallions is the largest item of jewellery to survive from the Byzantine Empire. It would have been worn draped over the shoulders and around the hips. In Greek and Roman art, body chains were...