Gold in antiquity: Did you mean...?

At its fullest extent, the Roman Empire stretched from around modern-day Aswan, Egypt at its southernmost point to Great Britain in the north but the influence of the Roman Empire went far beyond even the borders of its provinces as a result...

A gold female figurine from the Inca civilization, 15-16th century CE, Peru. Height 15 cm. Such precious figures were typically buried with important people. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

A page of the 1554 Codex Tepetlaoztoc showing the collection of gold tribute by Spanish colonial authorities in New Spain (Mexico). (British Museum, London)

A Moche gold headdress (1-700 CE). The figure represents a fanged deity, a common subject in Moche art. (Larco Museum, Lima)

A Chimu gold rattle, 1100-1470 CE. The figure, with earspools and headdress, represents a member of the Chimu ruling class and was a common motif in Chimu art. (Art Institute of Chicago)

Almoravid dynasty (1056-1147 CE) gold coin from the reign of 'Abdallah ibn 'Iyad. 1146 CE. (British Museum, London)

A Muisca (Chibcha) seated gold figure on a stool (tunjo). Colombia, 10th-16th century CE. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Gold coins issued by Samudragupta (circa 335 – 375 CE).

A beaten gold mask from the Nazca civilization of Peru, 200 BCE-500 CE. 18.4 x 20.5 cm. The mask may represent a shaman in transformational pose, a common motif in Nazca art. An alternative interpretation is that it represents the weeping...

A chunk of quartz with gold from the Witwatersrand mines in South Africa. Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.