Images

This headrest was made either by the Tellem culture (named for the Tellem caves in which they are found) that lived in the Bandiagara cliffs of Mali from the 11th-15th century CE, or from the area's current inhabitants, the Dogon peoples...

As a result of erosion and mining, one of the oldest and most sophistcated art-producing cultures known in sub-Saharan Africa came to light in the mid-20th century. Hundreds of hollow figures, heads, and fragments made of coarse clay have...

This terracotta vase dates from the Predynastic period in ancient Egyptian history, c. 4500-3100 BCE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

This Predynastic Period vessel from ancient Egypt is made of terracotta. It was made c. 4500-3100 BCE. From the late Predynastic Period onward, the Egyptians used painted, incised, and polished pottery in life and as burial accessories for...

This terracotta vase dates from the Predynastic period in ancient Egyptian history, c. 4500-3100 BCE. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

This jar comes from China and dates from the Sui dynasty (581-618 CE). It is made of stoneware with green glaze. (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, Stanford, California)

The Hindu god Vishnu, the "preserver of the universe," is flanked by two female figures. His sister Sarasvati, the patron goddess of knowledge and the arts, stands to his proper left, playing a stringed instrument called a vina that is her...

This head belongs to a jina ("conqueror" or "liberator"), a Jain saint who severed the chain of rebirth and achieved a state of omniscience known as nirvana. Jains believe that there have been 24 jinas, each of whom is known as a tirthankara...

This sculpture represents the Buddha on the verge of enlightenment responding to the challenge of the demon Mara. Mara, who profits from chaos and suffering in the world, questioned the Buddha's right to become enlightened. Disturbed from...

This jar dates from the 26th century BCE and is made of earthenware with pigments. It was made by the Majiayao Yangshao culture during the Banshan phase (c. 2655-2330 BCE). (Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University...