This tiny hardstone mouse is studded with diamonds, and has rubies for eyes. The House of Fabergé began making hardstone animals in the 1890s and they proved popular with their elite clients. Queen Alexandra (wife of the British King Edward VII) built a large collection, and production peaked in the years immediately before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Objects such as this mouse were inspired by Japanese netsuke. Carl Fabergé owned over 500 of these. He married this admiration of Asian art with the rich Russian tradition of hardstone carving.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Mouse.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Léon Bonvin was born in Vaugirard, just outside Paris in 1834. Despite displaying great talent in the medium of watercolor he was largely unrecognized by his contemporaries. In 1866 he hanged himself at the age of 32, apparently due to financial difficulties. Working at his family's bar or "cabaret," he sketched and painted watercolors only in his spare moments, yet in the seven year period between 1859 and his death he created numerous exquisite still lifes of flowers and fruits, and subtle landscapes capturing fleeting atmospheric effects. There is evidence that, despite his rural home, Bonvin did have knowledge of the art world in Paris. His half-brother was the better known artist, François Bonvin. In addition Bonvin's still lifes show the influence of Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779), whose work was undergoing a revival in the 1850s and 60s. During the 19th century an appreciation of Bonvin's work was confined to a small circle of connoisseurs and collectors, most prominent among them William T. Walters, father of Henry Walters, founder of the Walters Art Museum. For much of the 19th century William displayed and stored his watercolors in a deluxe leather-bound album with a specially commissioned frontispiece and tailpiece by the renowned flower painter of the Lyon school, Jean-Marie Reignier (see WAM 37.1501 and 37. 1531). William's collection of Bonvin's work was acquired between 1862 and 1891, and eventually comprised 56 watercolors and one, rare oil; today, this is the largest collection of Bonvin's work in existence.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Rose Bud in front of a Landscape.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Casting her eyes downward, Vajravarahi dances suspended in the air, the vivid red of her body alluding to her unfettered spirit and her capacity to create and destroy. Vajravarahi’s body exemplifies the feminine strength of the yogini—blissful, compassionate, and all-knowing. However, the face of the female pig ("varahi") that emerges from the side of her head shows her fierce nature, as do her garland of severed heads and her girdle made of bone. In the shrine for which this figure was made, the sculpture would have also included a corpse lying beneath Vajravarahi’s feet, a blood-filled skull cup in her left hand, a curved knife in her right hand, and a staff crowned with skulls and a trident in the crook of her left arm. Together they represent the selfish and negative feelings the goddess has overcome.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Vajravarahi.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Lead badges such as this one were purchased by pilgrims as mementos of holy sites they had visited. Originally there were loops at top and bottom for the pilgrim to sew the badges onto a hat or cloak. This example represents Saint Adrian. Saint Adrian holds in his left hand a sword and a banner, inscribed with his name: S. ADRIANUS. In his right hand, he holds an upended hammer on an anvil. These tools refer to the martyrdom of the saint, a 3rd-century Roman officer who, upon conversion to Christianity, was placed upon an anvil and broken by hammer blows. He stands on a lion, symbol of courage, and of Flanders, where this badge was made to commemorate the relic of Saint Adrian enshrined at Geraardsbergen.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Pilgrim Badge with Saint Adrian.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The distinctive Chupícuaro style was first identified at the urban center of the same name located in southern Guanajuato. The site was covered by a reservoir in 1948 to supply water for Mexico City. During salvage and later excavations in the region, pottery vessels and figures in the Chupícuaro style were found at sites along the Lerma River and southward in the vicinity of Lake Cuitzeo in Michoacán. The Chupícuaro region had longstanding cultural and trade connections with the Valley of Mexico beginning as early as 200 BCE, indicated by similarities in ceramic figural art traditions from both regions. In addition, artistic similarities are found in objects from Jalisco, Nayarit, and Colima, strongly intimating a strategic role for Chupícuaro as a pointof- transfer and unifying power linking Central and West Mexican peoples for many centuries. Burials of members of the Chupícuaro elite typically included a large number of female figures that conceptually link death with fertility as a central precept of the Mesoamerican ideology of death, transformation, and regeneration. Larger sculptures are hollow, but the majority are solid, modeled figures. Typically, the figures' basic features are defined by modeling; the ornately woven clothing and the striking body painting, a hallmark of Chupícuaro figures, are depicted in paint. On this example, the stepped design creates larger diamond-shaped and x-patterned motifs across the woman's body. It is likely these patterns carry symbolic significance. The figure's short pants (or possibly body painting) feature a combined vertical and horizontal patterning that suggests a highly developed weaving tradition, which sadly has not survived. A curious gray-black square is painted at the base of the figure's head, a rare motif eluding interpretation.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Female Figure.

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The Moche developed the first state-level political system in the ancient Andes during the Early Intermediate Period (200 BCE-500 CE) in response to wide-ranging events throughout the northern coast. The region's growing populations and occasional droughts of years' duration heightened competition for arable land and precious water. A new elite class, the kuraka, arose to meet the challenges of effective survival by exerting control over coastal resources, from land and water allocations to the human labor needed for such crucial construction projects as large-scale irrigation systems and monumental architecture conveying socio-political and spiritual power. The kuraka also controlled the all-important local and long-distance exchange networks that ensured the availability of both basic commodities and luxury goods. The authority of the kuraka was based on an ideology that claimed their descent from mythic founders. Thus, although the gods were the ultimate source of power, mythical human figures became principal kingpins in the Moche politico-religious schematic. The five major river valleys of the northern coast were united, to varying degrees, under the commanding kuraka socio-political framework. They not only administered all manner of subsistence, social, and religious affairs, but also sponsored the production of prodigious amounts of artworks that denoted high status and underscored the ideological basis of sociopolitical hierarchy Members of the kuraka were adorned with finely crafted jewelry made of silver and gold and often embellished with precious shell and stone inlays. Noblemen buried in the royal tombs of Sipán, an important Moche center, were festooned in all manner of precious metal adornments whose imagery indicated their political office and specified their ceremonial roles during enactments of the Sacrifice Ceremony, which frequently was represented on Moche pottery. This large silver bead may be the head of the so-called Decapitator, a key supernatural being associated with human sacrifice and warrior power. The lord buried in Sipán Tomb 1 was dressed as the Warrior Priest of the Sacrifice Ceremony. He was adorned with jewelry depicting this fearsome being, which thereby connected him to ritual warfare and decapitation sacrifice. Similar gold, copper, and silver effigy bead necklaces bedecked the individuals in Tombs 2 and 3, some beads having the fanged teeth of the deity, whereas others feature humanlike teeth. In this example, the hair, face, and large earflares recall human portrayals, whereas the shape of the mouth, which likely makes reference to the snarl of a feline predator, is more typical of the Decapitator supernatural being. As such, this large silver bead may have alluded to the wearer's spiritual power.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Head Effigy Bead.

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Both Mary and the Christ Child rest their hands on the Lamb of God, a symbol of Jesus' future sacrifice. St. John the Baptist, who stares reverently at Christ, is dressed in camel's skin in reference to his future ministry in the desert. Jesus' nakedness reminds us of his humanity. Giulio Romano completed this painting after he set up his own workshop in Rome after the death of his teacher Raphael (1483-1520). Although he initially followed the style of his famous master, he made his figures even more sculptural and gracefully elongated. The building in the background is based on the Cortile del Belvedere in the Vatican gardens in Rome designed by the great architect Donato Bramante (1444-1514). The painting was previously attributed to Raffaelino dal Colle (see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue of Italian Paintings in the Walters Art Gallery, no. 233, pp. 355-357) but reattributed to Giulio Romano by Sylia Ferino-Pagden in the catalogue of the Giulio Romano exhibition in Mantua in 1989 (p. 75).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

According to the Book of Judith in the Catholic Old Testament, the virtuous widow Judith saved her people when the military commanders failed to lift a siege by the Assyrians. She beguiled the enemy General Holofernes into getting drunk and cut off his head. The artist heightened the drama by contrasting Judith's serene determination with the amazement and horror exploding from the general's face. Portraying his head upside down emphasizes Holofernes' defeat and evokes the reversal of societal norms in a woman's victory over a strong man. By the 1620s, Trophime Bigot (ca. 1579-1650, also known as Master of the Candlelight) was in Rome, where he studied the paintings of Caravaggio (1571-1610). The Italian master had introduced often brutal, naturalistic, close-up scenes lit by a single light source. In this powerful baroque composition, the candle's light concentrates the drama around the clear diagonal movement back from Holofernes's straining arm.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Judith Decapitating Holofernes.

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This dancer is shown mid step, with arms outstretched and knees flexed. Both his hands have holes where small dance decorations, such as fans or maracas, were once placed. He wears an elaborately wrapped turbanlike headdress, and anklets, a necklace, and a vest which all would have made music along with the dance steps. The figure is also a whistle, and one can imagine a dancer or his accompanist playing such an instrument to structure the steps of a dance.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Dancing Figure Whistle.

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This is an outstanding example of a "memento mori," or reminder of death: a gruesome skeleton clothed in tattered flesh holds a scroll bearing the Latin inscription, "I am what you will be. I was what you are. For every man is this so." That the artist—probably Hans Leinberger—has depicted the cadaver in a graceful pose that mimics that of Adam in Albrecht Dürer's famous engraving of Adam and Eve is probably intentional; it was due to Adam's sin that humans were subject to death. This carving was surely made for a sophisticated collector—Archduke Ferdinand of Austria owned one also attributed to Leinberger that is not quite so well proportioned—and such a collector would have recognized the source of the pose. The complexity of the carving of this statuette demonstrates the qualities of boxwood, that the gut could be hollowed out and skin peeled away without the form collapsing.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Figure of Death (Memento Mori).

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The scenes on this expressive capital and on its companion (Walters 27.305) have yet to be identified precisely but appear to involve tests of justice. This capital shows two men swearing an oath by placing their hands in the mouth of a Roman lion mask, "the mouth of truth," that will bite down on those who swear falsely. The capitals were made for the interior of a church and may illustrate stories from Spanish literature of the time, in which themes of virtue and justice were common.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Capital with the Mouth of Truth.

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A black standard (oblong) three compartment inro. On one side a lily in inlaid raden, the leaves in "takamakie" in silver. A butterfly in "takamakie" in gold flying just above the lily. A plant with red lacquer leaves in the background. Part of the butterfly's wing is at the top of the inro. All on a black "roiro" lacquer ground. Another lily on the reverse whose leaves circle around to the other side. The cord channels are internal. The interior in "fundame" of gold.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Inro with White Lily.

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Freestanding images of the Buddha had not been made anywhere in Asia before they were created by Thai sculptors in Sukhothai during the 14th century. What is the Buddha doing? It is possible to imagine that he is descending from heaven, where, according to legend, he preached to his deceased mother one rainy season. Or he might be merely walking. This is considered one of the four postures: the others are sitting, standing, and reclining. In the Thai language, the walking Buddha is just called "graceful" ("lila").

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Walking Buddha.

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This rhyton (wine vessel) was made with two different molds, combining the right side of a ram’s head with the left side of a donkey’s head. Rhyta such as this one were used in drinking parties, and their lack of a base meant that their contents had to be consumed before the vessel could be put down. The maker would have employed existing two-piece molds that would have made a complete head of a ram and a complete head of a donkey; one side of each of these molds was used to create the head for this rhyton, which was then attached to the wheel-thrown neck prior to firing. The mold used to create the ram half of the vessel was already decades old when it was used for this piece. The juxtaposition of the ram and braying donkey may have been made to contrast the positive and negative attributes ascribed to the animals respectively, and the donkey had close associations with the wine god Dionysus (Bacchus), often acting as one of the god’s preferred mounts. The scene on the neck of the rhyton, where three satyrs participate in an outdoor drinking party, alludes to the use of this type of cup. Two older satyrs, one perched on a rock and the other crouching at attention, focus on the center of the composition where a younger satyr is about to drink directly from a large amphora (storage jar) of wine. This rhyton was first published in 1837 (see O. M. Baron von Stackelberg, Die Graeber der Hellenen: 20-21, pl. 25), but the Ashmolean Museum recently acquired a watercolor of it dated to 1821 (see M. Vickers, 2005, "Nelson's Greek Pot?" The Ashmolean 49).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Rhyton in Form of a Dimidiated Donkey and Ram Head.

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This Buddhist deity holds a bell, symbolic of wisdom, and a flaming wheel, symbolic of the Buddhist teachings. His crown, which terminates in a "vajra"—the multipronged ritual scepter of the tantric Buddhist traditions—resembles the type of headdress worn by Nepali images of the deity Vajrasattva. Identified as both a primordial Buddha and a bodhisattva, Vajrasattva often plays a role in purification rituals. However, since Vajrasattva holds a vajra and bell, the identity of this wheel-bearing deity remains uncertain. The seated deity is cast from almost pure copper, visible in areas where the thick gilding has worn away. The hollow figure is sealed with a small, rectangluar copper panel incised with the protective "vajra," or thunderbolt symbol, on its underside, and x-radiography reveals a hollow compartment that may hold sacred scrolls within.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Buddhist Deity.

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Avalokiteshvara is a bodhisattva, a divine being who is on the path to becoming a Buddha (“Awakened One”) and helps others on the path toward enlightenment. This multi-armed figure is hollow-cast from an alloy of copper and 5% tin, called bronze. Using computed tomography or CT scans, museum conservators determined that the head, arms, and body were cast in stages and joined using sophisticated metal casting techniques. Avalokiteshvara is covered with images of the Buddha, like the ones making up his necklace. Each of these small figures was originally carved or stamped in wax and applied to the model before being cast in bronze. Avalokiteshvara also wears arm and wristbands made of a different metal alloy: brass, which initially would have glistened like gold.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Eight-Armed Avalokiteshvara.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Bells were used to call the faithful to services throughout the Middle Ages. They also marked deaths, and were even believed to ward off storms and other dangers. Although many churches had bells, few medieval examples survive because they were often recast when they were damaged or melted down so that the metal could be reused. We do not have much information about the origin of this bell, but its long, narrow shape resembles several bells known to have been made in the mid-fifteenth century in Austria. The bell has four figures in relief: Saints Peter, Paul, John the Evangelist, and Thomas. The apostles are identified by their attributes: Peter holds the keys to heaven; Paul is shown with the sword of his execution; John the Evangelist holds his sacred writings; and Thomas holds a ruler, alluding to his role as patron of architects. The founder who made the bell has signed his work with the inscription P.K. ME FECIT (PK made me), and the bell is further inscribed with the words XPS VINCIT, XPS REGNAT, XPS I[M]P[ER]AT (Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ rules).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bell with Apostles.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The ornate turban worn by this man is typical of the courtly garb of key individuals serving the ruler in the royal courts of the Classic Maya (ca. 400-800 CE). This figure wears the so-called spangled turban headdress, especially common for scribes, as well as for gods and humans associated with Creation. Scribes held a high position at the Maya courts, for learning to read and write Maya hieroglyphs was a difficult process. A curious feature of this particular figure is that he holds what may be a halved cacao pod in his right hand. His cheeks are covered with what appears to be a thin, woven fabric; this recalls other figurines, many of which are people with dwarfism, with an unidentifiable material plastered to the lower half of their face. These features suggest the depiction of a formal rite. The graceful rendering of this figure and the exceptional attention to detail reveal the work of a master artist. People with dwarfism were important members of royal Maya courts. They are portrayed serving food, playing musical instruments, holding sacred objects for the ruler, and as diviners and scribes. Their elevated social roles were steeped in cosmology and religious mythology, especially that of the maize god, who was assisted by a dwarflike figure when the deity set the Three Stones of the cosmic hearth at the beginning of Creation. Members of Classic Maya communities probably viewed people with dwarfism as the living embodiment of the maize god's supernatural helpers, who continued their sacred duty in the regal court. Maya peoples today believe that earlier creations were populated by a race of people of small stature, called aluxes in some Mayan languages, who now reside inside the earth, living below the ruins of the ancient cities.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Figure of a Scribe (Man with dwarfism).

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Figurines of this type, from the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea, have been found almost exclusively in tombs. Although it was first believed that these so-called "idols" represent deities, they probably should be interpreted more broadly as representations of "femaleness." The geometric shapes, the position of the arms across the abdomen, and the close-set legs with dangling feet are distinctive and may appear strikingly modern to the viewer today. This example represents the high point of Cycladic figurine carving, when the form had become extremely elegant.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Female Figure.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Prior to the Roman Period, the likeness of the deceased on the mummy mask, coffin, and sarcophagus was an idealized representation that conformed to the general style of the period. With the arrival of Roman rule in Egypt, mummy portraits became increasingly naturalistic. The new style of portraiture was sometimes rendered in two-dimensional paintings on a wood panel or on linen. The panel portraits were made in either tempera paint or in encaustic, like this example. Encaustic painting is a technique in which the pigment is dissolved in wax before it is applied to the surface.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Panel Portrait of a Bearded Man.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

In western churches the altar itself was often richly adorned with frontals in a variety of media, including carved and painted wood, sculpted metal, carved alabaster, and richly woven textiles. The use of an altar frontal (called an antependium in Latin) probably stems from the tradition of placing altars over the tombs or shrines of saints. Many altar frontals include imagery related to the saint to whom the altar was dedicated. This mid-thirteenth century example from Catalonia, Spain, has been painted with scenes from the life of Saint Martin. Martin was a fourth-century soldier in the Roman army who abandoned that career to serve God. According to the recorded story of his life, while stationed in present-day France, Martin met a barely dressed beggar on the road and cut his own cloak in half so that the man might be clothed. That night, Martin had a dream informing him that the beggar had been Christ. Martin was then baptized, eventually became the bishop of Tours, and after his death became a widely popular saint. At the upper left of this panel, Martin, on horseback, gives half of his cloak to a beggar, while at the upper right he has a vision of Christ wearing the cloak. At the lower left, the saint is ordained bishop of Tours (in AD 372), and, at the lower right, his soul is carried to heaven by angels. These scenes have been painted on a solid panel, but the decorative borders of the work are reminiscent of textiles, which were often used as altar frontals.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Altar Frontal with Christ in Majesty and the Life of Saint Martin.

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The Arabic writing in the upper part of this plaque is from the Qur’an and encourages Muslims to make the hajj—the pilgrimage to Mecca, birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the spiritual center of the Islamic world. Beneath the inscription is a representation of the Great Mosque in Mecca, surrounded by a rectangular portico. At center is the Ka‘ba, Islam’s most sacred shrine and the place to which Muslims pray. In Mecca, pilgrims walk around the Ka‘ba as part of the hajj ritual. Tiles such as this one may have been created to remind Muslims of their obligation to make the pilgrimage and introduce potential hajji, or pilgrims, to the places and practices they would encounter. It also could have functioned as commemorative plaques for contemplation following a hajji’s experience at the Ka‘ba.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Tile with the Great Mosque of Mecca.

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This fragment of a garment was woven in an official factory and decorated with an Arabic inscription. Such honorific inscriptions on textiles are called "tiraz" in Arabic, and "taraziden" in Persian. They combine pious invocations to God, verses from the Qur'an, and sometimes names of caliphs. On this example appears the phrase ". . . of Allah, and favor and glory to the servant of Allah. . .," a formula used to introduce the name of a caliph, a ruler of the Abbasid dynasty.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Fragment of a Tiraz.

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King David's son Amnon pretended to be sick, and, when his half-sister Tamar came to visit him, he treacherously raped her (2 Samuel). In the later 1500s once the athletic ideal of classical antiquity and contemporary Italian art had been absorbed in the Netherlands, painters would typically depict such threatening male figures with far more muscular builds. Setting the scene in an early 16th-century bedroom with beautiful furnishings, including a wall clock (rare and expensive at this time) implied that the biblical stories remained current. The rich surface details, figures whose poses and gestures marked by graceful curves, and elaborate play of folds are typical of the prevailing style in Antwerp around 1515 to 1525 sometimes known as "Antwerp Mannerism," of which Jan van Dornicke, active in Antwerp around 1509 to 1525, is the leading practitioner.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Amnon Attacking Tamar.

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This masterful portrait of Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161-180 CE) captures the pensive temperament of the philosopher-emperor and author of the celebrated "Meditations," reflections on life and the ways of the gods. The smooth, softly modeled carving of the flesh contrasts markedly with the mass of thick, curling hair. The drooping eyelids and detached gaze suggest his contemplative nature.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The suicide of the Roman heroine Lucretia was related by the historian Livy (59 BCE- 17 CE). Raped by an Etruscan prince, she extracted an oath of vengeance from her father and husband and then stabbed herself. As a result, the Etruscan kings were expelled and the Roman Republic was established (late 6th century BCE). At the time (and still so around 1600), her response to being raped--suicide--was considered appropriate, even noble. By the 1500s, Lucretia was depicted as a beautifu, sexually desirable woman whose rich garments are pulled open and who plunges a dagger into her breast. So even at the moment of death she is depicted to appeal to the lust of the male viewer. The dagger is inscribed with the mark of the Nuremberg artist, Heinrich Ulrich, who is known primarily as an engraver. The colors, mannerist figure type, and erotic overtones suggest the influence of German painters such as Hans von Aachen at the Habsburg court in Prague around 1600 but Ulrich, if he is the painter, could have encountered their paintings elsewhere. Initials previously described as reading CSB (?) intertwined with the reference to Livy on the bottom of the column (and visible in old photographs) now appear to have existed only in a later glaze. With that glaze removed, there is no longer evidence for them; thus the puzzle of the unidentified "Master CSB" can be put to rest.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Suicide of Lucretia.

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The Buddhist deity Kshetrapala, whose name means "protector ('pala') of the field ('kshetra')," wards off dangerous and evil forces. His mouth releases a great howl, its volume amplified by the roar of the bear he rides. As he lifts his index finger in a threatening gesture, he holds the handle of a flaying knife (the curved blade of which is now missing) and a skull bowl filled with the blood and flesh of his enemies. In Tibetan Buddhist traditions, he presides over Shitavana ("cool grove"), a charnel ground near the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment, Bodhgaya. An important member of the retinue of six-armed Mahakala (a prominent protector of Buddhist teachings), Kshetrapala usually appears within an assemblage of wrathful protectors. In rituals performed to keep enemies at bay, however, he occasionally serves as the focus of worship.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Protector Deity Kshetrapala.

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Depicted much as she would have appeared in life, the Chantress Nehy sits on a chair and holds in her left hand the symbol of her profession, a sistrum or rattle used in the worship of the goddess Hathor. Judging from her fine clothing and elegant hairstyle, as well as the scale and quality of her statue, we may assume that Nehy was able to afford a fine burial to ensure her place in the afterlife. Most likely this statue, one of two known, graced a tomb at Saqqara, the ancient necropolis of Memphis.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Seated Statue of Nehy.

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This scene depicts the story of Bathsheba as described in the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel (11:2). Bathsheba was the wife of one of King David’s military commanders, and here, King David surreptitiously violates her privacy by gazing at her from his palace while she bathes. King David’s infatuation with Bathsheba will lead him to order her husband’s death and take her as his wife. In the biblical account, God punishes David by causing his and Bathsheba’s newborn son to die. The only witness to the King’s aggression, Bathsheba’s servant—here shown as a Black woman although her race is not mentioned in the biblical passage—provides the focal point of tension in the visual narrative depicted here. The artist may have depicted the servant as Black both to draw attention to her pivotal role as witness and to reflect contemporary experience in Venice. Venetian painters, such as Bordone, were particularly known for their ability to paint beautiful women. The painting is characteristic of Bordone’s fondness for fantastic architectural settings and deep perspective. For more information on this painting, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 271, p. 398.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for David and Bathsheba.

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For the ancient Egyptians, the goddess Isis was the model of the loyal wife and mother, as well as a powerful magician. She was the wife of the god Osiris and the mother of Horus. Just as the king of Egypt was associated with Horus in life and Osiris in death, queens of Egypt were linked with Isis, and their visual representations have similarities with the goddess. For example, both may be depicted wearing the vulture headdress shown here. The crown composed of a sun-disk and cow horns originally belonged to Hathor, but was assimilated by Isis.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Isis with Horus the Child.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This basalt stone sculpture shows the Aztec deity Macuilxochitl, patron god of gamblers and leader of the group of deities known as “Ahuiateteo.” They reigned over pleasures which in excess could cause problems for humans, such as drinking and gambling. Macuilxochitl is shown in the sixteenth century manuscript known as the Codex Magliabecchiano with elaborate clothing, a headdress of feathers similar to that which the Walters’ sculpture wears, and red body paint. <a href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patolli#/media/File:Macuilxochitl_Patolli.png target=”_blank”> In this image, </a> he presides over a group of players and gamblers clustered around a board for the game of “Patolli," very popular among the Aztecs. Players would invoke Macuilxochitl’s name before taking their turn, and representations of the components of the god’s name, “macuilli” (five) and “xochitl” (flower) can be seen above and below the board. This statue was made ca. 1400-1520 near Matlala, in the modern-day state of Puebla, Mexico, and could have been used by a temple dedicated to the deity, or on a ballcourt, where images of Macuilxochitl could frequently be found. It is possible that it was originally covered with a thin layer of stucco, traces of which are still visible, and perhaps with red pigment.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Macuilxochitl (Aztec Deity).

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Buddha Akshobhya is one of five cosmic Buddhas, each of whom is associated with a particular direction, gesture, and color. Akshobhya, Buddha of the east, is recognized by the earth-touching gesture ("bhumisparsha mudra"), made by extending the right hand downward with the palm facing inward. When represented in painting, Akshobhya’s color is blue. Perhaps the turquoise inlaid into this Buddha’s "ushnisha" (the cranial protrusion that signals his heightened wisdom) recalls his blue color for some viewers and devotees. As an unpainted sculpture, it would be easy to identify this Buddha as the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, at the time of his enlightenment, when he too touches the earth as he sits in meditation. The object on this Buddha’s pedestal, however, confirms his identity: Known as a "vajra," it is the symbol of Akshobhya, who is head of the vajra family of tantric Buddhist deities.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Buddha Akshobhya.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This sketch depicts a king wearing the "blue crown," a collar, and two strings of gold beads. His stubble beard is a sign of mourning. The features of the king make it likely that Seti I is represented. The elaborate execution of the royal image, which is without doubt the work of a master painter, differs from the depiction of the two hands. This sketch was probably a model for trainees, and was later reused for other training purposes by an experienced artist. It is interesting that the painter of the royal head has chosen the topic of a stubble-bearded king, which was not part of the official motifs.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Ostracon with a Royal Head.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

St. Catherine of Alexandria was a noblewoman in early 4th-century Egypt, who, according to Christian legend, challenged the pagan Roman emperor with her faith in Christ. Ordered by the emperor to be executed on a spiked wheel, Catherine was initially saved by the wheel miraculously breaking, but he then had her beheaded. She is identified here by the broken wheel with iron spikes. Ferrucci, master sculptor of the cathedral of Florence, left the back of the statue unfinished, indicating that it was to be placed in a niche or in front of a wall as part of an architectural setting. The drapery covers Catherine’s body in a way that reveals its underlying form. The gracefully elongated proportions reflect a characteristically 16th-century European artistic ideal of female beauty. The orange stain on her chest is possibly iron staining from a now-lost (but not contemporary) necklace.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Khatchkars (K’ar meaning “stone” and xac˘’ meaning “cross”) are monumental stone slabs decorated with a cross relief. Often found as tomb markers, khatchkars, topped by a gable, could be used as monumental shrines; they also decorated church walls. The top of this slab projects outwards to create a stepped cornice intended to protect the khatchkar from the elements. In the central panel, the cross is decorated with drill marks, while the arms end in elegant fleurons. A flourishing tendril encloses the cross in a scalloped frame. Two birds, one on each side of a round arch, complete the décor at the top. Here, the cross does not represent the instrument of Christ’s death, but instead refers to eternal life. In this context, the cross assumes the symbolic meaning of the “tree of life.” The background of the central panel is meticulously carved with fine lacelike designs that fan out to encircle the top portion of the cross. The richness of the decoration and the refinement of the execution and design associate this khatchkar with others from the region of Siunia, in southeastern Armenia.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Khatchkar (Khach‘k‘ar).

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Parshvanatha is one of twenty-four Jinas, “victors” who achieved omniscience through meditation and strict self-discipline, taught others the path to omniscience, and, upon death, became liberated from the cycle of rebirth that traps most living beings in the realm of material existence. Represented either seated or standing in meditation, most Jinas are very similar in appearance, but Parshvanatha is distinguished by the seven-headed serpent that shelters him as he meditates. According to one account in Jain scripture, Parshvanatha saved a serpent that had been trapped in a log by a fire. The snake, once reborn as the lord of the snakes, later sheltered him from a storm sent by a demon. Each Jina is associated with a male "yaksha" (god) and female "yakshi" (goddess), deities that protect the Jina and his teachings; seen here below are Parshvanatha’s "yaksha," Dharanendra, and his "yakshi," Padmavati, additional forces of protection. In worshiping the Jinas, Jains venerate the principles that each Jina preached, including nonviolence and respect toward all living beings. This sculpture was made for a temple or shrine, where it would have been kept along with many other devotional images. Its details have been worn by the libations poured over it during many years of worship. The inscription on the base gives the date of the sculpture, but its donor remains anonymous.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Jina Parshvanatha.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The popularity of the cult of Dionysus, which was initially introduced to Egypt by the early Ptolemy rulers in the 3rd century BC and continued into early Byzantine times (4th-7th century), resulted in numerous textiles, such as this garment panel featuring Dionysiac themes. The "segmentum" (ornamental tunic patch) depicts dancers involved in what was probably intended to be a Dionysiac dance to celebrate regeneration and rebirth. The commonly used grape vine border, which frames the central portion of the panel, also acts as an allusion to Dionysus and to renewal and prosperity associated with him.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Garment Decoration ("Segmentum") with Figures Under an Arcade.

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Adorning female deities with the garments and jewelry of royalty, sculptors endowed them with a beauty and dignity that reflected the ideals of the court. Like Tara, Bhrikuti is an attendant to Avalokiteshvara, embodiment of compassion, and she helps the advanced student of meditation fully realize loving kindness.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Buddhist Goddess Bhrikuti.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The narrative on this basin tells the story of Saint Ursula and her 11,000 companions, who embarked on a pious journey from England to the Continent only to be met by the Huns in Cologne and slaughtered in 383 CE. Ursula was warned of her impending doom, according to the legend, but willingly accepted martyrdom to join the kingdom of heaven. The narrative is executed in a simple, engaging manner. The movement of Ursula and her companions is echoed in the narrative progression around the bowl as one turns it to follow the story. The kinetic dimension of the display would likely have made this manner of recounting the saint's legend more memorable than simple recitation. Indeed, some scholars have suggested that bronze vessels of this type might have been used for teaching, while others maintain that they might have played a role in liturgical hand-washing performed by nuns. In the latter instance, the swirling ocean crossed by Ursula must have looked quite realistic when seen through the rippling water that filled the bowl.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bowl with Scenes from the Legend of Saint Ursula.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This vase was formed from a segment of a large elephant tusk, carved in very high relief and set into a base of bronze and silver. The scene is from the life of Minamoto Yoshitsune (1159-1189), who is depicted on horseback surrounded by his loyal retainers. They all look out toward the sea as a storm rages against them. Gusts of wind are carved into the ivory above, while the surging water is depicted in the metal base below. Mounted on a horse, the 12th-century warrior Yoshitsune, spurned by his brother- for whom Yoshitsune's military prowess had secured the rule of Japan- prepared to leave the country by sea. But the stormy weather prevents his departure.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Vase with the Warrior Yoshitsune.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Extensively decorated with modeled imagery, duct flutes of Veracruz comprise a tour-de-force of aesthetics and musical functional form deftly merged into a singular visual and auditory creation. The tubular duct flute of Veracruz is characterized by one or two connected sounding tubes. Along its shaft(s) or at its end are found two semi-circular disks or a full disk at whose center is a modeled ritual performer or a zoomorph of likely symbolic identity, as is the case with the peccary head at the center of this flute's disk. No myths have survived from ancient Veracruz that feature the peccary, although among the contemporary Maya of southern Mesoamerica the peccary was related to the pillars of the cosmos, and various nobles included its name in their elite nominal phrases. Among the Huichol of northwestern Mexico, the peccary is associated with the earth god. These Veracruz flutes are notable for having clay pellets inside their tubular chambers. The small clay balls produce an eerie, warbling sound when the flute is played, although it takes skill to elicit the full range of auditory features made possible by this structural innovation. The high-quality craftsmanship and detailed, symbolic decoration of this flute imply its social and ritual importance as a special instrument intended for use during rites of significance rather than more commonplace public ceremonies.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Zoomorphic Effigy Tubular Duct Flute.

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Illuminated in Hainaut ca. 1280 and completed in 1290, this collection of richly illuminated Cistercian manuscripts is a rare example of those being produced in Flanders at the end of the thirteenth century. Eighteen extant large historiated initials, flourished and decorated initials, and an abundance of amusing drolleries facilitate a liturgical narrative within the text. However, additions and removals within the text and imagery tells much about the use and history of the manuscript. The liturgical contents of this volume provide musical settings from Easter to the Assumption of the Virgin. This manuscript is the first of a set of three volumes destined for use on the abbess’ side of the choir at the Cistercian abbey of Sainte-Marie at Beaupré (diocese of Cambrai). Two sets of antiphonaries, each composed of three volumes, were originally created for the abbess and prioress of Beaupre. Of these two sets, the Walters Art Museum houses three volumes: two volumes from the set intended for the abbess and one volume from the set designated for the prioress. A fourth associated volume was created later to supplement W.759. The manuscripts' patroness, from the de Viane family, is depicted with a younger woman named Clementia on fol. 3v of vol. 1 (W.759). Donations by members of the de Viane family to Sainte-Marie of Beaupré were recorded from 1244 to 1293. Some of the marginal imagery was erased, possibly by John Ruskin, who owned them in the mid nineteenth century. Truly a remarkable work, this multi-volume antiphonary was generously gifted to the Walters Art Museum in 1957 at the bequest of the Hearst Foundation.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Beaupré Antiphonary (Volume I).

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This lentil-shaped New Year's flask has two small baboons that appear at either side of the neck atop a band of hieroglyphic inscriptions. Such flasks may once have held a liquid used in a ceremony to mark the beginning of the new agricultural year, which began in late summer, when the Nile River began to flood.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for New Year's Flask.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Van Goyen traveled extensively to find scenic vistas for his landscapes. This one shows the remnants of the medieval castle and a section of the walls of the city Nijmegen, on the Waal River in the eastern Netherlands. Against this imposing historic backdrop, the artist introduced a detail from rural life: a ferryboat carrying travelers and farmers with their cows to market. The beauty of van Goyen's landscapes lies in his handling of simple visual effects, here the reflections of the sky and foliage in the water, versus the unreflective surfaces of the buildings and earth. The overcast sky is typically Dutch; the resulting cool light brings out his orchestration of tonal distinctions.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Medieval Walls of Nijmegen.

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Perched on a T-shaped ivory stand is a pair of topaz cockatoos with ruby eyes and gold feet. They are connected by gold chains to a pink enamel and gold mount set in a nephrite base supported by four gold ball feet. Carl Fabergé was particularly fond of birds and kept a pet cockatoo. Such hardstone animals were a popular part of Faberge's output in the early decades of the 20th century. Inspired by Japanese netsuke, which Fabergé collected in great numbers, these tiny animals have a life-like quality. Fabergé was even commissioned to make portraits of specific pets, most famously for King Edward VII and his wife Queen Alexandra.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Pair of Cockatoos.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This small enigmatic figure was probably a prized possession placed in a tomb. It shows a man wearing only a loincloth, with a gentle smile on his face and his hands placed on his chest. Figures of humans engaged in everyday activities are actually quite rare within the corpus of Chavin art, more frequent are supernaturals and people engaged in rituals. It is possible that this figure shows a man under the influence of hallucinogens, like the San Pedro cactus. One notable detail is that the part in his hair and much of his face and chest have been emphasized by the use of red pigment. This is probably the mercury compound cinnabar, a bright red mineral that had many sources in the Andes region. Both the mines and rocks that came from them were sacred entities (or wak’as) to the Indigenous people of Peru. People cared for the cinnabar by extracting it from underground and grinding it to release its vibrant color. In return, cinnabar helped to preserve mummified remains of ancestors and also had many medical and cosmetic uses for the living.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Standing Figure.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ellen Walters (1822-1862), the wife of William T. Walters, was the daughter of a prosperous Philadelphia merchant. She died at the age of 40, leaving her husband with two children to raise: Henry (1848-1931) and Jennie (1853-1922). To paint this miniature 35 years after Ellen's death, the artist worked from a daguerreotype made in 1846, the year of her marriage. William Jacob Baer was born in Cincinnati in 1860, where he was trained in lithography. In 1880 he traveled to Munich to study drawing and painting at the Royal Academy. When he returned to the United States, he lived in New Jersey where he taught drawing and painting at Princeton University. In 1893 he moved to New York and where he first painted portrait miniatures; by 1894 he had given up easel painting all together to focus exclusively on this genre. He helped found the American Society of Miniature Painters, and is considered instrumental in the revival of miniature at the end of the 19th century. Baer exhibited both nationally and internationally, at the Exposition Universelle (1900), Pan-American Exposition (1901), Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904), and the Panama-Pacific Exposition (1915), where he work was well received. He seems to have found particular success with Henry Walters and his relatives. The Walters Art Museum holds six works on ivory by the artist.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of Ellen Harper Walters.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This bowl depicts a scene from the Roman poet Ovid’s (43 BCE—17AD) “Metamorphoses” (Book I), in which the nymph Daphne is pursued by Apollo and saved from his advances at the last moment by her father, the river-god Peneus, who turned her into a laurel tree. Peneus reclines in the foreground, while Apollo is shown on the left, and Daphne’s transformation occurs on the right. The figures of Apollo and Daphne may be derived from a woodcut in a 1497 Venetian edition of Ovid's text. This scene is characteristic of “istoriato” wares, which portrayed stories from Classical antiquity and the Bible, and emerged in Italy during the early sixteenth century. The back of the bowl is stained with green and ornamented with two concentric yellow circles, with two raised circles at the rim. The coat of arms on this bowl associates it with the “Three Crescents Service,” a large group of wares possibly made for a member of the Strozzi family in Florence. The bowl was produced by the “Milan Marsyas Painter,” who is thought to have produced a group of wares depicting the mythological flute-player Marsyas, now in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. To see more works by the Milan Marsyas Painter, click on the name in the creator field; for information on ‘maiolica,’ see 48.1336.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bowl with Apollo and Daphne.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Warfare was a common means of territorial defense and expansion, the victors gaining land and resources and especially tribute in the form of goods (foodstuff s and crafted items) and human labor. The public display of bound captives proclaimed a community's hegemony and the prowess of the local chief, their communal dominance being preserved in the form of stone sculptures exhibited in plazas and around administrative/ceremonial buildings. The largest such sculptures are those of warriors, typically portrayed with raised weapon and carrying a trophy head. Smaller sculptures depict the vanquished such as this defeated warrior with bound arms above his head and ankles similarly secured. His midsection sports a belt-like wrapping adorned with shell or metal beads. The figure's pierced earlobes may have been garnished with ornaments, likely made of shell or metal.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Captive Figure.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dishes with annular supports are found throughout the Nariño- Carchí region, which straddles the international border between Colombia and Ecuador, although stylistic differences distinguish highly localized sub-traditions. The Tuza complex, found at archaeological sites in the upper Guaitara River region and perhaps related to the historical Pastos people of the area, is differentiated by the use of positive painting rather than negative-resist painting found elsewhere in the region. Further, Tuza decorative motifs are almost exclusively restricted to the vessel interior. The decorative format of this bowl combines embellished triangles variously arranged to create vertical and spiral forms.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Footed Dish with Animal Motifs.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This magnificent brooch is an outstanding example of Lalique's jewelry. Here, layered fern leaves, in opalescent cameo glass and green enamel, are connected by diamond-set "stalks." At the center a large cushion-shaped opal is mounted in a silver-gilt frame set with small diamonds of varying size. The lateral segments are hinged to the central unit to permit movement. Henry Walters bought this piece from Lalique in 1904 at the World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. The symmetrical design anticipates Lalique's future work. Within several years, the artist abandoned both jewelry and the Art Nouveau style to devote himself to the production of glass molded in the Art Deco style.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Fern Leaves Brooch.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Sarasvati, goddess of music and learning, plucks the "vina"—a stringed musical instrument—while holding a palm leaf manuscript in one of her four hands. The manuscript alludes to sacred knowledge, protected by the goddess. Carved of sandstone native to the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, the sculpture is part of a long history of stone carving in India, used to adorn its temples, forts, and palaces. Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists worship Sarasvati, having adapted her from earlier traditions which held that all natural objects have a spiritual essence. Taking her name from a river in India (now dry), Sarasvati was an ancient goddess who personified the abundant gifts bestowed by the river—not least to provide water to irrigate the lands. Legends of her generosity extended to her bestowal of knowledge, word, and sound to mankind, especially among later Hindu traditions. All around India, stories of her powers spread. Although monotheistic (believing only in one god), certain Muslim rulers of India celebrated Sarasvati. The Muslim sultan Ibrahim ‘Adil Shah II (r. 1580–1627), who played the "vina" and prided himself on being a fine poet, identified Sarasvati as his spiritual mother and composed verses in her honor. One verse reads: “Sarasvati is a white jasmine flower. Ibrahim, having put on a garland, bows his head before her and offers prayers.”

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Sarasvati.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The burial-urn style of the lower Magdalena River region of northern Colombia is renowned for its figural portrayals of a male personage sitting atop a low bench that adorn the urns' lids. Often birds, as totemic or otherwise symbolic icons, embellish the urns' sides. The modeled male figure atop the lid typically is portrayed nude, although occasionally he may be ornamented with a necklace or other body decoration. Here, the pierced earlobes indicate that the figure originally wore some type of ear ornament. The ornamentation of burial urns with all manner of modeled embellishments, be they figural or more abstract, recalls the sixteenth-century Spanish chronicler Pedro de Aguado, who described the bones and ashes of a cremated chief having been placed in a clay vessel that then was garnished with jewels and other finery.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Burial Urn.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

In this wooded landscape, a young nymph is bathing. Baer was admired for his "ideal" subjects as well as for his portraits. This miniature and "Aurora" (Walters 38.169) are among his most famous works. William Jacob Baer was born in Cincinnati in 1860, where he was trained in lithography. In 1880 he traveled to Munich to study drawing and painting at the Royal Academy. When he returned to the United States, he lived in New Jersey where he taught drawing and painting at Princeton University. In 1893 he moved to New York and where he first painted portrait miniatures; by 1894 he had given up easel painting all together to focus exclusively on this genre. He helped found the American Society of Miniature Painters, and is considered instrumental in the revival of miniature at the end of the 19th century. Baer exhibited both nationally and internationally, at the Exposition Universelle (1900), Pan-American Exposition (1901), Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904), and the Panama-Pacific Exposition (1915), where he work was well received. He seems to have found particular success with Henry Walters and his relatives. The Walters Art Museum holds six works on ivory by the artist.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Nymph.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Vishnu reclines on the great serpent Shesha, who floats upon the primordial ocean, between the end of one cosmic era and the beginning of another. As Vishnu awakens from his sleep, the goddess Lakshmi massages his feet. The god Brahma is born from a lotus that grows out of Vishnu’s navel. He will perform the work of creation, making the universe anew in the endless cycle of time.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Vishnu Reclining on the Serpent Shesha.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Franciscan mystic and miracle worker, Saint Elzéar of Sabran (1285-1323) is shown curing three lepers, whose deformed features make his cure seem that much more miraculous. This group was carved to ornament the base of the saint's tomb, constructed in 1373 in the Franciscan church of his native Apt in the southern French region of Provence. Although Provence is on the trade routes between Italy and northern Europe, this sculptor was apparently little affected by international influences.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Saint Elzéar Curing the Lepers.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Gold work from the Tolima region of Colombia is characterized by strong geometric forms combining stylized parts of humans and animals. This figure has a triangular, bird-like tail indicating it may represent a deity or other supernatural being. This style is sometimes called "invasionist" because it shows stylistic influence of people who came to the region from the Amazon, across the Andes mountains. Coming from a region that was a crossroads of people, this pendant may also have originated from the Calima region due to its uniquely rendered eyes—drawn simply as a line through its puffy eyelids. The eyes give this figure an introspective and inward-looking quality, alluding to the humanistic themes present in Calima artwork.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Figural Pendant.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1859, Rico received a scholarship to study in France. Rejected as a pupil by Daubigny, Rico turned to sketching outdoor river scenes near Paris on his own. He was encouraged in these pursuits by Alexandre Calame, the Swiss view-painter, and was later befriended by Camille Pissarro. His art, however, reflected the influence of the light-drenched landscapes of his countryman Mariano Fortuny more than the works of the impressionists. In an orange grove are three donkeys with panniers, a dog, a man and boy gathering fruit, and two seated women, all rendered in the small scale characteristic of Rico's figures. Behind is a town that was traditionally identified as Toledo, and above, a brilliant sky with scattered clouds.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for La Huerta del Retiro, Seville.

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In 1581, the Italian poet Tarquinato Tasso published Gerusaleme Liberata (Jerusalem Liberated), an instantly popular epic poem based on one of the crusades by Christians to retake the Holy Land. It was written as a romantic fantasy, recounting Satan's efforts to create obstacles for the heroic Christian knights, particularly the noble Rinaldo. The beautiful sorceress Armida enticed Rinaldo to enter the lush garden of her castle. There she keeps him besotted with sensual pleasures. He holds her "crystal mirror" up to her face but declares that her worth and beauty are more perfectly "painted in my heart." The episode is treated by Soens as a tender moment, but in the poem it is clear that Rinaldo, "drunk with ease," has lost his moral compass. His comrades burst in and show him a "pure and precious" polished shield in which he sees his "wanton habits." Ashamed, he abandons Armida to return to the battle. Soens worked in Antwerp and Rome before becoming court painter to the Farnese grand dukes in Parma, where Tasso's poem was published.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Rinaldo and Armida in the Enchanted Garden.

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Ancient Egyptians believed the goddess Taweret, whose name translates as "the Great One," offered protection to women during pregnancy and childbirth. She is represented as a hippopotamus with a swollen belly, pendulous human breasts, the limbs of a lion, and the back and tail of a crocodile. Taweret was a benevolent deity and was commonly depicted on amulets. Underscoring her function as a protector, she holds the hieroglyph "sa," meaning protection, in each hand, (the cartouches on her shoulders were added at a later date, and have so far escaped a definitive reading). Although her cult gained great importance, she had no temples of her own.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Statue of Taweret.

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The scene on this "krater" depicts another milestone in the life of a young man. At the culmination of years of training, a warrior stands beside the family altar preparing to leave for war. He wears a short tunic under a "cuirass" (breastplate) and holds his spear in his left hand. A young woman on the right readies his shield and stretches out her hand to pass his helmet across the altar. On the other side of the vessel, a bearded man leans on a staff and raises his hand in a gesture perhaps mirroring that of the young woman and beckoning to the youth. A "krater" is a large, wide-mouth vessel used for mixing water and wine; if the handles are in the low position seen here, it is called a "calyx krater."

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Calyx Krater with a Departure Scene.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The surfaces of this gilded silver and box are richly embellished with symbols and mantras associated with the destruction of malevolent spirits. On the front is a symbolic representation of the protective female deity Lhamo. The precise function of the box within a ritual context is unknown, but it may have served as a storage container for other esoteric objects used within a tantric ritual, such as inscribed prayers, images of deities, incense, crystals, herbs, soil, and pills made of ingredients chosen by a lama (religious teacher). The inclusion of skulls as border motifs and the manacled creatures at either end are suggestive of both protection of the contents and the use of the box in purifying rites or exorcisms. The inscriptions include spells using Sanskrit words and Tibetan curses, such as, "May its voice sink in darkness and dissolve." Part of the ritual seems to have involved capturing the spirit, and part, subduing it. There may also be references to yogic activities, such as controlled-breathing exercises. The complexity of the decoration is indicative of a date in the 18th century, making this a relatively late example of the Tibetan tantric tradition. This box is a masterpiece of silversmithing. The complex designs were hammered and worked into both sides of heavy sheets of silver, and the surface was decorated with two types of gilding. The larger figures were gilded by applying gossamer-thin sheets of pure gold directly to the silver. Other areas, notably the flames on the box’s lid, were gilded using a technique known as mercury amalgam or fire gilding, in which a mixture of gold and mercury is applied to the metal and the mercury is burned off, leaving behind a thin layer of gold. The mercury gilding blends softly into the silver, whereas the edges of the gold sheet are more clearly defined.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Ritual Box.

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The elaborate craftsmanship of this sculpture exemplifies the high standard to which Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan artists aspired when creating a devotional image. Maitreya, a bodhisattva, is the Buddha of the future who dwells in a Buddhist heaven. Here, wearing a strikingly intricate headdress, Maitreya rests on a multi-layered lotus pedestal, gazing outward through eyes inlaid with silver. Copper and silver inlay enhance the jewelry that adorns his body and the textile pattern that covers his garment. The sculpture was made for the monk Sadhurakshita, whose name is inscribed on the base.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bodhisattva Maitreya.

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Vessels of the Geometric period (900-700 BCE) are easily recognizable by their abstract decorative designs, which had their origin in woven textiles and baskets. While early period vases typically have sparse geometric motifs on a black background, the amount of the decoration increased progressively to the point that objects from the late Geometric period are often entirely covered- in this example, even the strap handle. Friezes on the shoulder and belly of the jug contain 16 fields ("metopes") filled with geometric designs like swastikas and rosettes, as well as checkerboard, zigzag, lattice, meander, and hatched patterns. An "oinochoe" is a wine jug with a distinctive trefoil-shaped mouth, which in this case would have been closed with a lid (now lost).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Oinochoe with Geometric Motifs.

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The brown color and elongated, curvilinear form of this bowl recalls that of a gourd, the most common food-service vessel in Mesoamerica. To this day, gourds remain an important household item as well as the preferred container for ceremonial offerings, from those for curing the sick to Catholic rites of veneration. Throughout Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala today, guests are honored by being served a chocolate beverage in a gourd drinking cup, a practice reaching back at least to 1600 bce. The bowl's graceful curvature is accentuated by the burnish lines that follow the vessel's contours. In place of the gourd's stem, the artist incised geometric motifs that have symbolic associations. The four short, arched lines recall the gum line of the jaguar and the Olmec dragon, which symbolizes the surface of the earth. Radiating from this important motif are parallel lines that imply the gourd's natural flutes.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bowl with Incised Motifs.

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St. Menas is dressed in a soldier's tunic, his arms extended in the early Christian pose of prayer. The patron saint of merchants and caravans, he stands between two kneeling camels. St. Menas was martyred in AD 296 and buried in the desert west of Alexandria (in northern Egypt). Pilgrims came to the saint's shrine for the healing powers of its sacred oil, carried away in these small flasks.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Pilgrim Flask of Saint Menas.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This finely carved plaque comes from a casket or box similar to WAM 71.295. Adam, identified by an inscription, grieves over his expulsion from paradise. The pose of the figure, a traditional expression of sorrow, seems to echo the pose of a classical statue of Herakles (the Greek form of Hercules) that was still to be seen in the Hippodrome of Constantinople at the time when this plaque was carved. The image of Adam therefore illustrates how artists in Byzantium at times re-interpreted older, Classical models.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Sorrowing Adam.

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Two long-legged water birds, perhaps ibises, frame two large plants that rise from a stylized patch of earth; the leaves bend outwards toward the bird on either side. The birds are rendered with great skill, from the thin legs and slender, curving necks, to the indication of downy feathers on the bodies and incised pupils. One bird holds a rosette or cluster of berries in its beak. This idyllic scene is bordered above by a garland of ivy leaves and a row of dots that circle around the neck of the jug. This jug is decorated in the "barbotine" technique, a style of decoration that is applied freehand using clay to create raised designs. The clay is either applied with a pointed instrument or piped on to a hard surface, creating a design in relief much like icing applied to a cake. This difficult technique was time-consuming and required great expertise, hence examples are rare. These vessels were typically made from yellow clay and glazed in a monochrome red.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Jug with Birds.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Chorrera art style developed from the Valdivia tradition and spread throughout the southern coastal and adjacent inland regions. This was a time of social, political, economic, and artistic innovations prompted by agricultural improvements and a growing population. New settlements and towns, with ever-larger numbers of inhabitants, triggered the need for methods to manage village life and ensure the well-being of the community, which, in turn, led to greater social hierarchy. Hand-in-hand with the growing social complexity was the appearance of more complex religious practices. Both developments encouraged the desire for novel artworks to express the new sociopolitical and spiritual ideologies that characterize this dynamic time throughout ancient Ecuador. At this time, the earlier Valdivia figurine tradition developed into an elaborate figural art form with such novel artistic expressions as the elegant, mold-made sculptures of the Jama Coaque and La Tolita styles of Ecuador's northwestern coastal region. This example likely pertains to the La Tolita style, which is differentiated by its heightened naturalism.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Head.

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The fragment, discovered in the lion temple at Meroë, capital of the Meroitic Kingdom, was part of a commemorative monument to King Tanyidamani. One side depicts the ruler in royal costume with ram's-head earrings, an Egyptian crown, and a scepter in his hand. An image of the lion-headed war- and fertility-god Apedemak appears on the other side. The deity holds a bundle of sorghum and a scepter topped with a small seated lion. The inscriptions are in Meroitic script and name the king and the god.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Votive Plaque of King Tanyidamani.

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The Buddha stands with his right hand in the gesture of charity. This pose was common in classic Indian sculptures of the 5th century and later became popular in Nepal.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Buddha Shakyamuni.

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By the middle of the 14th century, the ivory workshops of Paris were creating large-scale diptychs (two hinged panels) with numerous scenes from the Passion cycle. Thirteen are found here reading from top to bottom and left to right, Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, the Washing of the Feet, the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Arrest of Christ, the Hanging of Judas, the Flagellation of Christ, Christ bearing the Cross to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the Deposition, Entombment, Christ appearing to Mary (Noli me tangere) and Christ's Descent into Limbo. Notably Parisian in style are the slender figures with their swayed, elegant poses and smooth drapery folds. Diptychs were used as aids in prayer by the wealthy owners who commissioned them.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Diptych with Scenes from the Passion of Christ.

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Before devoting himself to glass, Lalique was an important jewelry designer. Combining such materials as ivory, horn, glass, and semiprecious stones, all chosen for their visual appeal, with gold and diamonds, he created flamboyant masterpieces of Art Nouveau jewelry. In 1909, Lalique rented a glass factory at Combes-la-Ville, near Paris, where he made perfume bottles. The following year, he acquired another factory in Alsace, which he used for the mass-production of glass using a press-molding technique. Working in a balanced, highly stylized manner that anticipated the Art Deco movement of the 1920s, Lalique designed a diverse range of products that included car hood ornaments, lamps, bottles, vases, ashtrays, and room fittings, as well as jewelry. This brooch of amber colored glass was likely a button or stickpin orginally, as the brass mount is a later addition. The molded glass shows three frogs arranged equally around the center point of the brooch.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Frog Brooch.

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The Hindu god Shiva, recognizable by the crescent moon on his piled-up hair, is a Hindu god who was revered by the kings of 10th-century Cambodia. He wears a knee-length skirt tied in the back with distinctive pleated “double-anchor” or “fishtail” pendants in front. In the 9th century the city of Angkor emerged as one of the most magnificent metropolises of Southeast Asia. Hundreds of Hindu and Buddhist temples, adorned with sculptures like this one, were built in and around the city by powerful kings of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of Southeast Asia from the 9th to the 15th century.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Shiva.

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During the Archaic period in particular (although later examples are attested), wine, oil, or perfume containers were given the shape of a human head or more rarely of a human body part or a whole body. The presence of heads of divinities (such as Dionysos and satyrs), of heroes, such as Herakles, or of ordinary women and men reflected the vessel's content and function (Beazley 1929, 38-9). This type of vase, which held perfumed oils, is called "plastic" because it was formed of soft clay using a mold. This example takes the shape of a helmeted warrior's head. The warrior is represented in his maturity, as the presence of a mustache suggests. His wide-open eyes stare out from under his head covering, the Ionian helmet. This type of helmet is not attested in any source other than numerous series of warrior-head vases. Its noteworthy characteristics are the metopon- the semicircular band over the forehead- the separately made cheekpieces, and the unprotected area of the nose (Hill 1961, 45; Ducat 1966, 27-8; Snodgrass 1967, 65-6; Biers 1984/5, 2-3). Warrior head vases are of eastern Greek origin, possibly manufactured in Ephesus or Rhodes. The vessels were widely distributed in several areas of the Mediterranean (Ducat 1966, 26-7; Nicholls 1957, 304; Allentown 1979, 134, no. 64; Biers 1984/5, 5, n. 5). Their function is not known with certainty. Some scholars see them as ritual objects with funerary character- more specifically, as representations of deceased warriors; others posit that they were souvenirs (Maksimova 1927, 24; Hill 1961, 44; Ducat 1966, 28-9; Allentown 1979, 134, no. 64). Their widespread distribution suggests that they may have had different functions. An offering of this kind might emphasize the warrior qualities of the deceased, or it might imply the heroic character of his death.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Aryballos in the Form of a Helmeted Head.

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Sculptural innovation of the Gothic period can be seen in this head of an Old Testament monarch, carved for the abbey church of Saint-Denis, outside Paris. The head, from a pier (column) figure on the building's west façade, represents the transition between the abstraction and solidity characteristic of the eleventh and earlier twelfth centuries (often called the "Romanesque" period), and the increased interest in naturalism seen from the later twelfth century through the end of the medieval period. Although this example is by no means a realistic representation of the human figure, the sculptor has incorporated elements based on the observation of nature, such as the softly rounded contours of the face and the wavy curls of hair. This interest in naturalism continued to develop through the later Middle Ages and the early modern period. When this sculpture was in situ, the feet of the full-length figure would have been at about the height of a viewer's head, and the monarch would have stared down at the viewer, his crown, robe and eyes brightly painted and adorned with inset glass and metal. The heads of the jamb figures were removed from the portal in the late eighteenth century, just before the royal burial church became a target of vandalism during the French Revolution.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Head of an Old Testament King.

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Wearing one lotus in his headdress and holding another in his hand, this pot-bellied figure personifies the lotus (padma) of the god Vishnu. Carved to stand alongside a larger-scale image of Vishnu, he would have tilted his head toward the god. As a flower that rises above the mud from which it grows, the lotus is a symbol of purity and is associated with creation and renewal.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Padmapurusha, the Personified Lotus of Vishnu.

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Pharaohs from Nubia ruled Egypt during the 25th dynasty (747–656 BCE), but this image predates that period by hundreds of years. Instead of race, the black color of the king’s skin may indicate that he is deceased. In Egyptian royal art, black or green flesh is associated with Osiris, the god of the underworld, but also with fertility and rebirth. The Egyptians called the lands around the Nile, with very dark, rich soil fertilized by annual floods, the “Black Land” (Kemet) in contrast to the “Red Land” (Deshret) of the deserts.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Relief Displaying the King Suckled by the Hathor-Cow.

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Vamana is the dwarf form of the powerful god Vishnu, one of several of the god’s incarnations or avatars. He holds Vishnu’s club, discus, and conch shell, and with his empty hand makes the gesture of giving. As preserver of cosmic order, Vishnu descends to earth to restore balance whenever the world is threatened by evil. When King Bali was becoming too powerful, Vishnu came to earth as a dwarf and, dressed as a pious student of Hindu knowledge, asked the king for the amount of land he could cover in three steps. Thinking he had nothing to lose, the king granted the dwarf’s request, whereupon Vishnu transformed himself into the giant Trivikrama, covering the entire earth with his first step, the heavens with his second step, and with his third step pushing Bali into the netherworld.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Vamana.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This spherical vessel on a short “foot” or base, is decorated with geometric designs. The vessel was made from a light-colored clay and then decorated using the “resist” technique, in which designs are painted on the surface in wax or resin, which “resists” a second layer of paint. When the rest of the vessel was covered with a pigment, probably a clay slip, in this case red or black, the result was a surface colored everywhere except where wax had been applied. During firing, the pigment was fixed and the wax dissolved, exposing the lighter clay beneath. In this case, possibly a second layer of red was applied to certain areas of the vessel after firing, reinforcing some of the vertical lines. This round vessel, known as an “olla,” was probably deposited in an ancient tomb as an offering for a deceased ancestor. The Carchí culture (ca. eighth to sixteenth centuries CE) that produced it was known for their particularly elaborate burials for chieftains, who were interred with jewelry, weaponry, and serving vessels such as this one. Carchí sites straddle the border between northern Ecuador and southern Colombia, in a series of river valleys interspersed with the peaks of the northern Andes, which encompass a broad range of climatic conditions. Similarly-shaped vessels to this one have been found in shaft tombs in the area, some reaching 150 feet in depth.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Spherical Vessel "Olla".

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For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Standing Figure with Topknot.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The structure of this chalice reflects the rayonnant Gothic style. The translucent plaques around the base illustrate the life of Christ. These are: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Crucifixion, the Agony in the Garden, the Carrying of the Cross, and the Resurrection. The spaces between the plaques are occupied by low relief angels. The knot is embellished with plaques with portraits of the Apostles. The intense gestures, faces and drapery patterns are typical of the art of Constance at this time. The Sigmarinen chalice, so known after one of its last owners, the Duke of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, is the earliest and one of the most imporatnt witnesses of the metalwork production of the city of Constance.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Chalice.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This pentagonal plaque depicts a running man and his dog, and probably formed part of the decorative inlay of a piece of furniture. The animation of the running figures is typical of Islamic art in Egypt during the Fatimid period (909-1171), when objects of all kinds were decorated with very realistic representations.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Plaque with Figural Scene.

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This bracelet features portraits of powerful Indian pesonages. The third oval from the left is a portrait of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar (r. 1837–57, d. 1862). A skilled calligrapher, Bahadur was well versed in the history of art, architecture, garden design, and poetry. Indian artists adopted the technique of painting portrait miniatures on ivory with watercolors from British artists living and working in India during the 19th century. This delicate bracelet is, therefore, an interesting example of the cultural exchange between East and West during the period of European imperialism.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bracelet with Portrait Miniatures.

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Together with Walters 59.2 and 59.3, this piece was discovered in Egypt as part of a hoard that comprised about twenty similar medallions (now dispersed among various museums), eighteen gold ingots, and six hundred gold coins issued by Roman emperors from Severus Alexander (r. 222-235 CE) to Constantius I (r. 293-306 CE). One of the medallions, now in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, bears an inscription that possibly reads "Olympic games of the year 274", a date corresponding to 242-243 CE. It is possible that the medallions were intended as prizes to be given out at that event. Alternatively, they may have been issued by Emperor Caracalla (r. 198-217 CE), who is potrayed on some of them. Caracalla liked to be compared to the great king and conquerror Alexander of Macedon (ruled 336-323 BCE). Like Alexander, this Roman emperor waged war in the East, and actually died in the course of his campaign against the Parthians. This particular medallion shows Alexander the Great gazing heavenward and bearing a shield decorated with signs of the zodiac. This portrait shows him with his hair pulled back. He wears a decorated cuirass with a figure of Athena on the shoulder strap and, on the chest, a scene from the Gigantomachy (War of the Giants). The back depicts Alexander and Nike, goddess of victory, riding in a chariot, flanked by the deities Roma and Mars.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Medallion with Alexander the Great.

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Scenes of peasant celebrations that Pieter Bruegel the Elder made popular in the 1560s were still so in the 1600s, and his son Pieter II devoted himself to filling that demand. This lively scene by the son is derived from a famous painting of 1566 by the father (now in Detroit). In 1607, when this painting was dated, the original was in Emperor Rudolf's collection in Prague, so the son relied on an engraving. There are many versions of this compositon by the artist, but this is one of the finest. Peasant life was hard, and weddings offered rare opportunities for diversion. The bride sits under a crude crown honoring her as "queen for a day" while neighbors offer gifts of coins. The angular, suggestive movements of the dancers whirling to bagpipe music convey a raucous mood that probably amused urban patrons.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Peasant Wedding Dance.

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Brush washers were used for removing excess ink from the brush and are essential tools for Chinese calligraphy and painting. It would have been placed on a desk with other writing instruments.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Brush Washer in the Form of a Peony.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

As an outgrowth of the earlier Chorrera ceramic sculptural tradition, Jama-Coaque pottery focuses on the human figure and the portrayal of ritual life. Most Jama-Coaque ceramic figures were formed from molds, and hand modeling completed the piece. Here, however, no evidence of mold construction is discernible, the lively figure and its attached tray being modeled entirely by hand. In addition, the figure's animated and threatening pose diverges from the majority of Jama-Coaque ceramic figures, which typically are more static in body position and attitude. The figure portrays a spirit being or perhaps a shaman in spirit form ready to battle supernatural forces. The being's teeth and clawed paws recall those of the jaguar, here with an especially shaggy fur. The jagged tongue and rectangles hanging from the ear ornaments may refer to the being's supernatural powers. Shamanic transformation was aided by the ingestion of psychoactive plants ground into a fine powder and ingested as a snuff, which was served on trays such as this one.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Snuff Tray.

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These three paintings (Walters 37.1178, 37.1179, and 37.1180) depicting the ancient Greek story of the Abduction of Helen of Troy appear to be the only monumental series of 15th-century Italian panel paintings celebrating ancient history that exist today. The story, understood as history, not fable in the 1400s, is that Paris, prince of Troy (an ancient city-state in what is now Turkey) took a nap when he was out hunting and had a dream in which Venus, goddess of love, promised him that he would marry the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, queen of the Greek city-state Sparta. King Priam of Troy wanted vengeance on the Greeks for abducting his sister and, convinced that Paris would be able to abduct a Greek beauty to exchange for his sister, sent Paris to Greece. Paris and some men sailed for Sparta but went ashore on the island of Cythera, dedicated to Venus as goddess of love, and visited the temple of Venus to pay homage to the goddess. he was very goodlooking and somehow gossip to that effect reached Queen Helen. Her husband Menelaus was then away so Helen and her entourage set out on an excursion to Cythera. In the first painting, the courtiers, in elegant Renaissance fashions, marked by brocades, pearls, and fine handkerchiefs, stroll out of the city toward the ship that will take them on this pleasure outing. They are led by a gaily dressed court jester, shaking a tambourine. Jesters played many roles, including the role here as trickster, made clear to contemporaries by the hood with donkey ears. With a trickster as the leader of the revels, this excursion is likely to leave courtly decorum behind! Indeed, on Cythera, Paris and Helen locked eyes..and the rest in history. Paris abducted a willing Helen from in front of the temple (second painting). They sailed to Troy, where Paris’s father, King Priam, and his mother, Queen Hecuba, received them as a couple (third painting). The events led to the Trojan War: the Greeks destroyed Troy to get Helen back. Trojans fleeing their burning city were said to have founded European cities such as Rome and Venice. In the 1400s, large paintings of historical, Old Testament, and mythological subjects sometimes featuring beautiful women were favored for decorating the homes of wealthy Italians. They were often installed at shoulder height and framed to give the impression of views through palace windows or through the columns of a pavilion, creating the illusion of ancient history coming alive before one’s eyes. A key aspect of European Renaissance culture in the 1400s and 1500s involved looking back to pivotal moments of the distant past as touchstones for shaping an understanding of current events. So it is notable that this is the only series of monumental panel paintings on ancient history that exists today, their initial bright colors brought back to life through conservation. This is also the story of the young Venetian noblewoman Caterina Corner in commemoration of whose 1468 marriage to the king of Cyprus the paintings were surely commissioned for the Corner family palace (renovated in the 1500s) now known as Ca’Corner della Regina (“of the Queen”), on the Grand Canal. The wedding was so important for Venice that Caterina was married as the “daughter of Venice” not as a Corner. While the idea may be rather disturbing to many, in Quattrocento Italy, the abduction of Helen was considered a good subject for celebrating a wedding as it would be a great compliment to the bride to be so physically attractive as to precipitate violence.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Departure of Helen and her Entourage for Cythera.

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Hor-wedja was the son of Vizier Sasobek, the highest-ranking official during the reign of King Psammetichus I. Hor-wedja's son Meryptah commissioned this temple sculpture for him. Hor-wedja kneels, presenting only himself to his god. He abases himself in the deity's presence but keeps his head erect, expressing respect and confidence. A hieroglyphic inscription gives the lineage and titles of Hor-wedja running in a horizontal band around the base, in a line across the top of the base and in a single vertical column on the back pillar. Hor-wedja kneels upon a rectangular base and his toes are splayed out in an unnatural way. He wears a belted shendyt kilt and a simple bag wig. The wide width of the wig is common for the Saite Period. The orientation of the wig onto the top of the back pillar is echoed in other sculptures from the 26th Dynasty through the reign of Apries. As is characteristic for the Saite Period his image is quite idealized. The body appears strong but the definition of the musculature is subtle. A strong median line is visible. His hands are placed flat upon his thighs and appear unusually plump. His facial features are also typical for the Saite Period: long almond-shaped eyes with straight brows above, long smooth cheeks, a long straight nose and a softly smiling mouth. The statue is well preserved and the polish is only marred by a few minor nicks.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Kneeling Figure of Hor-wedja.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ganesha, lord of obstacles, can both create and remove challenges to success, and he is worshiped for his divine favor. In Nepal, where this sculpture was made, both Hindus and Buddhists worship Ganesha. He is associated with abundance and wealth, as his well-fed body suggests. His favorite sweets, held in a bowl in his lower left hand, are always in plentiful supply, and the radish held in his lower right hand carries associations with fertility and abundance. Here, Ganesha also holds a snake in his upper left hand; his upper right hand may once have held prayer beads. A second serpent encircles his waist, echoing the shape of the trunk that reaches into the bowl of sweets; it looks up at the elephant-headed god in reverence, adding to the sculpture’s dynamism as we imagine its slithering motion around the dancing deity. This sculpture may have been made for a Hindu or Buddhist devotee; both traditions worship Ganesha.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Dancing Ganesha.

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Encircling this graceful, arcaded chalice are two pairs of apostles flanking large crosses. The chalice is one of twenty-three silver altar vessels (formerly known as the "Hama Treasure") believed to have been found in 1910 in the Syrian village of Kurin. The Greek form of the name, Kaper Koraon, is inscribed on the rim. The treasure was probably hidden in the 8th century when, as a consequence of Arab conquests, parts of Syria were gradually abandoned by Byzantine Christians. These altar vessels form part of The Walters' rich holdings in Byzantine silver. The chalice, which held the wine for the Mass, was given to the church of St. Sergios by a man named Pelagios.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Chalice with Apostles Venerating the Cross.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This elaborate bishop's ring has the typical combination of a gold setting with a single, large stone, in this case malachite. The gold is decorated with openwork eagles, animal heads, and floral elements. The malachite is probably meant to resemble "toadstone," a green stone said to be found on the head of a toad and believed to have healing qualities. These rings had to be large as bishops normally wore them over gloves on the third finger of the right hand.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bishop's Ring.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Brimming with a fearsome energy that radiates from his coiled hair, menacing smile, and angry gaze, Bhairava is a terrifying form of the Hindu god Shiva. His bulging eyes and sharp fangs signal his wrath, and the skull adorning his hair points to his association with cremation grounds. The mismatched earrings allude to his complex character: As a powerful god, Shiva embodies contrasting qualities, both peaceful and violent, both creative and destructive.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Head of Bhairava.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This figure of a man can be identified as a court jester by his leather jerkin (jacket), hood, and powerful physique. Jesters were court entertainers known primarily either for their wit or physical prowess as wrestlers. The personalization of the figure’s features suggests that it is based on an actual individual. Mochi worked for the ruling Medici family in Florence; research may uncover whether the jester figure was inspired by a member of that court.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Court Jester.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This tapestry frontal from the fourteenth century was made in Italy, but found its way to England, where it was owned by John Grandisson, bishop of Exeter (r. 1327-1369). Grandisson was an avid patron of the arts who had traveled widely in Europe, and he often imported works of art from continental Europe to England. His coat of arms was added to the panel in two places, to the garments of Saints Stephen and Lawrence (the second and fifth saints on the panel). By adding his heraldry to the garments of Stephen and Lawrence, both deacons, Bishop Grandisson associated himself with these revered servants of the Church. The cloth is made of linen cord wrapped in silver, and the vines surrounding the saints were embroidered to create a raised pattern, enhancing the reflective quality of the panel. It shows a parade of martyrs who would have probably flanked a central image of the Virgin, now lost. The references to the sacrifices of these saints would have called to mind the Eucharist, a rite celebrated in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Embroidered Altar Frontal with Standing Saints.

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This cenotaph cover bears calligraphic Qur'anic verses and the shahada of Islam: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet." It would have been used as a cover for a sanduka, a coffin-shaped stone indicating the burial place of an important person. The chevron (zigzag) design was frequently used on kiswa covers commissioned by Ottoman sultans and sent to Mecca every year to adorn the Ka"ba. A square building located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the Ka"ba, which means cube in Arabic, is elegantly draped in a silk and cotton veil and is the holiest shrine in Islam.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Fragmentary Ottoman Cenotaph Cover with Qur'anic Verses.

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Nina Moore, alternately listed as G. Nina Moore and Mrs. Nina Moore, or incorrectly as Nora Moore, is typical of many 19th-century women artists in that little is known about her life and career. She exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1857 and again in 1866. Other exhibits are known, the last in 1875 at the Essex Institute in Salem, Massachusetts. The composition may be related to the genteel art of collecting and pressing leaves. Moore has included shadows, emphasizing that the leaves are not yet fixed to the page. The curious presence of two signatures leads to the discovery that the composition functions equally well when the painting in turned upside down.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Autumn Leaves.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

During one of the weeks following his enlightenment, the Buddha Shakyamuni was sheltered from the rain by a serpent known as a "naga." In Cambodia, the naga, in the form of a multi-headed hooded cobra, was considered to be the spirit of the irrigating rivers and canals as well as a rainbow-bridge to heaven. This sculpture is carved from arkosic wacke, a type of sandstone rich in the mineral feldspar, which gives it a crystalline quality.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Crowned Naga-Protected Buddha.

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A bodhisattva is one who has attained enlightenment, but he or she postpones "nirvana" (the cessation of existence and suffering) in order to help others on their own paths toward this goal. As the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteshvara is especially popular. Often recognized by his lotus attribute, he is also called Padmapani, the one with the lotus ("padma") in his hand ("pani"). This sumptuous bronze sculpture, gilded and inlaid with semiprecious stones, may have been created in Tibet by migrant artists from Nepal, for it bears a stylistic resemblance to Newari works from the Kathmandu Valley. After the artist made this sculpture, an abbot or a lama would have consecrated it through a series of ritual actions that allowed it to be a receptacle for Avalokiteshvara’s divine presence. An “eye-opening” ritual would animate the image and endow it with sense faculties. Offerings such as combs, textiles, gemstones, bone, and sacred scrolls of Buddhist teachings would have been inserted into the rectangular opening in Avalokiteshvara’s back.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

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Tara, the great Buddhist savior goddess, smiles benevolently as she offers protection to her devotees. With two lotuses attached to her arms, she makes the gesture of discussion with her left hand while holding her right hand in generous bestowal. Regarded by many as the mother of all Buddhas, Tara herself is also a Buddha, a fully enlightened being. Sometimes she is considered a bodhisattva, one who has resolved to reach complete enlightenment and helps others toward spiritual liberation.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Tara.

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In Nuremberg, around 1600, such covered wine cups were called "Trauben" (grapes, cluster of grapes) cups. The cup was made from a sheet of silver beaten out into "grape" shapes before gilding. Covered cups of this immense size (requiring more than three quarts of wine to fill it) and impressive workmanship were commissioned as special gifts. Kellner's talent as a sculptor as well as goldsmith comes out in the elegant figure of the Roman goddess Diana atop the cup and the figure which serves as the stem of the cup, Bacchus, Roman god of wine. At his feet is the satyr Pan with his pipes.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Covered "Grapes" Cup with Bacchus.

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To connect with spiritual forces during a ritual, shamans wear masks and headdresses. Originally brightly painted, the headdress of this man is in the form of a composite beast, with a bat’s face and a jaguar’s fangs, referencing some of South America’s most awe-inspiring animals. This shaman is about to inhale hallucinogens, initiating a ritual during which he aimed to communicate with animal spirits and mediate his community’s needs. The crocodile-like tail affixed to his belt may reflect the belief that spiritually powerful people can transform into animals.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Figure Seated on a Bench with Hands Held to Mouth.

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On the swelling organic form of a gourd, the artist incised curved forms that give the viewer an impression of a monstrous animal. While very abstracted, the design is the head of a crocodilian creature. The stylized and simplified decoration recalls not only hieroglyphs but also the woven patterns of Maya blouses, which serve to identify their wearers’ towns of origin even to the present day.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Gourd-Shaped Bowl.

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Originally the "phur-bu" was probably a simple peg used to secure tent ropes to the ground. No doubt the ability of the peg to pierce gave rise to the expression, "kilaya kilaya," (pierce, pierce) often a component of tantric mantras along with "han han," (destroy, destroy) or "maraya maraya," (kill, kill). The objects of destruction are, of course, enemies of the faith, evil forces, as well as psychic demons. This example, typically Tibetan in form, is particularly handsome and visually powerful. It has a three-sided iron blade adorned with silver intertwined serpents and a golden "makara" (mythical aquatic creature) guarding the joint of the hilt and the blade. Then, a silver thunderbolt with sixteen prongs has two knots of immutability at the two ends. The finial has three wrathful heads with open mouths and hanging tongues crowned by prongs of yet another thunderbolt. The square faces of the deity are particularly expressive, with their strongly molded features and a rich interplay of gilding, silver inlay, and lightly applied pigments.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Ritual Dagger.

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The ceramic sculpture shows a woman holding a cup, wearing finery including nose- and earrings, bracelets at her upper arms, and a wrapped skirt with an elaborate woven pattern. This seated female figure may have been a pair to WAM 2009.20.42, and many West Mexican figures have been found in male-female pairs. In the past, these figures, often found in tombs, were interpreted as representations of the people, perhaps married couples, buried there, but more recently, they have been interpreted as guardian figures.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Seated Female Figure.

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This blackware bowl, created by people of the Olmec culture of southern Mexico (flourished ca. 1500 BCE – 300 BCE) shows the ancient civilization's sophisticated belief systems, artistic traditions, and networks of trade. The apparently simple, non-figurative design actually shows an abstracted image of a mythical creature known as the “Olmec dragon.” It combined features of different powerful predators of the region, including the harpy eagle, crocodile, and jaguar. The horizontal and vertical lines here show the fast-moving body and tufted eyebrows of this creature. The red pigment here is the mercury compound cinnabar, brought from sources hundreds of miles away.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Carved Bowl with Olmec Dragon Motif.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Inside a Hindu shrine or temple, worshipers gaze into the eyes of Devi, the Great Goddess. Her mouth curving in a delicate smile, Devi gazes back down at them through enormous, almond-shaped eyes. By offering herself for "darshan"—a sacred gaze exchanged with the deity during worship—she bestows her blessings on the faithful, who, by the act of focused looking, have made themselves receptive to this transfer of divine grace. Revered from the soaring Himalayan mountains in the north to the southernmost tip of India, Devi is the force that animates all living things. Her power manifests itself in every aspect of the natural world, including trees, water, and rocks. Devi also vitalizes believers, strengthening their hearts during times of adversity.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Devi.

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The central scene of this altarpiece depicts the enthroned Madonna and Child flanked by angels. The Christ Child holds a tiny European goldfinch, a symbol of his resurrection. The bird is tethered, a reminder that, in the 14th century, such animals were kept as pets by children. Angels present Mary with chalices of white flowers, alluding to her purity. On the left appear the Annunciation and the Crucifixion, while Christ's Presentation in the Temple and the Coronation of the Virgin are on the right. The delicate punch-work decoration and the slender, graceful figures reveal the influence of Sienese painting. Catalan artists learned the style and techniques of Italian painting by examining imported Italian works in local churches; some even traveled to Italy to perfect their craft.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Virgin and Child, with the Crucifixion and the Annunciation, and the Coronation of the Virgin and the Presentation in the Temple.

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Egyptian faience is a composite material composed of ground quartz and natron (sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate). Most faience is glazed in a vivid blue or green color; the polychrome faience seen here is much more complicated to produce. During the 26th Dynasty, the Greeks established merchant colonies in Egypt. Faience workshops in these towns produced goods for the local population, as well as products in an Egyptian style for export. The duck was mold-made together with the remains of its ring handle on the bird's left side. The surface of the body displays a raised dot pattern, while the end of the wings have a feather pattern. The form may have been inspired by the red-figure duck vases of Etruria and south Italy. The duck is depicted with such detailed naturalism that the underside even has delicately modeled webbed feet.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Vase in the Shape of a Duck.

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According to the inscription in the upper panel of this manuscript leaf, Walters W.713, the painting depicts the Safavid ruler Shah 'Abbas I (reigned 996 AH/AD 1588-1038 AH/AD 1629). It was likely produced in India in the twelfth century AH/AD 18th. The Safavid ruler is shown in a stylized landscape. On the verso of the leaf is a sample of calligraphy in Nasta'liq script quoting verses by the Persian poet Sa'di Shirazi (died 691 AH/AD 1292). These verses were executed in Samarqand by Muhammad Amin ibn Baba Jan in 990 AH/AD 1582-1583.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Single Leaf of a Portrait of Shah Abbas I.

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This work is one of only two known fourteenth-century paintings to combine painted panels with plaques of reverse gilded and painted glass. The Crucifixion at the center and the Virgin at the top were made by an unidentified artist in the first half of the fourteenth century. This object is also a reliquary, a container of holy relics of the saints and biblical figures. The labels in red around the Crucifixion identify the items enshrined within. These relics include the wood of the True Cross and a stone from the Holy Sepulcher (top), the bones of the 11,000 Virgins and one of the Magi (right), the bones of St. James the Apostle (bottom), the Apostle Andrew, the Evangelist Luke, and St. Peter and St. Paul (left). The glass panels perhaps represent a single wing of a reliquary diptych, or two-paneled devotional object, which was dismantled; perhaps the Crucifixion would have been paired with an image of the Nativity and the Virgin would have been paired with the Angel Gabriel, announcing to her that she will bear the child of God, as in 46.2. The panels of the Crucifixion and the Virgin were inserted into the present wood microarchitectural frame in the mid-fourteenth century. The images of numerous saints around them are tempera panel paintings on wood by Tommaso da Modena, a painter trained in the Veneto who worked across Northern Italy in the mid-fourteenth century. With its glass, marble, and lusterware (glazed pottery) insets within a Gothic ornamental frame, this object evokes ecclesiastical architecture in miniature. After the practice had been abandoned in Italy for almost a millennium, Franciscan communities in fourteenth-century Umbria developed techniques of reverse gilded glass to create devotional images, possibly inspired by the Roman tradition of “sandwich” glass, wherein portraits of individuals or saints were etched in gold leaf fused between two pieces of glass. This technique, later referred to as amalierung or vetro dipinto, is described in Cennino Cennini’s Il libro dell’arte (ca. 1400); unlike the Roman tradition, it does not involve the fusing of two distinct layers. First, a layer of gold leaf was adhered to the back of the glass. Then, the artist scratched off the negative space of the compositions of the Crucifixion and the Virgin with a stylus. Finally, the artist would paint the background, offsetting the gold composition with red, blue, and green. The red (lac dye), blue (azurite), and green (copper resinate) colors of the background have darkened over time. Against these dark backgrounds, the glittering golden figures appear all the more luminous under the glass layer.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Reliquary Panel with Crucifixion and Saints.

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One of the prominent painters of classical Athens, the Niobid Painter (named after his most famous vase) is admired for his quiet and balanced compositions. Here, in the women's quarters of a house, three elaborately dressed women prepare for a music session. A seated woman relaxes while fingering a "barbiton" (a stringed instrument). Above her head hangs a lyre. She faces a woman holding double flutes, and a third woman lifts the lid of a box. The scene evokes the leisured and relatively educated world of affluent Athenian women. On the back, women dressed in the attire of maenads, the female followers of Dionysus, hold pine branches and a torch; these may be the same women, now preparing for their ritual roles in Dionysus' cult.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Amphora with Musical Scene.

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This large vase decorated with flowering cherry branches and two small birds is a magnificent example of the work of the Ando Cloisonné Company at about the turn of the 20th century. It reveals the mirror black surface that had become the standard for decorative vases of this type. The motif adorning the swelling body of the vase is a conservative one evocative of the earlier enamels that first came to the attention of European and American collectors during the last three decades of the 19th century. The border patterns at the foot and around the rim suggest the work of a studio artisan working from a pattern book. These patterns were documented and selected to compliment the more representative designs that form the primary decorative subject. Much like a frame around a painting, the harmony created between the main subject and the borders became an important indication of the relative success of the individual piece.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Vase with Flowering Cherry and Birds.

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In 1657, Pope Alexander VII commissioned Bernini to produce crucifixes for the side aisles of St. Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican. While Bernini provided the design (either a drawing or a terracotta model), the wax model was made in 1658 by the sculptor Ercole Ferrata. The bronze cast was then made by Paolo Curieri, and Bartolomeo Cennini, working under Bernini's supervision, was charged with the final chasing, or finishing, of the surface detail. As Ferrata had the models in his own workshop at his death, and as there are small casting flaws that Bernini would probably not have accepted (for example, fills are visible on Christ's leg), this "Dead Christ on the Cross" is likely to be a later cast. The modern cross is based on Bernini's design for those in St. Peter's.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Dead Christ on the Cross.

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During the Republic, men in power wanted their portraits to express the qualities they associated with leadership: experience, determination, practicality, and valor. Such an image tended to have a realistic appearance, with a direct gaze and heavily lined face.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of a Man.

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This miniature is in fact a photograph (probably an albumen print) painted over in gouache. The over-painting has been attributed to Elizabeth Siddall's husband, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the English poet and founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, formed in London in 1848. The lavish frame in gold, opal, sapphires and diamonds (made in London) was added in 1906 by J. Pierpont Morgan, a previous owner, and it was cataloged by G.C. Williamson in the same year as "Mrs. Rossetti." The story attached to the photograph is that, after Siddall's death in February 1862, Rossetti gave it to a nurse who had attended at the birth of Siddall's still-born child, and that it passed to the nurse's daughter, who in difficult financial times sold it to a clergyman (see G.C. Williamson, "Catalogue of the Collection of Miniatures, the Property of J. Pierpont Morgan," vol. 2, London: Chiswick Press, 1906, p. 116). This story is also told by Williamson with some variations in "Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan's Pictures, the English Miniatures, V.," Connoisseur, 8:70, June 1907, pp. 71-76, p. 75; "Stories of an Expert," 1935, pp. 36-39; and "The Cases of an Art Expert, II, The Rossetti Miniature," Country Life, 80, 11 July 1936, p. 35-6.). The costume is correct for ca. 1860 and the portrait shows strong resemblances to Siddall as depicted in several studies and paintings by Rossetti. The pose recalls the posthumously completed painting "Beata Beatrix" (ca.1864-70), Tate Britain, London, N01279.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Mrs. Rossetti.

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The triumphal march of Dionysus (or Bacchus, as he was generally known in Rome) through the lands of India was equated in Roman thought with the triumph of the deceased over death. At the left, Dionysus rides in a chariot pulled by panthers. Preceding him is a procession of his followers and exotic animals, including lions, elephants, and even a giraffe. A bird's nest is concealed in the tree at the far right; on the same tree a snake is pursuing a lizard. Many of the animals depicted had special significance in the mystery cult of Dionysus Sabazius. On the lid is the birth of Dionysus and his reception by nymphs, shown between satyr heads (on the ends), one smiling and one frowning. The enormous attention to detail on this sarcophagus exemplifies the talents of the best Roman relief carvers.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysus.

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For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bottle with Sharp Shoulders with Incised Design.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This outstanding example of jewelry from the 1st-century BCE Greek colonies in the Black Sea region is purported to belong to the famed Olbia treasure, named for the town in present-day Ukraine in which it was discovered at the end of the 19th century. Whether the bracelets, necklaces, earrings, dress ornaments, and other items in the Walters' collection really came from the same tomb remains unclear. These impressive bracelets have a centerpiece linked by hinges to the two arms. Each bracelet can be closed with a pin that runs through intertwining hoops. The lavish embellishment includes granulation, cloisonné work, and beading as well as multicolored enamel and gemstone inlays in various settings. Using multiple colors and sizes of gemstones became common in Greek jewelry making after the conquest of the East by Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE), which opened up new trade routes and introduced the Greeks to Oriental styles.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bracelets from the Olbia Treasure.

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The positions of this figure’s four hands and the flower he holds identify him as a particular form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Known as Shadakshari Lokeshvara, he joins the palms of his two front hands at his heart in the gesture of respectful greeting, and he holds a lotus in his back left hand; his back right hand, now empty, once held prayer beads. As Shadakshari Lokeshvara (“Six-Syllable Lord of the World”), Avalokiteshvara has an especially strong association with the six-syllable mantra devotees recite to invoke him: Om mani padme hum, “Om, Jewel-Lotus One.” The head of the Buddha Amitabha emerges from the top of his piled-up hair, a variation from this Buddha’s usual placement in Avalokiteshvara’s crown.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Multi-Armed Avalokiteshvara.

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Mughal artists drew inspiration from nature in shaping and decorating their works. The soft and curving lines of this bowl imitate the delicate outlines of a leaf and show no evidence of the challenge of working with jade, a gemstone prized for its beauty yet notoriously difficult to carve. The top of the box is decorated with lotus flowers and carnations, and the lower section with irises. The pearl knob seems to represent a bird, animated by the artisan with eyes made of rubies (or spinels).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Covered Box with Handle.

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René Lalique’s "Orchid Comb" is one of the Walters Art Museum’s greatest treasures and an undoubted Art Nouveau masterpiece. Lalique revolutionized jewelry design in the final decade of the 19th century by combining materials in unexpected ways, developing new techniques and reviving old ones, and blending historical and cultural references to create new vocabularies and forms. The "Orchid Comb" showcases these innovations and represents the height of Lalique’s jewelry production. Lalique’s studio rendered the highly naturalistic orchid at the centre of the comb out of a single piece of ivory; diamonds play a supporting role, picking out the veins along three slim leaves in glowing plique-à-jour enamel. The stem is attached by a gold hinge to a three-pronged horn comb. This is the most flamboyant of all the pieces purchased by museum founder Henry Walters at the Saint Louis World's Fair in 1904. Never intended to be worn, it entered the collection as a masterpiece of technical accomplishment in the field of the decorative arts.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Orchid Comb.

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This red fleshy face with a large bulbous nose and pointed ears belong to Silenus, a mythological creature with human and beast-like elements. A companion of Dionysus, Silenus is cloaked here in a white animal skin with the paws tied at the throat. His equine ears contrast to his otherwise human facial features. His balding head is framed on either side by curling black tendrils that meet the full, long beard set around his parted lips. The roofs of Etruscan temples were highly decorated. This representation of Silenus was part of an antefix, a decorative tile that was utilized at the eaves and central ridge of a roof in classical architecture. Standing almost perpendicular to the adjoining roof tile, this antefix was likely circled by a plaque shaped like a clam shell that may have had decoration in relief, such as palmettes or lotus flowers, and was painted red, white, blue, and black. Such architectural ornaments were made in molds, allowing for artisans to produce multiple identical antefixes to adorn the temple’s roof.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Antefix with Head of Silenus.

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This piece once hung with a lamp, possibly in either the mosque or mausoleum (tomb) of Sultan Selim I (d. 1517) in Istanbul. The inscription around the body of the sphere is a hadith, or saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad: “The world is only one hour, so hasten to prayer before dying and hasten to repent before death.” Islamic religious buildings traditionally were lit with glass lamps, generally called mosque lamps, that hung from chains. In 16th-century Turkey, it was common to make mosque lamps from glazed ceramic and to pair them with round or oval ornaments. Such ceramic pieces were of little use as lighting fixtures. They may have functioned, however, as acoustic devices, hung in groups to soften the echo of voices in the prayer hall. Mosque lamps were also symbols of divine light, and, therefore, of God's presence in the place of prayer, while the ornamental spheres symbolized the orb of heaven.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Orb Ornament.

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The imagery on this cross is intended to help the viewer understand the cosmological and moral significance of the Crucifixion, and a naturalistic portrayal of the story was not considered a priority. A compositional feature common to many Mosan enamel works (called Mosan because they were made in the region around the Meuse River) is the use of figures arranged in groups of four, such as the four Evangelists or the personifications of the four cardinal virtues, Wisdom or Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance. This cross features a rare, if not unique, group of four virtues: Hope is shown at the top of the cross with a chalice and communion wafer; Faith is on the right cross arm, with a baptismal font; Obedience is at the base, holding a cross through which the relics would have been visible; and Innocence is on the left arm, holding the sacrificial lamb associated with Christ. As made clear by the inscriptions, this grouping combines two of the three theological virtues, Faith and Hope, with the unexpected virtues of Obedience and Innocence, an indication perhaps that this was intended for a monastic context, in which the monks might benefit from a constant reminder of their vows, which included chastity, and obedience to their abbot. The cross itself is green, a reference to the tree of life, against a background of colorful stars. It thus presents the Crucifixion as both a cosmological metaphor for the universe, as it was understood by many of the early Greek Fathers of the Church, and also as a moral instrument, demonstrating the virtues of Christ, an interpretation favored by the early Latin Fathers. These two ways of understanding the cross, here represented visually, were intermingled in the writings of many medieval theologians.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Reliquary Cross.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This seal, depicting a human-headed griffin attacking a horse, has the detailed modeling of musculature characteristic of Middle Assyrian period art. The use of an empty background highlights the drama of the contest and marks a turning point in Assyrian art later expressed on a large scale in carved palace reliefs. The cuneiform inscription records the owner's name: "seal of Silliya." Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Cylinder Seal with Human-Headed Griffin Attacking a Horse.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Statues such as this were placed in temples and show the owner presenting a divine image to his god. This statue represents Djed-khonsu-iuef-ankh, a priest of the god Montu of Thebes. He holds a statuette of Osiris, god of the underworld. Priests cared for cult images of the gods by cleaning and clothing them, as well as, offering them daily food and drink. The inscriptions on this statue indicate that it was placed in the Temple of Montu at Karnak and was dedicated on behalf of Djed-khonsu-iuef-ankh by his son, Khonsu-mes. The owner of such a statue benefited during his life, but also after his death, from the rituals for the god with whom he is represented.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Priest Holding the Figure of Osiris.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This vase is a superb example from a rare group of ornate vessels. Their undecorated backs suggest they were intended for display within a niche. The Eros figures carry the attributes of Dionysus, including torches, a pail, and a lyre. The use of color, the tall, narrow proportions, and the elongated finial with floral tip on the lid are characteristic of South Italian work.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Amphora with Polychrome and Relief Decoration.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The dog represented the 11th year in the Chinese and Japanese 12-year cycle and was popularly regarded as a dispeller of evil. It was frequently portrayed as a puppy. Ohara Mitsuhiro, one of the most versatile and highly regarded netsuke artists of the mid-19th century, was born in Onamichi, near Hiroshima, and became an adherent of Zen Buddhism. In this example of his work, the smooth, rounded, subtly stained surface appeals to the viewer's tactile sense.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Netsuke in the Form of a Puppy.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Many religions were syncretistic, meaning that as they grew and came into contact with other religions, they adopted new beliefs and modified their practices to reflect their changing environment. Both Greek and Roman religious beliefs were deeply influenced by the so-called mystery religions of the East, including the Egyptian cult of Isis, which revealed beliefs and practices to the initiated that remained unexplained, or mysterious, to the uninitiated. Most popular Roman cults had associations with these mystery religions and included the prospect of an afterlife. Although this figure was found in Egypt, the elaborate costume and headdress are similar to images from southeastern Anatolia and Armenia. Female figures in the same costume appeared as personifications of Asia and Armenia on monuments in Rome, suggesting that the boy represents the genius, or spirit, of one of these eastern provinces.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Deity or Genius of the Eastern Provinces.

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Tombs sometimes contained more than one statue representing the owner. The statues were usually inscribed with the owner's name and titles, and they served as a focus for funerary rituals. These examples, belonging to a man named Tef-ib, are unusual in that they represent the tomb owner while also bearing inscriptions referring to the four sons of Horus, who protected the internal organs of the deceased. These deities were also identified with the north, south, east, and west, and the statues may have been placed in the tomb in accordance with these directions. The differing facial features of these statues (including Walters 22.10, 22.12, 22.13) suggest that they were made by more than one artist. Notice as well, the sizes of the four figures differ as well as their wigs.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Statue of Tef-ib.

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Around the year 950, the emperor received an anonymous poem that made him change his mind about removing an ancient plum tree that had recently died: "Since my lord commands, what can I do but obey; but the nightingales, when they ask about their nests-- whatever can I tell them?" The character for "nightingale" is perched upon the branch; amazingly, it (and the other characters) consists of colored clay, inserted into the cutout wall of the vessel.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Vase with Blossoming Plum and Short Poem.

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This unique and exquisitely crafted ritual object combines the Tibetan dagger with the curved knife. Animating the dagger is the power of the three deities whose faces (one with a horse's head above it) appear at the top: they destroy ignorance, desire, and hatred. The blade, which has the form of a butcher's flaying knife, cuts through ignorance and evil tendencies. The section opposite the curved blade has the shape of a "vajra" (thunderbolt).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Ritual Dagger and Curved Knife.

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Compact and smoothly polished, this rattlesnake displays typical Aztec sculptural techniques. Both the musculature of this snake's body and its head have been sculpted in great detail. The eyes were probably once inlaid, and ferocious fangs descend from the snake's upper jaw. Snakes were powerful symbols throughout Mesoamerican history, linked with the sky, rain, and agriculture. Aztecs may have seen the snake's shedding of its skin as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of life, death, and rebirth.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Knotted Rattlesnake.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

A conch shell-either real (with metal fittings) or made of bronze-held sacred water that could be poured over an image or a person. The central deity on the stand is Hevajra, who is a mystical saying given bodily form: "Hail vajra!" or "Hail, cudgel that is the symbol of ultimate wisdom!" Tantric Buddhists believed that enlightenment could be reached by processes of mental concentration that focused in turn on Hevajra, on the female figures beside him, and on the Hindu gods (symbolizing conquered passions) on whom he dances.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Stand for a Ritual Conch Shell.

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"Kolty" (singular "kolt") are pendants that attached to a woman's headdress at the temples. The hollow space within the two concave gold disks that compose a "kolt" contained perfumes or scented oils. The pendants were usually decorated on both sides, since they could rotate as the woman walked. This "kolt" is decorated with delicate cloisonné enamel, a technique learned from Byzantine masters starting in the late 10th century. "Kolty" were frequently worn at wedding ceremonies; the lilies (center), birds, and seeds that fleck the birds' breasts are all symbols of fertility. The bird is also an image retained from Russia's pagan past.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Temple Pendant (Kolt) with Two Birds.

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This dipper, used as a ladle for liquid, was a very common ceramic form for the Moche culture of northern Peru. Such vessels were often placed in tombs as offerings, but were certainly used by the living as well, to both serve and also to drink the corn beverage known as chicha. Perhaps the wide open mouth of the man depicted here shows him either singing or drinking during an episode of ritual drinking involving a dipper like this one.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Dipper Depicting Singing Man.

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Painted in Rome, this tondo (circular painting) of the Virgin and Child employs a rare motif of flanking candelabra that was derived from representations of ancient Roman emperors. Through this reference to the rulers of antiquity, Raphael (Raffaello Santi) alludes to Christ's and Mary's roles as the king and queen of Heaven. Raphael was famed for his graceful style. which combined the study of classical sculpture and nature. The chiaroscuro effects (modeling in light and shade) and gentle coloring give the figures a soft, delicate appearance. The painting relies heavily on the participation of Raphael's workshop, and the two angels certainly were done by his assistants. This was the first Madonna painted by Raphael to enter a North American collection.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Madonna of the Candelabra.

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The cap is of a type worn by scholars and preachers, among others, and the small book that the sitter holds could be a devotional work or, if he is a scholar, his own publication. A fur-lined mantle was not a luxury: houses were poorly heated in winter, and everyone dressed warmly inside, especially if seated for long periods. The sitter's hand appears to be intentionally presented as deformed. At this period, deformities were generally viewed as a sign of divine disfavor. The inclusion of this hand may be the sitter's way of signaling his acceptance of divine will. Setting the figure off against a flat color background is a striking and typical feature of German painting at this period.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of a Scholar or Preacher.

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The Qurʾanic inscription carved on this ivory plaque speaks of the pleasures of Paradise: “And because they were patient, He will reward them with Paradise and silken robes. Reclining on couches, they will see neither the heat of the sun nor the cold of the moon.” The plaque is believed to be from the tomb of the Iranian ruler Shah Isma’il I (r. 1501–1524), who is buried at Ardabil, in northwestern Iran.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Plaque from the Tomb of Shah Isma'il.

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Made up of smoothed sheets and coils of coarse orange clay, this "incensario," or incense burner, depicts one of the Palenque Triad of deities that art historians call "GIII." The Maya called him Kinich Ajaw, or "Sun Lord." He is shown here with his trademark nose, and shell and fish symbols around his mouth. The stacking of faces is a hallmark of "incensarios" from the site of Palenque, where there was probably a workshop dedicated to their production. The potent effect of smoke and fragrance that would have risen from this visually provocative incense burner indeed reflects a Maya preference for ceremonial theatrics.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Incensario (Incense Burner).

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This pair of ornaments (with Walters 86.14) and headdress (Walters 86.3) were likely once worn by the empress dowager, the effective ruler of China during the later years of the Qing Dynasty. It is an exquisite example of Chinese decoration and the symbolism used to express one's rank. The small phoenixes emerging from the surface represent the empress, while the myriad of pearls and gemstones mark this piece as something special for the adornment of the highest ranking woman in Chinese society. The brilliant blue feathers of the kingfisher give these accessories an eye-catching quality that anyone interested in being recognized would certainly embrace.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Hair Ornament.

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At the center of this small-scale triptych, Saint John and the deacon Prochorus sit in a cave on the island of Patmos where John transcribed the Book of Revelation. With one hand on his text, John looks over his shoulder to receive the Word of God from heaven above. The saint conveys the text inscribed on the page, “In the beginning was [the Word],” to Prochorus, who copies it onto a scroll. This is the opening line of the Gospel of John, also composed by the Evangelist. The outer wings depict the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel, at left, told the Virgin Mary, at right, that she would give birth to Christ. The angel blesses Mary, and she raises her right hand in acceptance of his message. Their gestures and direct eye contact suggest that they converse across the painting. The Virgin also holds a thread that she spins from the hank of wool in her left hand. This detail alludes to a story from the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, which describes how Mary was among eight virgins selected to weave cloth for the Temple veil. When the Archangel arrived to deliver his message to the Virgin, he found her spinning the purple thread assigned to her. This scene of Mary spinning appears frequently in Byzantine art, both in grand frescoes and mosaics found in churches, and in smaller panel paintings and illuminated manuscripts. The diminutive size of this triptych indicates that it was used for individual, private devotion. The hinged wings fold inward over the central panel, making it compact and portable. The outside of the wings are painted with a large cross that spans the two wings, set against a red background. The abbreviation for “Jesus Christ is victorious” (IC XC NIKA) is written above and below the arms of the cross.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Saint John the Evangelist Dictating to Prochorus; the Annunciation.

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Following his exile in England during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), Monet stopped in Zaandam, a picturesque town near Amsterdam, from May through October of 1871. During his stay, he painted about 20 small views of the town and its environs. In this example, a lone girl walks along the footpath between Oostzaan and Zaandam. By limiting the range of colors, Monet conveys the atmosphere of an overcast day. Similar muted colors were found in the works of the contemporary Netherlandish landscape painters known as The Hague school.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Windmills Near Zaandam.

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Aquamanilia, or water pitchers, present an interesting case of intercultural exchange across great distances. This type of vessel is a small, closed water pourer, often shaped as an animal or mythological creature. The form developed in the ancient Near East, and many of the animals shown, whether real or mythical, also derive from Near Eastern prototypes: lions were particularly favored. This unusual example bears a Hebrew inscription on one side that reads, "Blessed be the King of the Universe, who has instructed us to wash our hands," indicating that it served a ceremonial function, either in a Jewish home or synagogue. Whether this inscription is original to this piece or added later, it attests to the diverse cultural communities served by the same type of object.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Aquamanile in the Form of a Lion.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Veronese's majestic, full-length portrait of the countess and her eldest daughter Deidamia, born in 1545, was originally accompanied by one of her husband Count Issepo (Giuseppe) da Porto and their son Leonida (now in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence). These paintings were most likely installed in their palace in Vicenza, which had recently been built by Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). The portraits would have been placed so that it would appear as if the family were standing in niches inside the palace; however, the floor strip below is a later addition. Veronese was famous for his use of color and mastered the rendering of luxurious textures and fabrics, including the marten's fur. The head of gold and enamel is nearly identical to one in the Walters' collection (57.1982). Marten fur was thought to protect women in childbirth, and in 1552 the countess was pregnant with her daughter Emilia.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of Countess Livia da Porto Thiene and her Daughter Deidamia.

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The heat of the noonday sun is palpable in this painting as drooling oxen drag a plough. They are followed by a man whose face is obscured by a hat, which shields him from the bright sun, while birds peck at the furrow left in their wake. Rosa Bonheur was among the most celebrated painters of animals in the 19th century. She frequently depicted plowing scenes that highlighted her command of animal anatomy, which she studied through dissection. This scene reverses the composition of her first work to gain major celebrity: “Ploughing in the Nivernais,” which was exhibited at the Salon and won a medal in 1849. In 1857–58 Rosa Bonheur’s fame and success in the United States was secured by the national tour of her dramatic 16-ft. (five-meter)-wide oil painting, The Horse Fair. The tour was organized by the dealer Ernest Gambart, who played a significant role in fostering a taste for European art among American collectors. Undocumented in any of the early catalogues of the Walters Art Museum, this painting seems to have been acquired by Henry Walters during the last few years of his life. The most successful and celebrated female artist of her time, in 1860, Bonheur purchased the château of By in the village of Thomery, not far from Barbizon, where she lived with a menagerie of exotic animals.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Ploughing Scene.

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Shown in the second Impressionist group exhibition in 1876, this is one of a small group of paintings in which Monet depicts his first wife, Camille, sitting under lilac trees in the garden of their house in Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris where they moved in late 1871. The Monet family was seeking a bucolic setting, but as the decade wore on modern development encroached all around their home - their house was a few minutes’ walk from an ironworks, and other factories sprang up close by. Although this modernization is not seen in the painting, the fashionable dress of Monet’s wife roots the painting firmly in their contemporary moment.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Springtime.

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This ivory carving was produced in the Portuguese colony of Goa, on India’s western coast, where such sculptures were made for export and for Catholic missionaries in India. Aware of Mughal interest, Jesuits might have brought similar sculptures to the court. Jesus was regarded as a prophet in Islam, and images of Jesus and other prophets were collected by the Mughal courtiers and painted on the walls of Mughal palaces. This popular compositional type of carved ivory statuette depicting the Good Shepherd was apparently invented in Goa (west coast of India), a Portuguese colony and Jesuit training center for missionaries. At the bottom, Christ's follower Mary Magdalene reads scriptures in a mountain cave, where, according to legend, she retired in later life. Above is a fountain of life (suggestive of baptism) with doves and lambs, and at the top is the meditative figure of the Christ Child sitting with a lamb. Christ's eyes are closed. The gesture of his right hand, lightly touching his hair with two fingers, is seen by some scholars as adopting a gesture of the Buddha.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Christ Child as Good Shepherd.

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Although made in the mid-19th century, this bowl clearly looks back to the art of preceding centuries and pieces such as the Dinglinger Cup, an early 18th-century agate cup from the Royal Treasury in Dresden (WAM 57.1994). The Victorian age was an era of revival styles of all kinds, from Gothic, to Renaissance, to Rococo. Pieces similar to this one were made by Jean-Valetin Morel and Charles Duron, but, as this cup is unmarked, it is difficult to attribute it to either artist. These makers often showed their work at World’s Fairs, great international exhibitions where revival styles were showcased in eclectic abundance. This piece has an oceanic theme: the agate cup is carved in the form of a shell, and the handle is formed from an enameled figure of Triton, a Greek sea god and merman, who has harnessed two dolphins. Until recently, this bowl was regarded as a masterpiece from the workshop of Dionisio Miseroni (died 1661) who worked in Prague for Emperor Rudolph II. Scientific evidence has confirmed that the enamel work dates from the 19th century.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bowl with Triton.

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One of the most flourishing workshops for Hellenistic terracottas was located on the western coast of Asia Minor at Myrina. This elegant Nike is a good representation of this fabric. The complicated twisted pose of this figure and the agitation of the wind-blown garment are distinctly Hellenistic and look to the "Winged Victory of Samothrace" created later in the 2nd century BCE (Louvre Museum, Paris). Behind each arm is a slit where wings would once have been attached. Although generally referred to as Tanagra figurines after the most famous findspot, Tanagra (modern Schimatari) in Boeotia, Greece, statuettes of this type have been found at other sites in the ancient world, including Myrina and Smyrna (modern Izmir) in Asia Minor. The most common forms of the statuettes depict young women sitting, standing, or in the process of graceful movement, but there are also examples showing men or children. The statuettes were used as grave offerings, votives, decorative objects, and perhaps toys. The hair, clothing, skin, and jewelry of the pieces were originally painted, although most of the colors are presently faded.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Nike.

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The statuette of this goddess of the sea was designed by the sculptor Marius-Jean-Antonin Mercié to be cast in silver as the centerpiece for a table of the Duke of Santonia in 1878. Subsequently, Christolf et Cie., a silver company, had several ivory statuettes carved by Emile-Philippe Scalliet based on Mercié's model. This example was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1900. The figure is made from three pieces of carved ivory joined together. The two arms are separate sections, with the joins concealed by metal adornments at the mid-upper arms. A pearl is attached to the figure's chest, and two more can be found on the metal base. Four porpoises decorate each corner of the jasper base.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Amphitrite.

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This image of the dancing Krishna might recall a moment in the god’s childhood or youth: his glee at snatching a ball of butter; his triumph over the snake-demon Kaliya, when he pranced on the conquered serpent’s hoods; or, as an adolescent, his dance with the female cowherds of Brindavan, when he replicated himself so that each maiden would feel that he was hers alone. As an incarnation of Vishnu, he raises his right hand in reassurance, to remind devotees that he protects them. During ritual processions, poles inserted through the rings in the base would have secured this sculpture within a chariot or palanquin. At points along the procession the sculpture would have been lowered so devotees could perform prayers and make ritual offerings before their god. Widely admired today for their craftsmanship, this festival bronzes was produced in southern India, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, during the Chola dynasty (9th–13th century). The Chola kings and their people spoke Tamil; the language continues to be used in southern India. Part of a rich and still living tradition of casting solid metal sculpture in South India, this image was made using the lost-wax casting technique. First, a model of the final sculpture is created from a mixture of wax and resin. Every detail that is seen in the cast metal sculpture is captured in this wax-resin model. The model is then encapsulated in a mold, leaving an opening at its base. The mold is heated, which solidifies the mold material, while the wax within is melted and poured out. The mold is then inverted, metal is melted in a crucible, and the molten metal is poured into the void left by the melted wax. Once cooled, the mold is broken, revealing the cast metal sculpture.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Krishna.

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Inlaid with green glass, the elaborate crown, earrings, and waistcoat of this devotee, which would have been placed in front or at the side of a Buddhist altar, resemble a Burmese royal costume.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Adorant.

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Only a few such fibulae set with a central enamel have been excavated from Langobardic sites. Pearls were likely strung on wire through the loops surrounding the enamel, and pendants would have dangled from the three loops at the bottom. The craftsman who made this delicate pin probably copied Byzantine imperial jewelry for Langobardic rulers.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Fibula with an Enamel Bust.

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Makers of mosaic glass cut thin slices from long, thin rods known as canes. The slices were placed side by side on a marble slab and heated in a furnace until they fused together. The soft flat disk of fused glass was then placed over a bowl-shaped form and heated until it slumped into the desired shape.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Mosaic Plate.

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Among many peoples of ancient Mexico, there were myths that a red or yellow dog was the companion that would help a deceased person across a river they needed to cross in the Underworld. It was said that a white dog would not want to dirty itself, and a black dog had already made the trip and was tired. Therefore, it was important to be kind to these reddish dogs in life, and to seek them out in the Underworld. Perhaps for this reason, hundreds of ceramic figures of red dogs have been found in tombs and homes of ancient West Mexico. They were carefully modeled, and carefully painted and polished. While many show almost skeletal dogs, perhaps fitting in the Underworld, others show plump and friendly dogs like this one. Some dogs were also eaten in ancient Mexico, so such plumpness would have been appreciated.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Dog Effigy.

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This armor is engraved all over with a design based on an M, signifying the duchy of Medina Sidonia. It was made for Don Alonso Perez de Guzman el Bueno, duke of Medina Sidonia (1550-1615). Extremely rich, he was also commander of the Spanish fleet (the Armada) under King Philip II (father of the Archduchess Isabella, Spanish governor of the Southern Netherlands). The background is darkened to contrast with the raised, partially gilded decoration. This armor was for use on horseback on the battlefield or for tournament jousting; on the right side of the breastplate are holes for bolting a lance rest. This "suit" was originally complemented by other pieces so that different combinations could be used for combat and sport. In the late 1500s, Milan, ruled by Spain (with the duke of Medina Sidonia as its captain-general), was one of the great European centers of armor making.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Armor for the Duke of Medina Sidonia.

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Cushion-covers (yastiks) like this one decorated divans or sofas positioned low to the ground in Ottoman Turkish royal palaces and houses of the elite. Bold floral patterns in a limited color range were popular from the 16th century onward.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Velvet Cushion Cover (Yastik).

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Giovanni Bellini was the leading Venetian artist of his era and particularly known for his naturalistic depiction of light. He and members of his workshop painted this work as a commemorative piece to adorn the rooms of the Procuratia di Ultra, one of the most important public offices of the Republic of Venice. The procurators, high-ranking officials who administered public affairs and resolved judicial disputes, are depicted as kneeling donors before the Madonna and Child, who are seated on a lavish throne. They have been identified as Tomaso Mocenigo, Luca Zeno, and Domenico Trevisano. The saints are the apostle Peter with his keys to Paradise and Mark, one of the patron saints of Venice. The painting was made as a votive offering, thanking the Virgin for her protection of the Venetian Republic.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Madonna and Child with Saints Peter and Mark and Three Venetian Procurators.

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Walters manuscript leaf W.865: this painting of a nilgai (also called a blue bull or Boselaphus tragocamelus), which is an antelope indigenous to Asia, is attributable to the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned AH 1037-1068/1627-1658 CE). Such animal studies were popular commissions among the Mughal emperors, who showed a marked curiosity about the natural world in their royal histories. Patronage of paintings of flora, fauna, and animals received a particular impetus under the Mughal emperor Jahangir (reigned AH 1014-1037/1605-1627 CE) and was continued under later Mughals. The detailed foliage in the foreground and the light green background are comparable to other studies of single animals dating to ca. AH 1049/1640 CE.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Single Leaf of a Nilgai.

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This large, church-shaped shrine once housed the relics of a 7th-century saint who served as a missionary and bishop to the western regions of present-day Belgium. St. Amandus (d. 679) also established a monastery at Elnon, near Tournai (western Belgium), where the monks later commissioned this reliquary to honor his remains. The shrine of St. Amandus, ornamented with silver columns and gilded apostles, was the focus of a strong local cult, visited by pilgrims who came for healing or in thanks for prayers answered. Given its large size and popularity, the shrine was probably placed upon a platform supported by columns behind the main altar for year-round veneration.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Shrine of Saint Amandus.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

A feature of this watchcase is the exceptional chasing and embossing executed by Ishmail Parbury. George Graham of London, who made the watch, was largely responsible for technical innovations that assured British watchmakers their preeminence in Europe during the second quarter of the 18th century. Depicted on the case is the marriage of Zephyrus, god of the west wind, and Flora, goddess of flowering plants.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Cylinder Watch in a Double Case Depicting the Marriage of Zephyrus and Flora.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

After Augustus (reigned 27 BCE-14 CE) consolidated Roman power and established what became known as the Roman Empire, he attempted to re-create the grandeur of classical Athens in Rome. In his monuments, Augustus copied timeless Greek models with ideal forms. This portrait of Augustus combines the elements of an individualized likeness with the smooth, youthful appearance of a god. The top and proper left side of the head are flattened in order to join additional attributes that no longer survive, in this case, likely a section of his toga, which would have been pulled up to cover part of his head in order to indicate that the emperor was engaged in a ritual act.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of Emperor Augustus.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The misnamed "lacquerware" is an artistic accomplishment of the Postclassic Period, having been developed in the Mixteca- Puebla region east and south of the Valley of Mexico. Aztec nobility preferred this hard and shiny-surfaced, slip-painted earthenware for their food-service vessels, importing large quantities from Cholula and other cities in the region. Mixteca-Puebla pottery is renowned for its well-controlled polychromy and lively decorative programs that depict symbolic elements or entire scenes from religious myths. This pair of tripod dishes combines the polychrome painting of the Mixteca-Puebla tradition with the controlled decorative approach that typifies Postclassic pottery from central Mexico. The painter blended the all-important Mesoamerican stepped fret motif as the primary decorative element with more simplified rectangles of crosshatched design. The exterior bottom of each vessel displays a binary image of a feathered saurian head, perhaps an allusion to the culture hero and deity Quetzalcóatl. The tall, step-form tripods recall the cut-out tripod supports typical of fifth-century Teotihuacan pottery. It is likely that the Mixteca-Puebla and Aztec pottery artists adopted this time- honored form to associate their specialized ritual wares with the ancient majesty of Teotihuacan, the "City of the Gods." The interior bottom of each dish contains three bands of raised geometric elements. It is unknown whether these vessels were used to grind or abrade a foodstuff or other organic substance or whether they served a solely ritual, service function.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Two Tripod Dishes.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The "aquilla" (when executed in metal) or "kero" (when made of wood) was the principal ritual libation vessel among the peoples of ancient Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile. This distinctive vessel form has ancient origins but became particularly prevalent during the Early Intermediate Period (100 - 600 CE). This dynamic time witnessed socio-political intensification and an increase in the numbers of political elites throughout the Andes, with an interconnected multiplication of aristocratic ceremonial events that emphasized hierarchy and authority. The ritual consumption of "chicha" (maize beer), the mildly alcoholic beverage traditionally served in keros, was integral to these politically charged social events. These special drinking vessels often were made and used in pairs following the pan-Andean belief in reciprocity and communal sharing as a potent unifying principle of social practice. This silver pair (TL.2009.20.218 and TL.2009.20.219), which reportedly was excavated at the site of Huacho in the Chancay Valley, represents this key precept of Andean ideology. The Chancay elite maintained socio-political hierarchy, in part, by controlling the production and use of precious metal objects. Their tombs were furnished with gold and silver items as well as fine textiles woven with such elaborate techniques as brocade, gauze-weave, double-cloth, openwork fabrics, and painted cloth. Kero-like vessels are frequently depicted in scenes of ritual sacrifice, wherein they were used to contain sacrificial blood. The brimming vessel then was presented to the scene's key figure as a symbolic libation or was offered to the earth (equated with the creator deity Pacha Mama).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Drinking Vessel ("Aquilla").

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The future Buddha Maitreya is represented here as a bodhisattva, presumably in Tushita heaven, from where he will descend to earth at the appropriate time. Seated in the meditation posture, his left hand is in his lap, and the right displays the teaching gesture. Two leafy stalks of flowers rise from the lotus base along his arms. A small water pot ("kundika") sits on top of the bloom to his left, and the flower on the other side is probably the "nagakesara," both of which are emblems of the bodhisattva. Elaborately bejeweled like a bodhisattva, he is distinguished by a crossbelt on his torso with a square clasp in the middle. This is an accouterment that is not usually encountered in Maitreya images but is sometimes seen on mahasiddhas and protective deities. However, it is not inappropriate for a signifier of a hero, which a bodhisattva is. Very likely, the bronze was cast for a patron in Gyantse in Tsang, for it relates stylistically to other versions both in painting and in sculpture, that may be associated with the construction of the famous Kumbum temple in the town during the late fifteenth century. Most Tibetan metal images are hollow and enclose relics and mantras that are then sealed permanently with a plate, which is either left plain or sealed with the thunderbolt motif. This particular Maitreya, however, has a more ambitious plate embellished with etched designs: the double thunderbolt, the eight auspicious symbols of good fortune ("ashtamangala") as well as the yang and yin emblems. X-radiography shows a thin-walled, intricately hollow-cast figure with a large central cavity that likely contains sacred scrolls or texts that were deposited within the sculpture during its consecration for use. Areas of thickened metal appear white. The high energy x-rays needed to penetrate the metal obliterates any image of the low density paper scrolls within, but the image confirms a hollow central cavity within the base, capable of holding votive scrolls.The underside of the figure is sealed with a copper plate engraved with a double thunderbolt and imagery indicating good fortune. Multicolored decorative metal inlays ornament the metal folds of the bodhisattva’s robes and his face. A closer look at the eyes shows how different colored metals were skillfully used to create color and contrast: the blackened pupil is set against a silver iris, which is surrounded by copper red sclera (the part of the eye that surrounds the iris). Engraved details, created by the artist’s hand after casting, further embellish the surface. Black material left within recesses of hair may be remnants of ritually applied oils or resins that were also a part of the consecration process.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bodhisattva Maitreya.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This figure’s intense gaze signals his yogic power—through ascetic practices and the rejection of mainstream social conventions, he has mastered spiritual knowledge. The animal skin upon which he sits and the bone ornaments he wears—including his prominent spiral earrings—confirm his ascetic identity, but his sumptuous robe suggests a connection to worldly life. In his right hand he holds a "vajra," a tantric Buddhist ritual implement that symbolizes the indestructibility and clarity of the enlightened mind. His left hand supports an auspicious vase, symbolizing abundance and longevity. An inscription on the back of the base praises the figure depicted as "one who has the power of wisdom and compassion," but the epithets do not identify him with certainty. He may be the Tibetan Buddhist teacher and scholar Tsangnyon Heruka (1452–1507), who is similarly depicted with a goatee, spiral earrings, and elaborately piled hair. However, Tsangnyon typically holds a skull cup, and his clothing is usually limited to bone ornaments that only minimally cover his body, exposing a torso and belly that swell with yogic breath.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Ascetic Master.

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For years, Bannister painted landscapes with muted colors that recalled the works of the French Barbizon school so popular among New England collectors during the second half of the 19th century. However, in one of his last works, which he painted during a stay in Boston in the late 1890s, Bannister adopted a much more vivid palette. Bannister, the son of a black immigrant from Barbados and his Scottish-Canadian wife, was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. Initially a seaman, he settled in Boston, where he eked out a living as a hairdresser and as a hand-tinter of photographs. With the encouragement of his wife, he turned to painting and for a while shared a studio with Edwin Lord Weeks. His atmospheric landscapes found a ready market, especially in Boston. At the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, Bannister received a first-place medal. He was the first African-American artist to win a national award, but the judges were surprised by his ethnic background. Bannister resided in Providence, Rhode Island, where he became one of the seven founding members of the Providence Art Club, an institution that still flourishes today.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Boston Street Scene (Boston Common).

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This leaf, which appears to have been created as a singular work rather than part of a book, was designed and made by Johann Leonhard Tauber in 1752. Tauber, who identifies himself as a 63-year-old gravel-crusher in Nuremberg, Germany, "drew" using lines of texts of Christian doctrine, Martin Luther's catechism, and daily prayers. He identifies the ultimate design as the "Reichs Apffel," or "Orb of the Empire." Written in the most minute script, with the smallest text in the center of the flower virtually illegible to the naked eye, this work would have been a painstaking act of devotion.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Single Leaf with Lutheran Devotional Design.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Artist Yoshida Hōmei was awarded a gold medal for this sculpture. The work reveals an idealizing nostalgia for rural life following Japan’s rapid modernization and aggressive international engagement in the Meiji period (1868–1912). Hōmei carved into the wood a wonderful expressiveness for the woman’s face and shaped her posture and clothing into a lifelike rendering of a peasant woman perhaps resting from a hard day’s work.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Arayori (A Peasant Woman).

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Carved as a bracket to be placed between a pillar and a ceiling, this woman, an embodiment of idealized female beauty, once occupied the hall of a temple. Casting her gaze downward, she grasps a mango-laden branch of the tree above her, unconcerned with the monkey that sits there. Both women and mango trees have ancient associations with fertility and abundance in India, and sculptures such as this one are believed to bring wellbeing and prosperity to the buildings they adorn.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Woman Beneath a Mango Tree.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Clothilde Coulaux, a young French woman living in German-occupied Alsace, created this manuscript in 1906, as described in a colophon accompanying her charming self-portrait on p. 173. All 174 pages are illuminated with a rich variety of imagery, including scenes of everyday life, music, feasting, courtship and child rearing, warfare, and regional architecture, combined with more traditional religious imagery. The latter often draw upon prints by Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein, and other early masters, as well as stained glass, sculpture, and liturgical instruments. Much of the other imagery, however, is uniquely her own. Paintings of her cat looking out a window, or of couples drinking together, add touches of whimsy and humor. Other images are more sobering, such as those of Habsburg eagles and Joan of Arc, and taken together with her choice to write in French while under German rule, suggest a struggle to define her national identity.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Clothilde Missal.

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The cycle of the seasons fascinated 17th-century Europeans, but the shifts in the tilt of the earth that causes them were not understood. Winter was especially hard then; Europe was in the middle of the Little Ice Age, and it was much colder than today. The Southern Netherlands was also in the midst of a war, and ill-paid soldiers terrorized the peasants. Here, the Antwerp landscapist Joos de Momper uses subdued color and tonal unity to suggest the bleakness of a late winter afternoon, complemented by an intricate, stark pattern of barren branches against the sky. Landscape was a popular subject in Antwerp in these years. De Momper's works are characterized by this moody, tonal quality rather than by attention to lush vegetation.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Winter Landscape.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The boy can be identified as the nine-year-old Massimiliano Stampa, third marquess of the small northern Italian city of Soncino, on the basis of a contemporary annotation on the back of the canvas. This is Sophonisba Anguissola's first major commission. The family commissioned it to commemorate the boy's inheritance of his title in 1557, at his father's death. Anguissola was a sympathetic observer of children: here she leavens the stern, very "adult," impression of the full-length portrait in the traditional black clothing of the Italian courts during the 16th century with the appeal of child's hesitant expression and the inclusion of the boy's sleeping pet.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of Marquess Massimiliano Stampa.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Christ Child touches his mother's chin with a gesture of affection that was probably inspired by 15th-century Italian paintings then greatly admired at the Ethiopian royal court. Victorious saints on horseback had great appeal for the upper classes of Ethiopia, where noblemen were trained in horsemanship and combat. The artist is most likely a follower of Fre Seyon, the celebrated 15th-century painter who left only one signed work.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Diptych with Mary and Her Son Flanked by Archangels, Apostles and a Saint.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This stunning work of art, a pagoda in miniature, was shown at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, a World’s Fair held in San Francisco in 1915. Pagodas are tall multi-roofed buildings that originally housed relics of the Buddha or another venerated person. This stunning model of one, however, is far removed from this sacred function and made solely as a showcase of craftsmanship. This pagoda evokes a five-story 7th-century example (the world’s oldest wooden structure) at Horyu-ji near the southern Japanese city of Nara. The work is a virtuosic display of craftsmanship. Every wall of the structure is decorated with scenic images, including spectacles such as Mt. Fuji, the Itsukushima Shrine, and the Kiyomizu Temple, while the roofs are embellished with figures of butterflies and birds in flight. The design is created using a textured inlay technique called nunome-zogan (cloth inlay), for which the Komai Workshop is renowned. The technique involves hammering gold, silver, and copper sheets and wires onto a roughened steel surface, covering the compositions with successive thin coats of opaque black lacquer, and polishing the lacquer to expose the raised metal beneath.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Model of a Pagoda with Famous Scenes.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This relief decorated the interior wall of the northwest palace of King Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud, which is situated in present-day Iraq. This relief originally stood on one side of a doorway into a reception hall. With his right hand, the apkallu (or benevolent spirit) uses a cone-shaped object to sprinkle from his bucket some magic potion upon whomever entered the hall. The genius wears the horned crown of a deity and the elegant jewelry and fringed cloak of contemporary courtiers.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Relief with Winged Genius (Apkallu).

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This male figure wears a cone-shaped hat with a textile design and a fringed border. Male figures with conical hats are believed to represent warriors, as many hold clubs. The headdress would have protected the warrior’s head and made him seem larger and more imposing on the battlefield. As a warrior, he would be identified with his community, indicated to locals by the very specific zigzag design on the hat.These figures have often been interpreted as representations of the people buried in the tomb, but more recently, they have been interpreted as guardian figures.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Seated Male Figure.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

In Roman Egypt (30 BCE-324 CE), artists adapted naturalistic painting styles to the ancient custom of making portrait masks for mummies. The portraits were often painted while the subject was in the prime of life and were hung in the home until the person's death. This practice continued in northern Egypt well into the Early Byzantine period. Hairstyles can be used to date female portrait masks. Here, the braids wound over the top of the head place the mask close to the period of the Roman emperor Trajan (AD 98-117). The painting of a portrait was an occasion for all finery to be displayed, and this woman is seen wearing a pearl and emerald necklace and earrings.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Panel Portrait of a Woman.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This pyxis (box) was fashioned in imitation of Phoenician luxury goods imported from the Near East. Although it incorporates many Near Eastern elements in its decoration, including sphinxes, a lotus plant, and chariots, the style of the figures shows it is clearly the product of a local Etruscan workshop. The handle of the lid takes the form of a standing sphinx wearing a lotus crown. The 7th and early 6th centuries BC are known as the Orientalizing period because of the many eastern, or "Oriental," elements in the art. In this prosperous era of international trade, Etruscan artists manufactured luxury goods, such as those seen in this case, that reflect influences from the art of the eastern Mediterranean.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Pyxis and Lid with Sphinx-Shaped Handle.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The embossed and engraved decoration inside this bowl, consisting of two concentric friezes and a central medallion, depicts a heroic narrative of a hunt. The dominant scene in the central medallion illustrates a confrontation between a lion and a warrior; a vulture, squeezed into the remaining space, may represent the outcome of the battle. Running around this central scene is a procession of horses and birds. The outer frieze presents the beginning of the hunt: the departure of archers, mounted spearmen, and charioteers. The design is encircled by a serpent with embossed scales. This bowl belongs to a category of precious metal vessels discovered in elite tombs across the Italian Peninsula but is also linked to objects discovered in Cyprus, Greece, and Assyria. The proliferation of these objects is often linked to the spread of social banqueting practices, in which the bowls may have served as vessels.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bowl with Hunting Scene.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This flat, low pyxis is decorated with popular Geometric decorations, such as Greek key patterns, or meanders, which are twice interrupted with waterbirds and vertical stripes. The design on the bottom of the body is a flower with eight petals. Between the petals are eight smaller flowers, and concentric circles surround the flower. A sculptural pair of horses stand over the handle on the lid. The horses, which may not have originally belonged to this pyxis, have short necks and large heads. The heads of the horses are preserved with bridles painted on them. A rosette is incised on the outer shoulder of one horse, while the other has a rosette drawn in a circle. This object belongs to a category of ancient Greek ceramics known as horse pyxides. These were mostly manufactured in Attica (often at the city of Athens), although there are some examples from Boeotia. Many pyxides have been found in burials from the 9th to the end of the 8th century BCE. In these contexts, the horses would have been symbols of prestige.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Pyxis and Lid with Two Standing Horses.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This Prayerbook was made for Marie de' Medici in the second quarter of the seventeenth century. Beyond its provenance as a personal book owned by the famous queen, it is exceptional for its intricately cut borders, which transform the parchment margins into lace. This effect was created using a technique known as "canivet," in which a small knife was used to cut ornate patterns into paper or parchment. An art form that flourished originally among nuns in France, Germany, and the Netherlands beginning in the sixteenth century, it was employed to exceptional effect in several manuscripts connected with Marie de' Medici. The Walters manuscript, made for her while she was regent of France, and wife of King Henry IV, contains twenty-eight miniatures, including original religious imagery as well as several later additions: a gouache portrait of the elderly queen, and nine small miniatures produced in Bruges ca. 1450 by an artist influenced by the Eyckian and Gold Scrolls styles prevalent at the time; the coat-of-arms of Marie de Medici, as well as her monogram. The Walters manuscript retains its original binding composed of mosaic inlays in green and black leather, as well as fine gilt pointillé foliate tooling, and a replica of the binding was created by Léon Gruel for Henry Walters on one of his seventeenth-century printed books (92.467) that also connects to Marie de' Medici.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Leaf from Lace Book of Marie de' Medici: John the Baptist Baptizing Christ.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Vessel flutes, called ocarinas in the Americas, frequently are used by spiritual practioners today as a vehicle of call or communication with the spirit world. The same purpose likely extends back in time to the earliest human societies in the hemisphere. This ocarina's mouthpiece and air duct are found on the figure's right shoulder and back. When played, the seated figure would face roughly forward. This wind instrument renders a seated man with arms crossed over his chest in a formal pose. His fine attire and regal bearing imply nobility, the ocarina/figurine perhaps portraying a ruler given the iconic meanings of the motifs on his face, produced either by intentional scarification or face-painting. His right cheek displays the "jester god," an emblem of royalty which aligned the wearer with the maize god and the power of agricultural fertility and world renewal. Such affiliation is further connoted by the sprouting maize plant depicted in the center of his brow which recalls the trefoil crown of the maize god and of Maya kings. This royal crown, replete with its sprouting maize icon, has its origins among the Olmecs of the Formative Period (1200-500 BCE). This regal Maya ocarina/figurine also sports a long loincloth and hip wrap, and his body is adorned with impressively large earflares and a shell pendant.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Seated Nobleman Ocarina (Vessel Flute).

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Depicted with a serene gaze and a gentle smile, this figure may represent a Buddha or a Jina. Both Buddhas and Jinas are spiritually liberated, enlightened beings regarded as the supreme teachers and moral exemplars of their respective religious traditions. Buddhist and Jain communities thrived alongside one another in the region of Mathura (a city in north-central India) in the early first millennium, and visual representations of the beings revered by each share many features. For example, both Buddhas and Jinas have elongated earlobes, regarded as one of many auspicious physical characteristics of a great being. They are not adorned in jewelry, for both Buddhas and Jinas renounce wealth and luxury in their pursuit of spiritual freedom. When this figure was fully intact his identity would have been clearer, for the heads of Buddhas are crowned with an "ushnisha," an auspicious cranial protuberance that is absent from the Jinas of this early period.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Head of Buddha or Jina.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This model represents a chariot protected by a front shield. The interior of the shield has been stamped with the image of a worshiper standing before a god wearing a tall, horned headdress. He holds a rod and ring in one hand, measuring instruments associated with divine justice. The elongated figures resemble depictions of deities on cylinder seals from the period.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Model of Chariot.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

For every illustration in "Oriental Ceramic Art" (New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1897), an exceptionally precise watercolor was made of each piece chosen from Walters' collection to serve as a model and guide through the lithographic process. These were intended as exact portraits of each particular vessel. Louis Prang entrusted this work to James Callowhill (1838-1907) and his sons James (1865-1927) and Percy (1873-ca. 1955). The Callowhills had trained as ceramic painters in Worcester, England, before coming to the United States to work for Prang. With Prang, they primarily painted floral subjects for reproduction in chromolithography. During the seven years that it took to produce the watercolors for "Oriental Ceramic Art," the Callowhills lived and worked in Walters' house on Mount Vernon Place.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Iridescent Iron-Rust Vase.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1224, on the mountainside of La Verna in the Apennine Mountains of Italy, Saint Francis of Assisi was meditating on the sufferings of Christ when a seraph (a six-winged angel of the highest order) appeared to him in a vision of light. Afterwards, he found his hands, feet, and side marked with the wounds of Christ—the stigmata. The miracle is shown here as witnessed by Saint Francis's companion, Brother Leo. To remind the viewer that Saint Francis was the founder of the Franciscan Order, the artist has transformed his rustic chapel into a grand basilica. Nevertheless, the most striking feature of the setting is the grouping of fantastical rock formations that seem to grow out of the ground. They are found in the compositions of several artists who worked in Padua, where Zoppo trained, and Venice. See for example the similar rock formations in The Departure of Queen Helen and her Party for Cythera (37.1178) painted in Venice by Dario di Giovanni who, like Zoppo, trained with the Paduan master Francesco Squarcione. This panel is part of a large altarpiece that Marco Zoppo executed in Venice in 1471 for a church in the city of Pesaro.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Christ on the Cross with the grieving figures of the Virgin and St. John is depicted on this door from a tabernacle (cabinet that holds the Host, or consecrated wafer for the Mass). Since the Mass is understood as a ceremonial re-enactment of Christ's sacrifice, the imagery is appropriate for the function of the tabernacle. The skull at the foot of the cross identifies the site as Golgotha, the "Place of the Skull," and refers as well to the legend that this was also the site of Adam's burial. The flamboyant style of the architectural details, consistent with church architecture of the time, does not detract from the solemnity of the Crucifix. Given how difficult it is to work iron, the skillful handling of the intricate detail is impressive. This was the first medieval object purchased by Henry Walters.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Tabernacle Door.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This green glass weight is among the earliest dated Islamic objects (other than coins) in any American museum. The inscription, stamped into the weight when the glass was semi-molten, gives the name of Yazid III, a caliph (ruler) of the Umayyad dynasty (661–750). It also states that “God commands honesty,” an appropriate sentiment for its function as a weight used to measure coins made of precious materials like gold, silver, or copper.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Inscribed Pound Weight.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

René Lalique revolutionized jewelry design by combining precious and non-precious materials selected according to their aesthetic appeal. By 1904, the year that he exhibited this necklace at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, Lalique had progressed beyond Art Nouveau, the movement with which he was originally associated. He began emphasizing compositions with symmetrical components in a style that would become fully manifested in the designs he created for molded glass several years later. In this necklace stylized elongated clusters of grapes alternate with leaf and vine formations in gold with green cloisonné enamel. The ten grape clusters are of molded, translucent glass and are attached by prongs to green enameled grounds.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Grape Necklace.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ten warriors wearing greaves and carrying large, round shields and Corinthian helmets race around the exterior of this kylix (shallow two-handled cup), perhaps participating in a hoplitodromos, a footrace performed while carrying armor as part of the Panathenaic Games. Almost every shield bears a different emblem, including two drinking cups, a bukranion (cow skull), a bird, an anchor, a lion, and two helmets, while a scorpion covers the shield of the single figure decorating the central tondo (medallion). The vessel itself was formed by Pamphaios, who signed his name on the edge of the foot, while an artist known only as the Nikosthenes Painter created the decorative scenes. Kylikes were the most common form of drinking vessel in ancient Greece. The exterior was often elaborately decorated, while the tondo in the center was revealed after the contents of the cup were consumed (the scenes were sometimes amusing as well as artistic). Some kylikes had large eyes painted on the exterior, like this one, making the cup appear to be a mask, with the foot acting as a nose, when the drinker raised the kylix to his mouth. At the end of a symposium, the reveler might have used this kylix to participate in a game of kottabos, which involved flinging the dregs of his wine from his cup at a target.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Kylix with Running Warriors.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This Pataky polychrome ceramic vessel portrays a seated human, perhaps a shaman, transformed into their jaguar spirit companion form.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Effigy Vessel of a Human-Animal Transformation Figure.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Entertaining was an important way to assert status in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries—a time of increasing prosperity for the middle class. This goblet is decorated with a coat of arms, reminding the guest of the standing of his or her host. It also attests to the importance of sharing a drink for strengthening social ties The goblet is wheel engraved: a process in which a small abrasive wheel creates an incised design.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Covered Goblet with Coat of Arms.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This splendid casket is carved with scenes from romances and allegorical literature representing the courtly ideals of love and heroism. In the center of the lid, knights joust as ladies watch from the balcony; to the left, knights lay siege to the Castle of Love, the subject of an allegorical battle. The remaining scenes on the casket are drawn from well-known stories about Aristotle and Phyllis, Tristan and Iseult, and tales of the gallant, heroic deeds of Gawain, Galahad, and Lancelot. The box may originally have been a courtship gift.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Casket with Scenes of Romances.

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This exceptional pendant consists of a reliquary cross inside a hinged case with six small adjacent compartments for relics. The impressive amethyst cameo depicting the Virgin and Child on the lid is surrounded by cabochon rubies and emeralds alternating with pearls. The cross and the outer edge of the case are adorned with additional pearls, and the back of the case is decorated in a similar fashion, omitting the central cameo. A ground of dense filigree covers the front and back of the case, while the inside as well as the inscription and the Crucifixion scene on the cross are done in niello. The text identifies the donor, location, and the time when the piece was crafted, which is rare in Post-Byzantine jewelry: the cross was dedicated by the Metropolitan Arsenios of Serres, a town in northern Greece, to the monastery of St. John on the island of Chalke near Constantinople in the middle of the 16th century.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Reliquary Pendant with Virgin and Child.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This carte de visite ("calling card" style photograph) is the only known photograph of the American sculptor, Edmonia Lewis, taken in Rome, where she had a studio. It probably dates from around 1874–76. Despite overwhelming odds, Edmonia Lewis found international success as a sculptor in Rome, settling among other American expatriate artists and actors, since in her words, “The land of liberty had no room for a colored sculptor.” A curiosity for many, the diminutive Lewis (she was barely over four feet tall) was the daughter of a Haitian father of African descent and a “full-blooded Chippewa” mother. Born in Greenbush, New York, she lived with her mother’s Chippewa relatives until her half-brother sent her to Oberlin College in 1859. Arriving in Rome in 1866, Edmonia Lewis occupied the former studio of the revered sculptor Antonia Canova (1757–1822), around the corner from the photography studio of Fratelli D’Alessandri on Via del Corso, No.12. This photograph was purchased locally at an antique store in Baltimore. Perhaps Lewis brought “calling cards” with her to Baltimore in 1883 when she came to install and unveil the bas-relief "Adoration of the Magi," commissioned for the Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin, Orchard Street, Baltimore.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of Edmonia Lewis (1844-1907).

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The workshop of Agnolo Gaddi produced this panel painting with two saints, which originally occupied the right side of a large polyptych (a painting group made up of several panels). Agnolo Gaddi combined the bold, monumental style of murals with the delicate, linear technique of panel painting. The overlapping forms of the saints' bodies and their union in a single panel are innovations that painters used to create a sense of depth and three-dimensional volume toward the end of the fourteenth century. Agnolo Gaddi (d. 1369) traced his artistic ancestry back to Giotto through his father Taddeo (d. 1366).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Saint James the Greater and Saint Peter.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Exquisitely molded and modeled, this splendid rendering of a woman with a basket typifies the detailed ceramic sculptures of Classic Period Veracruz. The naturalistic depiction of soft, pliable cloth in the rigid medium of fired clay attests to the artist's command of the medium. The lady's elaborate headdress is composed of a wide, plain piece of cloth wrapped around her head bound with head bands of oval beads and strips of cloth. Her body is draped in a sleeved tunic that fl oats on top of her long wrap skirt. She is adorned with a single-strand necklace of rounded beads and a central rectangular pendant, with smaller versions encircling each wrist. The necklace is tied at the back of her neck, its four thin tie-ends terminating in oblong beads. The figure's ornate earrings represent sectioned conch shells. The sectioned conch shell is the "wind jewel" or ehecailacacozcatl, an identifying symbol of Quetzalcóatl, the god of rain, wind, and war during the Classic Period. This deity was particularly associated with the cultures of the Gulf Coast. During Postclassic times, Quetzalcóatl was closely connected with the pilgrimage center of Cholula, located on the passage between coastal Veracruz and the Valley of Mexico, where he was the patron of rulers and associated with priests and merchants as well. On her right shoulder this Nopiloa lady balances a flat-bottomed basket with a double-strap handle, recalling the typical carrying baskets used by women in Mexican markets today. The basket contains a pile of hand-made cigars and an unidentified rectangular folded item. Her fine dress and sophisticated jewelry suggest that she is more than a commonplace market girl.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Market-Woman Figure.

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The Passion of Christ was a popular theme for 15th-century altarpieces in northern Europe. It is the story of Christ's suffering-from his arrest to his Crucifixion-although it was often expanded to include earlier and later events, such as the Entombment (see Walters 37.663, 37.664, 37.668, 37.669, 37.670, 37.671, and 37.674). The figures and settings are treated in a life-like fashion to make the events seem real and the message persuasive. The gold-leaf backdrop embossed to look like damask would have suggested to the 15th-century viewer a heavenly light illuminating eternal truths. When the altarpiece was open, four panels would have been visible on each side of a central carved image, very likely a Resurrection, loosely suggested by the wooden Crucifix hung here. Christ is the central figure in each painting. His serenity and restraint contrast with the undignified agitation of his tormentors, expressed in their grimaces and jerky movements. This use of angularity and exaggeration to generate an emotional response in the viewer is characteristic of German art of this period.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Altarpiece with the Passion of Christ: Arrest of Christ.

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This female figure, from the eastern Indian region of West Bengal, is almost certainly Radha, lover of the god Krishna. As a human woman who devotes herself completely and passionately to her god, Radha exemplifies an ideal for Krishna devotees to emulate. By the strength of her devotion, she is transformed from a beloved human "gopi" (cowherd) into a divine goddess. Radha is worshiped through sculptures like this one. Within a shrine, the sculpture would be dressed and adorned with jewelry, and a flower might be placed in her left hand. The repeated application of ritual liquids, such as river water or oil, and centuries of devotional touching have smoothed Radha’s facial features.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Radha.

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With a lustrous shine that resembles the glisten of precious metals, this dish would have enhanced any elegant table of 13th-century Iran. Collected by the ruling and mercantile elite, lusterware was one of the most prestigious ceramics of the medieval Islamic world. The metallic glaze and complex firing techniques required to produce the luxury ware were developed and perfected by skilled experts. In 12th to 14th-century Iran, lusterware ceramicists were based at Kashan, where this platter was made.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Lusterware Plate with Birds and Inscriptions.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bottle with Figural Scenes.

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Carved in high relief from a single piece of agate, this extraordinary vase was most likely created in an imperial workshop for a Byzantine emperor. It made its way to France, probably carried off as treasure after the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, where it passed through the hands of some of the most renowned collectors of western Europe, including the Dukes of Anjou and King Charles V of France. In 1619, the vase was purchased by the great Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). A drawing that he made of it is now in Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, inv. 5430. The subsequent fate of the vase before the 19th century is obscure. The gold mount around its rim is struck with a French gold-standard mark used in 1809-1819 and with the guarantee stamp of the French departement of Ain. A similar late Roman agate vessel, the "Waddesdon Vase" or "Cellini Vase," in now in the British Museum, London.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The "Rubens Vase".

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This relief panel featuring a scene from the life of the Buddha was made to adorn the surface of a stupa, a sacred mound, usually encased in brick or stone, containing relics of the Buddha or one of his followers. This panel depicts the death of Buddha Shakyamuni, when he passed into "nirvana," the end of his cycle of rebirth. The three disciples standing behind him raise their arms in grief; two monks at his feet similarly mourn his death. However, one monk—identified as Subhadra, the Buddha’s last convert—sits calmly at the Buddha’s bedside, remembering that the Buddha has attained "nirvana," a state of non-existence and freedom from suffering. Born in Lumbini (present-day southern Nepal, the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (ca. 563–483 BCE), attained enlightenment when he was 35 years old at Bodh Gaya in northeastern India. He gave his first sermon in a deer park at Sarnath, close to Bodh Gaya, and spent the following 45 years teaching. According to some traditions, he died when he was 80. The Buddha’s body was cremated and distributed among his followers. The stupas that guarded his remains became important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Death of the Buddha.

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Shiva tenderly places an arm around his wife, the goddess Uma (also called Parvati), in a gesture that is familiarly human. Both rest their weight on one hip, their bodies complementing one another. Shiva’s front hand gestures in reassurance, while Uma’s would have held flowers offered by priests and devotees. Depending on their wealth, temples might have dozens of processional sculptures in various forms to be paraded around for different occasions. This image of a loving couple would be suitable for celebrating a marriage ceremony. Like the bride and bridegroom, the sculpture itself would have been adorned with beautiful jewelry: necklaces, crowns, diadems, ear ornaments, and rings, donated by royalty, wealthy landowners, and merchants. Widely admired today for their craftsmanship, this festival bronzes was produced in southern India, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, during the Chola dynasty (9th–13th century). The Chola kings and their people spoke Tamil; the language continues to be used in southern India. Part of a rich and still living tradition of casting solid metal sculpture in South India, this image was made using the lost-wax casting technique. First, a model of the final sculpture is created from a mixture of wax and resin. Every detail that is seen in the cast metal sculpture is captured in this wax-resin model. The model is then encapsulated in a mold, leaving an opening at its base. The mold is heated, which solidifies the mold material, while the wax within is melted and poured out. The mold is then inverted, metal is melted in a crucible, and the molten metal is poured into the void left by the melted wax. Once cooled, the mold is broken, revealing the cast metal sculpture.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Shiva and Uma.

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The collars worn by both Egyptian men and women were composed of two main parts: in front, a broad collar (called "wesekh") decorated with floral elements, and a v-shaped counterpoise (called "menat") falling behind the neck to balance the weight of the collar. Such a combination was not only used as decoration but also as a ritual instrument by holding the "menat" in the hand and rattling the beads of the collar. <p /> <p /> The three-dimensional depiction of "wesekh" and "menat" combined with a divine head became an important symbol. The head of a feline goddess atop this model collar indicates that it is intended as a personification of her powers, conveying in its decoration the ability of the lioness both to protect and to nourish the king. Her dual nature is evoked by her stern and watchful face on the front side, and by her representation as a mother suckling a young prince on the reverse. This precious object may have been produced for someone of the royal family.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Aegis with the Head of Sekhmet.

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Because Lorenzo Lotto kept records of his commissions and expenses, the subject of this work can be identified as the Dominican preacher Fra Lorenzo from the city of Bergamo, Italy, by a payment recorded in 1542. Dressed in the robes of his order, Fra Lorenzo is linked with St. Thomas Aquinas by his halo and the lily he holds, symbolic of purity. The 13th-century Dominican saint was among the most important theologians in the West. By appearing in the guise of a saint, the sitter has revealed his pious and intellectual aspirations. Lotto was one of the great Venetian painters famous for his use of color. He traveled widely and spent much of his career outside of his native city. For more information on this portrait, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 270, pp. 396-397.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Portrait of Fra Lorenzo da Bergamo.

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Northern Peru's pottery traditions focus on three-dimensionality, the vessels often modeled into a variety of volumetric forms depicting human figures, fruits, or vegetables and even architecture. The coastal Moche and their highland Recuay neighbors were masters of the modeled form, having explored and perfected this tradition whose origins reach back as much as a thousand years among cultures of the Early Horizon (900 -200 BCE). Recuay pottery is typically thin-walled and made from a kaolin-based clay. Vessels are decorated with negative-resist and positive slip painting as well as an unusual post-fire, resist black organic pigment. The varied resist-painting techniques allowed Recuay artists to create complex design fields on the positive, slip-painted backgrounds. Recuay art, and especially its narrative pottery, features the Andean concepts of dualism and reciprocity as key universal facets. Emphasis was placed on dyads such as male-female, which is aptly expressed by this extraordinary figural bottle. A finely dressed noble woman stands at opposing sides of the four-sided vessel, while a male personage flanks the other two faces. The males pertain to a second dyad of warrior and captive, the latter represented as a trophy head rather than a full figure. The women and warrior cradle ceremonial cups, perhaps "keros" (see WAM 2009.20.91) in their hands; the male figure also clutches a war club in his right hand. His fine clothing and headdress identify him as a member of the ruling class. The iconic face in his headdress recalls depictions of ancestors and cult figures as prime shamanic beings that often adorn the heads of authority figures from earliest times throughout Peru. Considered together, this four-sided figural vessel embodies the Andean ideology of war and sacrifice to ensure the earth's fertility and maintain universal balance. The taking of captives for ritual sacrifice was facilitated by the victor's shamanic power, here implied by the male figure's headdress. As elsewhere in ancient Peru, this ceremonial pageant was a sacred necessity and the responsibility of the nobility. It is reflected in stone sculptures from the Recuay area (the highland Callejón de Huaylas region), which feature small trophy heads and larger male figures carrying clubs, shields, or decapitated heads. The Recuay tradition of public stone sculptures portraying women echoes their depictions on pottery vessels, signaling the importance of female participants in both ritual and political events.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Effigy Bottle.

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The Schatzbehalter des wahren Reichtümer des Heils (Treasury of the true riches of salvation) is a devotional text written by Stephan Fridolin and published by Anton Koberger in Nuremberg in 1491. Fridolin was a Franciscan monk who served as the preacher in a monastery in Nuremberg. His book is a treatise on the Passion of Christ, which contained 100 meditations on, and images of, Christ’s suffering. The series begins and ends with the representation of a pair of hands that serve as mnemonic (memory) devices. The first pair of hands is marked with numbers that refer to individual meditations in the book — one through fifty on the left hand and fifty-one through 100 on the right. These images enabled readers to memorize 100 themes according to specific numbers and locations on the depicted hand. The second pair of hands presents small busts of saintly figures on the ten fingers. The twelve apostles occupy the left hand, while another twelve saints, including the Evangelists, John the Baptist, and Joseph, are depicted on the right. Each figure is numbered and labeled with the saint’s name. With this image, the reader was supposed to memorize the twelve articles of the Apostles’ Creed printed next to the left hand. Both thumbs feature Christ and Mary, meant to help the reader remember the Passion of Christ.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichtumer des Heils.

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During the 1st millennium BCE, individuals could receive permission to donate not only single figures of a specific deity to a temple but also more complex group arrangements of one or several gods with the donor himself as a worshiper or bringer of offerings. This ensemble exhibits the goddess Neith seated on a throne, accompanied by two figures of the juvenile Horus (one with double-crown here for Upper Egypt, and one with the lower Egyptian crown). The donor is depicted as the kneeling worshipper in front of the feet of the goddess.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Figure Ensemble of the Goddess Neith with Horus the Child (twice) and a Worshiper.

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This small stele, possibly carved as a personal object of devotion, depicts the Buddha Shakyamuni at the moment of enlightenment. Sitting under the Bodhi tree, the leaves of which are just above his head, he reaches down to call upon the earth to witness the event. Just below the hand making the earth-touching gesture ("bhumisparsha mudra"), a kneeling figure gazes up at the Buddha and joins his hands in respect and devotion. This must be Pingalayana, the patron of the sculpture named in the inscription below. The remaining text, carved into the textile draped over the Buddha’s lotus throne and in the space to its right, expresses the principle realized by the Buddha at the time of his enlightenment. Commonly known as the "Buddhist creed," it states that everything trapping us in worldly existence arises from a cause, and that the Buddha has explained the cause and the means to its end—and therefore the means to spiritual liberation.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Buddha Shakyamuni with Devotee.

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The Lagunillas style of southern Nayarit comprises five different subgroups of these remarkable human sculptures. The "C" type is distinguished by triangular heads that are broad across the forehead and taper to a delicate, pointed chin. Face and body painting is common, and when present, clothing is rendered as highly decorated fabric. This figure is a particularly fine example of the "C" type, notable for exuberant face painting, which combines geometric lines with curvilinear forms. Rather than a symmetrical and rather static design covering the entire face, each side features distinct patterns. The formalized pose of hands framing the abdomen, accentuated thighs, and erect breasts suggest sexual maturity and reproductive fecundity.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Standing Female Figure.

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Saint-Jean was a prominent still life painter during the second quarter of the 19th century. He trained at the School of Fine Arts in Lyon, dedicating himself to flower painting early in his career and successfully exhibiting work at the Salon in Paris. Cut flowers or fruits dropped onto a forest floor occur often in Saint-Jean's work, giving them a slightly surreal quality to modern eyes. His paintings were often reproduced as textiles, and there was a strong link between artists from Lyon and the silk industry which flourished there. Similar in composition is "Flowers and Fruit," a still-life of 1853, showing grapes, raspberries, and roses, in the Wallace Collection, London (P601).

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Still Life with Fruit.

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Bow fibulae are also called “digitated” fibulae, due to the radiating knobs that resemble fingers or digits; over time, their style changed. While the knobs of early (4th-century) fibulae were functional (holding the springs of the pin), they later became purely decorative. The five-knobbed fibula [54.2444] dates to the first half of the 6th century and was common in northern France and the Rhineland. Much less common, the seven-knobbed fibula [54.2443] is later in date. On the third fibula [54.2445], the knobs have degenerated into an undulating border, and the foot ends in a stylized animal head; this type of fibula has been found in graves dated to the later 6th or early 7th century, predominantly near the Rhine. They were worn in pairs at the shoulder by women with noble status in Frankish society.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Bow Fibula.

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Placed beside or inside a tomb, this grave marker resembles a human figure. If buried, the post would have supported the roof of a tomb of the Ica-Chincha people, who lived on the central coast of Peru. Crowned with a two-pronged headdress, the post was treated the same way as a human skull in a tomb: the red colorant that can still be seen on the post is the same red cinnabar pigment used after death to paint the skeletal remains of the Ica-Chincha people.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Post with a Carved Face.

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The curve of this wand follows that of the hippopotamus tusk from which it was made but its flat form is reminiscent of the curved throwing sticks used to catch fowl. Powerful protective deities, such as Taweret and Bes, are depicted together with protective uraeus serpents and other mythical creatures. Many of the figures brandish knives to dispel evil spirits.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Magic Wand Depicting a Procession of Deities.

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This urn likely was part of a larger grouping of similarly small figural sculptures surrounding a large one that created a ceramic narrative tableau like that of the famous royal Zapotec Tomb 104 at Monte Albán, Oaxaca. The urn portrays an impersonator of the Zapotec rain god Cociyo, here wearing a full face mask rather than the more common buccal (lower face, or mouth) mask. The figure's deeply striated hair was originally painted with what may have been an orange-hued pigment. In other renderings of these rain god impersonators, the hair is painted yellow, signifying maize silk. The same hairstyle, although unpainted, is also found on the large urn portraying the maize god (see TL.2009.20.293). This small figure wears a curious pectoral suspended by a thick twined rope around their necks. It may depict a folded piece of paper, cloth, or similarly malleable material tied with a braided band. In Zapotec tombs documented by archaeologists, small rain god urns have been found in sets of four placed around a large urn portraying the maize god/progenitor-ancestor. Such an arrangement replicates the five-fold Mesoamerican universe (the four cardinal directions plus the center), with the maize god/progenitor-ancestor as the axis mundi at the world's center, with its four sides defined by rain gods. The maize god at the center symbolizes the sacred mountain of origin from which all life emerged onto earth. The overarching narrative of these urn tableaux recounts the origin of the Zapotec people from maize and the seminal roles of the maize god Pitao Cozobi and the rain god Cociyo in Creation.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Figural Urn.

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In Flemish 17th-century painting, elaborate garlands of sensuous, fragile blossoms at the height of their beauty and fruit ripe to the point of bursting—all inviting our touch before their inevitable decay—were often depicted framing spiritually significant images. Jan Brueghel (1568-1625), a master of flower painting (as in the flowers he contributed to The Archdukes Visiting the Collection of Pierre Roose), developed this type for compositions focused on the Virgin, but it was taken up by others including Daniel Seghers (1590-1661) and Hieronymus Galle I (1625-1679). Here garlands frame and complement a still life of objects underlining the brevity of human life: a skull, a burning candle, and an hourglass. The human skull had long been a subject for Flemish painters, as in St. Jerome Meditating on a Skull from the workshop of Pieter Coecke van Aelst; indeed many devout Christians in the 1600s kept a human skull for their own devotions, as the Human Skull in the Collector's Study. The combination of a skull with the candle and hourglass encourages a meditation on the miracle of Christ’s Resurrection and its promise of eternal life to the faithful. Obviously the skull was too much for one past owner, as it was painted out at some point in the past, only to be revealed in 1988 through technical examination and cleaning. Along with fruits and flowers including roses, grapes, cherries, and thistles, as well as butterflies and a beetle, Van Son has included an ear of corn, a New World addition to the European diet. Van Son was baptized in Antwerp on September 24, 1623. On the basis of a comparison of style, Van Son is supposed to have studied with the still life painter Jan Davidsz. de Heem who had come to Antwerp from Utrecht in 1636. Van Son then became a master in the Antwerp painters' guild of St. Luke in 1643. Like de Heem, he specialized in fruit pieces, either laid out in seductive display on a table or in wreaths or garlands surrounding a niche such as here. This cartouche format (as here) was favored by the artist in the 1650s. The layout in the Walters' piece of a garland incorporating flowers above and fruit in the lower half can be compared to a much smaller painting (56 x 40 cm) attributed to the artist in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. In that painting the niche contains a roemer (style of drinking goblet) of wine thus referencing the Christian Eucharist. The artist's brilliant observation brought him fame and he had several followers including his son Jan. Inscribed at the lower right on the ledge is "I. van Son fecit".

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Allegory on Human Life.

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This elegantly modeled “stirrup spout” vessel is formed into the shape of a yuca root (also known as manioc root or cassava), a potato-like vegetable common in the warm lowlands of Peru that is one of the staple foods of the region. The “stirrup spout” was one of the most common vessel forms in pre-Columbian Peru and the Andean area. A short spout at the top is attached to two tubes which join with the vessel itself. The form is reminiscent of a stirrup for horseback riding, hence the name. The resulting container was beautiful and versatile, since the main vessel could be shaped into many different forms, with a surface that was either carefully polished or highly textured. These vessels were also practical: in the extremely dry deserts of Peru, such a narrow opening prevented evaporation of the liquid held within. The complex shape of the neck also meant that it was easy to carry: two such vessels could be tied to the ends of a cord, to be slung over a person’s shoulder or a llama’s back. Large numbers of vessels like these have been found in burials of elites on the north Coast of Peru beginning about 1800 BCE.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Yuca Root Effigy Bottle.

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In this painting Sisley subtly juxtaposes past and present, tradition and modernity. On the hill to the left is the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, long connected to the French monarchy. The dark green line that stretches from the chateau to the right along the crest of the hill is a monumental garden terrace constructed in the late 1600s, which gives this painting its title, although both structures are only hinted at. In the foreground agricultural workers tend a vineyard, a traditional activity in the French countryside. However, in the middle ground, perhaps jarringly, Sisley includes aspects of modern life – a railway bridge over the River Seine and a steamboat making its way towards Paris. Sisley was born in France of English parents. While enrolled in Charles Gleyre's studio in Paris, he and his fellow students, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Frédéric Bazille, began to paint outdoors in the Fontainebleau forest. In 1874, he showed five paintings in the first Impressionist exhibition. Of all the Impressionists, he and Monet would remain the most consistent landscape painters.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for The Terrace at Saint-Germain, Spring.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The influential English author and critic John Ruskin profoundly influenced the Pre-Raphaelite painters in England as well as their contemporaries in America. He once wrote that the duty of the artist was "neither to choose, nor compose, nor imagine, nor experimentalize; but to be humble and earnest in following the steps of nature, and tracing the figure of God." At the beginning of the 1860s, a number of American artist responded by producing views of plants growing in their natural state. Richards' first attempts at working from nature in the Ruskinian manner date from 1858 and this phase lasts until 1865. This watercolor, which is dated 1860, portrays nature at closer quarters than his initial attempts. It also shows his growing control of the medium, although he did not come to specialize in watercolor until a decade later. This work is an interesting comparison to WAM 37.2642 which was painted from studies in the studio. In this work Richards' handling of watercolor is much broader and his subject matter wild and romantic, recalling the work of J.M.W. Turner.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Red Clover with Butter-and-Eggs and Ground Ivy.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This chess piece of a queen seated inside a castle is modeled on similar pieces made in the Arab world in the 8th and 9th centuries and brought to western Europe as gifts or articles of trade. The queen's headdress, a close-fitting hood with headband, is typical, though, of royal garments worn in 12th-century Spain. The piece is carved from a walrus tusk, used as a cheaper alternative to elephant ivory. This is the only medieval chesspiece of a queen in an American collection.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Chess Piece of a Queen.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

When intact, this Jina would have been represented in a posture of meditation: either seated with crossed legs and hands resting palm-up in the lap or standing perfectly straight with his arms hanging to each side. Jinas have been spiritually liberated upon death, never to be reborn in the material world. This Jina’s cranial protuberance marks him as an enlightened being; his elongated earlobes indicate that he once wore heavy jewelry but has renounced the luxury of the physical world. Mahavira is the most recent human omniscient teacher who has achieved the highest spiritual goal of existence and appeared in the world to teach the way to liberation (moksha). Jainism teaches that the way to spiritual liberation and supreme happiness is achieved by protecting all living beings and by renouncing the physical world. Mahavira lived during the 6th century BCE and is the most recent of the 24 Jinas. These 24 Jinas are “victors” who have conquered desires and bodily senses to gain enlightenment and purity of soul. In worshiping the Jinas, Jains venerate the moral principles that each Jina preached, in particular non-violence and mental and physical discipline.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Head of a Jina.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The bearded figure’s elaborately arranged dreadlocks and the strap that holds his legs in their crossed position identify him as an ascetic and a master of yoga: one who has gained spiritual power through the practice of intense physical and mental discipline. It is possible that the four-armed figure is a divinized guru—a teacher of religious knowledge; alternatively, he may be Agni, god of fire, who is instrumental in transmitting ritual offerings to the gods. With his two front hands he holds his own oversized phallus, its erect state signaling the yogic power generated by the retention of seed. With his upper right hand he holds a square-topped sacrificial ladle, used to pour offerings into ritual fires. The object in his upper left hand may be a palm-leaf manuscript, but the ring at its top makes this identification uncertain. The simple sash that crosses his chest diagonally further marks him as a figure of spiritual authority, for such sashes are worn by Hindu gurus. Made for a temple, this sculpture probably once occupied a shrine-like niche on an exterior wall. It may have been placed near the pinnacle of a temple tower ("shikhara"), however, where on the Vishvanatha temple of Khajuraho a similar ascetic figure is found.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Ascetic Deity.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

At the bottom of the kozuka, a monkey stands looking upwards. The monkey holds a battledore, which is used during New Year's celebrations to play a traditional game. A gourd is strapped to the monkey's back. The reverse is decorated with a gold pattern that resembles a special paper used for poems called "tanzaku." The motif on the reverse is "shochiku," which is used to indicate the New Year. It consists of black inlayed bamboo, incised pine boughs, and two small plum blossoms. The upper flower is inlayed in mother of pearl and gold. The lower flower is in gold.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Kozuka with a Monkey with a Battledore.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This crab is so life-like that one would think it was cast from life; however, evidence of tool marks made in the original model raise the possibility that this is essentially an artistic interpretation. However, individual parts may have been cast indirectly from dead specimens and then worked up; the use of a punch tool on the shells is very clear. Little is known about this artist except that he cast his signature on the underside. He is assumed to have worked at about the same time as Seimin. Perhaps he set out to demonstrate his virtuosity by competing with life casting.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Crab.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Although the group seems to represent two wrestlers, the victor's diadem (headband) identifies him as a Ptolemaic king whose victim probably symbolizes unsuccessful Asian or native Egyptian resistance. The image of the triumphant king is inspired by a traditional Egyptian theme, but the naturalistic rendering of the bodies shows Greek influence. The interlocking figures and the pyramidal silhouette are distinctly Hellenistic.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Allegorical Group of Triumphant Ptolemy.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

In Tantric Buddhist traditions, the curved knife is both a common attribute for wrathful deities and a ritual object used symbolically to destroy negative forces. Its form is modeled after an Indian butcher’s knife, with a crescent-shaped blade designed for flaying an animal’s skin and a sharp hook to make the initial incision. As a tool of enlightenment, it severs and strips away the layers of false knowledge inherent to ordinary existence, revealing a greater truth. Its handle has the form of a "vajra," the multipronged scepter used in Tantric Buddhist rituals. The horned animal face depicted in the relief work of this blade enhances the knife’s power, warding off dangerous forces.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Curved Ritual Knife.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Potter Itaya Hazan was fascinated by light and obsessed by its diffusion on ceramic forms. With this vase, Hazan introduced to the international art world a new technique that he invented called saiji. Saiji is a form of underglazing that uses matte colored glazes. The results are brilliant colors with an eggshell-like finish. The green of the bamboo leaves and the small blue patches between them have a richness that comes from saiji staining the porcelain clay. The white leaf tips show the color of the unstained porcelain.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Vase with Low-Relief Decoration of Bamboo Leaves.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This miniature "oinochoe," known more particularly as a "chous" ("choes" in the plural), dates to the last decade of the 5th century BCE. As is most often the fashion with small "choes," this example features scenes of children, their accoutrements, and their play. This "chous" depicts two boys. One rides on a goat; the other stands nearby holding out a bunch of grapes to his companion. Both boys are crowned, and the standing boy, who also holds a toy cart on one shoulder, is adorned with protective amulets.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Chous (Wine Jug) with Boy Riding Goat.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This bronze statuette depicts a heavy-set Herakles in a rare moment of quiet. His shoulders are covered with a lion skin that gathers in a generous fold behind his neck. The drooping lion skin is visual contrast to Herakles' fully muscled body. The rich curls of the lion's mane drape over the hero's left arm, but the head of the animal is now missing. Herakles' right arm is hidden beneath the skin. Similar examples of this statue-type indicate that his left hand held a club against the left shoulder. Herakles is heavily bearded, his facial hair rendered in thick curls reminiscent of the lion's mane. A gilded band encircles his head. The eyes are silver and it appears that another material would have been used for the pupils. This representation of Herakles is known from several examples, including a marble version in the Walters Art Museum (23.74). Both of the Walters' pieces are likely modeled on a famous Hellenistic statue of the hero as a wayfarer. Euripides' play "Alkestis" depicts just such a Herakles, who appears as a traveler and unannounced guest at the home of Admetos, whose wife, Alkestis, has just died. In the drama, the hero is initially unaware of the tragedy unfolding around him. Oblivious to his host's suffering, he advocates drinking wine to ease life's difficulties, revealing a less noble side of the hero. Once he finally recognizes the plight of the family, he reverts to his heroic self and succeeds in bringing Alkestis back to life. Unlike so many depictions of Herakles, this statuette captures the hero in a moment of rest, rather than at the height of a challenge. The bulk of his body, his mature appearance, and his relaxed pose suggest that this is the hero later in life, well after the period of his famed labors.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Aged Herakles.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The head of this sculpture reveals distinguishing marks of the Buddha, according to Buddhist scriptures. His earlobes are elongated from the heavy earrings he wore as a prince. After renouncing his life of privilege and becoming an ascetic, he cut his long hair as a sign of humility and was left with short tight curls. Above those curls is a cranial protuberance ("ushnisha") that indicates his enlightened state. The resulting tranquility is shown through a serene smile and relaxed eyelids. Additional marks of the Buddha, seen here, include an aquiline nose, a prominent chin, and arched eyebrows. This Buddha would have stood erect with his hands, now missing, in a posture of either bestowing grace or allaying fears. The traces of black lacquer and gold paint allow us to imagine a magnificent image that gleamed in the light of a temple.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Standing Buddha.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

This Phoenician-style ivory plaque shows a griffin (a creature with a lion's body, falcon's head, and wings) nibbling on a sacred tree. The griffin rests one forepaw on a papyrus blossom and the other on a branch of the tree. The sacred tree may be associated with agricultural abundance and nourishment. This plaque would have adorned the outside of a box.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Winged Griffin Nibbling on Sacred Tree.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

In parts of western Tibet and adjacent regions, artists continued to be influenced by traditions stemming from Kashmiri influences during the 10th and early 11th centuries and created works that owe little to the Indian and Nepalese styles that dominated central Tibet from the 11th century on. This Tibetan Buddha is cast from a copper alloy high in zinc. The golden color of the alloy is set off by copper-rich inlays at the armbands and crown. The face of this Buddha was originally painted—you can still see remnants of the red paint used for the lips and the blue used for the hair. In areas of Tibet, sculptures like this were often cast in parts and assembled after casting. The arms of the Buddha were made separately, and if you look closely just below the armbands, you may see where they are joined. The Buddha is missing its lotus base, in which sacred texts and scrolls might have been placed.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Buddha Vajrasattva.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Lady Tamakazura is a character from the 11th-century novel "The Tale of Genji." Born the illegitimate daughter of Genji's best friend and left homeless at a young age, she was raised by a nurse in the provinces. On her return to the capital, Genji appeared to play the role of protective father. He was, in fact, secretly in love with the girl and made unwelcome advances. To escape her predicament, Tamakazura married a man she detested. Kogyo shows Tamakazura performing a dance that conveys her feelings. He has put a border around this depiction and placed it over a framed painting of a wandering priest (a reference to Tamakazura's youth in the provinces), signing the half-hidden painting with one of his earlier art names, Kohan.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Nogaku zue.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Twelve oarsmen, a helmsman, and a pilot, or look-out, ferry their passenger, the tomb-owner. Such models were associated with religious beliefs, as they symbolized the journey of the deceased to Abydos, the traditional burial place of Osiris, lord of the afterworld. The tomb-owner is clothed with a shroud and is shown with a blue beard. This boat was probably placed in the tomb to assist the deceased in navigating the Nile of the underworld. Typically, models of passenger ships found in Middle Kingdom tombs occur in pairs. One to travel south, equipped with a sail, as the wind in Egypt blows constantly from north to south, and the other (as this model shows) propelled by rowers aided by the Nile's current, to travel north.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Model of a River Boat.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Pendant with an Official Wearing Earspools and a Headdress of Stylized Animals.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Stemmed cups resembling wine vessels used at court figure prominently on Chinese Buddhist altars, where they are placed before devotional images and filled with water. A band of heart-shaped motifs on the stems of these cups evokes the head of the curved scepter carried by Buddhist deities and symbolic of monastic authority. On the bowl of each cup, Tibetan letters mounted above lotus blossoms are surrounded by coiling leaf patterns.

For more information, or to download free images, visit the online collection record for Stem Cup.

Thousands of artworks like this one are on view with free admission at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.