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Tablet from Nineveh, letter from princess Serua-eterat, daughter of Esarhaddon and sister of Ashurbanipal, to Libbali-sharrat, wife of l Ashurbanipal, reprimending the future queen for not studying. 7th century BC. British Museum

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Tablet from Nineveh, letter from princess Serua-eterat, daughter of Esarhaddon and sister of Ashurbanipal, to Libbali-sharrat, wife of l Ashurbanipal, reprimending the future queen for not studying. 7th century BC. British Museum

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An 18th century CE mask frontlet of the Wolf Dance, used by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth people in a ritual for high-ranking male initiates. From Canada, now housed at the British Museum. a photo of a wolf mask frontlet used during the ritual

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An 18th century CE mask frontlet of the Wolf Dance, used by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth people in a ritual for high-ranking male initiates. From Canada, now housed at the British Museum. a photo of a wolf mask frontlet used during the ritual

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Bai sema dating to the 9th-11th century CE depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha. The key scene shows Princess Yasodhara cleaning the Buddha’s feet with her hair. Currently displayed at the Khon Kaen National Museum.

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Bai sema dating to the 9th-11th century CE depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha. The key scene shows Princess Yasodhara cleaning the Buddha’s feet with her hair. Currently displayed at the Khon Kaen National Museum.

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7th or 8th century "Musicians plate" from Tabaristan, in Ancient Northern Iran made of gilded silver depicting a Sasanian-style ruler reclining on a couch, surrounded by musicians and attendants.British Museum.

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7th or 8th century "Musicians plate" from Tabaristan, in Ancient Northern Iran made of gilded silver depicting a Sasanian-style ruler reclining on a couch, surrounded by musicians and attendants.British Museum.

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A limestone Roman funerary stele depicting a seated woman with necklaces and earrings. From Athienou in Cyprus, end of 1st century CE, now housed at the Louvre museum in Paris

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A limestone Roman funerary stele depicting a seated woman with necklaces and earrings. From Athienou in Cyprus, end of 1st century CE, now housed at the Louvre museum in Paris

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This clear glass piece with bulbous ends and notched centre is a knife rest. Popular from the 17th to early 20th century, they kept knives off tablecloths and added elegance to dining. Once essential for etiquette, they faded as dining grew more casual. Other sizes are available.

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This clear glass piece with bulbous ends and notched centre is a knife rest. Popular from the 17th to early 20th century, they kept knives off tablecloths and added elegance to dining. Once essential for etiquette, they faded as dining grew more casual. Other sizes are available.

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The Queen of the Night relief, terracotta, Old Babylonian Empire, c. 1775 BC. Current state vs. colors restored according to experts at the British Museum after analysis of pigment traces. The relief is dimly lit from below, as it probably was originally ...

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The Queen of the Night relief, terracotta, Old Babylonian Empire, c. 1775 BC. Current state vs. colors restored according to experts at the British Museum after analysis of pigment traces. The relief is dimly lit from below, as it probably was originally ...

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Ring with bust figure holding a wine cup, 1st century CE. Gold inset with a semi-precious stone. From Gandhara , now housed at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford

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Ring with bust figure holding a wine cup, 1st century CE. Gold inset with a semi-precious stone. From Gandhara , now housed at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford

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On the left: a 2400-year-old letter from Tushratta, king of Mitanni, to Amenhotep III requesting solid-gold statues as bride-price for his daughter. Right: another letter from Tushratta to Queen Tiye, complaining that the received statues were not solid gold, but merely gold-plated wood

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On the left: a 2400-year-old letter from Tushratta, king of Mitanni, to Amenhotep III requesting solid-gold statues as bride-price for his daughter. Right: another letter from Tushratta to Queen Tiye, complaining that the received statues were not solid gold, but merely gold-plated wood

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A 6th century BCE terracotta sculpture of a butcher and a piglet. From Greece, now housed at the Louvre Museum

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A 6th century BCE terracotta sculpture of a butcher and a piglet. From Greece, now housed at the Louvre Museum

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“I would rather be a dog’s or a pig’s wife than yours!”. A letter written by a Sogdian woman named Miwnay to her husband. Miwnay was abandoned by her husband in Dunhuang for 3 years and forced to be a servant with her daughter Shayn in a Chinese household. 313-314 CE, British Library

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“I would rather be a dog’s or a pig’s wife than yours!”. A letter written by a Sogdian woman named Miwnay to her husband. Miwnay was abandoned by her husband in Dunhuang for 3 years and forced to be a servant with her daughter Shayn in a Chinese household. 313-314 CE, British Library

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Winged Gorgon with volute nose, wide mouth, tusks/fangs, tongue, and beard, as Mistress of Animals flanked by geese; plate from Kameiros, Rhodes, late seventh century BC, British Museum

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Winged Gorgon with volute nose, wide mouth, tusks/fangs, tongue, and beard, as Mistress of Animals flanked by geese; plate from Kameiros, Rhodes, late seventh century BC, British Museum

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A late 19th century CE netsuke of a meditating skeleton, made of silver set in stag antler. Meiji period, from Japan, now housed at the British Museum

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A late 19th century CE netsuke of a meditating skeleton, made of silver set in stag antler. Meiji period, from Japan, now housed at the British Museum

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Model of equipment for Opening-of-Mouth ceremony: 3 rock crystal vessels and one obsidian vessel; one pink limestone implement and one schist implement; set into recesses in rectangular limestone tablet. From the Tomb of Idy in Abydos, Egypt. 6th Dynasty , British Museum

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Model of equipment for Opening-of-Mouth ceremony: 3 rock crystal vessels and one obsidian vessel; one pink limestone implement and one schist implement; set into recesses in rectangular limestone tablet. From the Tomb of Idy in Abydos, Egypt. 6th Dynasty , British Museum

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The Lupa Capitolina , a symbol of Rome since ancient times, is a bronze sculpture of a she-wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus after the legend of the foundation of the Eternal City. Thought to be an Etruscan sculpture from the 5th century BC for a long time...

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The Lupa Capitolina , a symbol of Rome since ancient times, is a bronze sculpture of a she-wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus after the legend of the foundation of the Eternal City. Thought to be an Etruscan sculpture from the 5th century BC for a long time...

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Pair of ivory Benin leopards. Leopards were considered 'kings of the forest' and were an important symbol of regal power in Benin. 19th century Nigeria, British Museum

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Pair of ivory Benin leopards. Leopards were considered 'kings of the forest' and were an important symbol of regal power in Benin. 19th century Nigeria, British Museum

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A stout barkcloth coloured red and black in painted design of lines, triangles, and zigzags. From Hawaii, 18th century CE, now housed at the British Museum

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A stout barkcloth coloured red and black in painted design of lines, triangles, and zigzags. From Hawaii, 18th century CE, now housed at the British Museum

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Reconstruction of the Achaemenid Persian 'Ganauka' or 'riding dress' in the British Museum, London. The Ganauka was a link to the Persians origin as nomads from the Eurasian steppes

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Reconstruction of the Achaemenid Persian 'Ganauka' or 'riding dress' in the British Museum, London. The Ganauka was a link to the Persians origin as nomads from the Eurasian steppes

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A blade for a short sword , with a red lacquered engraving of a bamboo and plum-blossom. From Japan, 17th century CE, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum

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A blade for a short sword , with a red lacquered engraving of a bamboo and plum-blossom. From Japan, 17th century CE, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum

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