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Thank-you note to the host of a tea ceremony from Furuta Oribe , a daimyō and tea master. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Loaned to the Japan Society. See translation in comments

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Thank-you note to the host of a tea ceremony from Furuta Oribe , a daimyō and tea master. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Loaned to the Japan Society. See translation in comments

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Painting of Shakyamuni emerging from the mountains by an unidentified Southern Song dynasty artist, dated 1244. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. See inscription translation in comments. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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Painting of Shakyamuni emerging from the mountains by an unidentified Southern Song dynasty artist, dated 1244. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. See inscription translation in comments. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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The Roman curse tablets of Bath are the private prayers of 130 individuals seeking justice inscribed on small sheets of lead or pewter. They range in date from the 2nd to the late 4th century AD. Roman Baths Museum. Translation in comments

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The Roman curse tablets of Bath are the private prayers of 130 individuals seeking justice inscribed on small sheets of lead or pewter. They range in date from the 2nd to the late 4th century AD. Roman Baths Museum. Translation in comments

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"Two Rabbits in Winter" by Lü Ji . China, Ming dynasty, late 15th or early 16th c. Hanging scroll with ink and color on silk. Loaned to the Cleveland Museum of Art

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"Two Rabbits in Winter" by Lü Ji . China, Ming dynasty, late 15th or early 16th c. Hanging scroll with ink and color on silk. Loaned to the Cleveland Museum of Art

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Excerpt from the Han dynasty civil case Su Jun v. Kou En, dated 3rd year of Jianwu , recovered in 1974 from Juyan, China. The records for the case survived almost in full and provide a view into civil lawsuits of Han China. Translation of entire case in comments

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Excerpt from the Han dynasty civil case Su Jun v. Kou En, dated 3rd year of Jianwu , recovered in 1974 from Juyan, China. The records for the case survived almost in full and provide a view into civil lawsuits of Han China. Translation of entire case in comments

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A Coptic magical text , 6th–7th century CE, from Egypt. Ink on papyrus, now part of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.

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A Coptic magical text , 6th–7th century CE, from Egypt. Ink on papyrus, now part of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.

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A woman is attacked by the Kamikiri on her way to the toilet. Translation in comments. Print by Utagawa Yoshifuji. Japan, 1868

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A woman is attacked by the Kamikiri on her way to the toilet. Translation in comments. Print by Utagawa Yoshifuji. Japan, 1868

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A demon flattening someone out and preparing to cut them into soba noodles. From the hell scroll made by the Japanese artist Nichōsai

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A demon flattening someone out and preparing to cut them into soba noodles. From the hell scroll made by the Japanese artist Nichōsai

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A pagoda scroll comprised of characters from the Lotus Sutra, written by Li Zhen in 1617 CE. Ming dynasty, from China, now housed at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.

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A pagoda scroll comprised of characters from the Lotus Sutra, written by Li Zhen in 1617 CE. Ming dynasty, from China, now housed at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.

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Chair from the court of Christian V of Denmark. The chair has trapping mechanisms in the arms, a bellow in the seat that acts as a whoopee cushion and a water tank in the back to emulate the sound of the sitter peeing their pants. Late 17th century.

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Chair from the court of Christian V of Denmark. The chair has trapping mechanisms in the arms, a bellow in the seat that acts as a whoopee cushion and a water tank in the back to emulate the sound of the sitter peeing their pants. Late 17th century.

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Proclamation by King Seonjo of Korea to the Korean people, dated 1593 during the height of the Imjin Japanese invasion, urging Koreans taken prisoner or forced into collaboration to escape to un-occupied territories or provide assistance for the war effort. Full translation in comments

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Proclamation by King Seonjo of Korea to the Korean people, dated 1593 during the height of the Imjin Japanese invasion, urging Koreans taken prisoner or forced into collaboration to escape to un-occupied territories or provide assistance for the war effort. Full translation in comments

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The final edict of Emperor Wu of Han, one of the most significant ancient Chinese emperors, 87 BC. It was an instruction to his crown prince. Preserved by a copy on a piece of wood discovered in 1977. Full translation in the comments.

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The final edict of Emperor Wu of Han, one of the most significant ancient Chinese emperors, 87 BC. It was an instruction to his crown prince. Preserved by a copy on a piece of wood discovered in 1977. Full translation in the comments.

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An English translation of Kachi-Kachi Yama, a gruesome fairy tale. Story in comments. Japan, Meiji period, 1885

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An English translation of Kachi-Kachi Yama, a gruesome fairy tale. Story in comments. Japan, Meiji period, 1885

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Terracotta bell krater with Hermes and Hekate leading Persephone from the underworld to her mother Demeter. Greek, Attic, ca. 440 BC. Red-figure decoration attributed to the Persephone painter. See link in comments for reverse with libation scene. Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

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Terracotta bell krater with Hermes and Hekate leading Persephone from the underworld to her mother Demeter. Greek, Attic, ca. 440 BC. Red-figure decoration attributed to the Persephone painter. See link in comments for reverse with libation scene. Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

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Scenes of Hell from a copy of the Ojōyōshū, a 10th century text describing the Buddhist Hells and how to avoid ending up in them. Japan, Edo period, 1790

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Scenes of Hell from a copy of the Ojōyōshū, a 10th century text describing the Buddhist Hells and how to avoid ending up in them. Japan, Edo period, 1790

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Dagger with double-edged watered steel blade and white nephrite jade pommel in the form of a horse's head. India, mid 17th c. Loaned to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from the Al-Sahah Collection, Kuwait

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Dagger with double-edged watered steel blade and white nephrite jade pommel in the form of a horse's head. India, mid 17th c. Loaned to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from the Al-Sahah Collection, Kuwait

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This gold and enamel ring was made in Italy in the 17th-century. Diamonds are set in the skull’s eye sockets and nose, and in the crossbones. Memento mori rings – from the Latin ‘remember that you must die’ – were intended to remind the wearer of the brevity of life.

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This gold and enamel ring was made in Italy in the 17th-century. Diamonds are set in the skull’s eye sockets and nose, and in the crossbones. Memento mori rings – from the Latin ‘remember that you must die’ – were intended to remind the wearer of the brevity of life.

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Letter dated 106 CE, written by a county officer about attempts on his life by by family members after two murder and robbery suspects were killed for resisting arrest, unearthed from a Han dynasty official document deposit, found in Changsha, China. Full translation in comments.

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Letter dated 106 CE, written by a county officer about attempts on his life by by family members after two murder and robbery suspects were killed for resisting arrest, unearthed from a Han dynasty official document deposit, found in Changsha, China. Full translation in comments.

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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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