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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

ARTIFACT / Photography

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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Dish with a king hunting lions. He is identified by his distinctive eagle crown as Hormizd II but his equipment suggests a later period . Iran, Sasanian dynasty, 400–600 AD. Silver gilt. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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Dish with a king hunting lions. He is identified by his distinctive eagle crown as Hormizd II but his equipment suggests a later period . Iran, Sasanian dynasty, 400–600 AD. Silver gilt. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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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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Knickknack peddler approaching woman and children. China, Yuan or Ming dynasty, 13th-15th c, artist unidentified. Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk. Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

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Knickknack peddler approaching woman and children. China, Yuan or Ming dynasty, 13th-15th c, artist unidentified. Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on silk. Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

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Travertine vessel in the form of an ostrich egg. New Kingdom Egypt, 18th dynasty, ca. 1540-1296 BC. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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Travertine vessel in the form of an ostrich egg. New Kingdom Egypt, 18th dynasty, ca. 1540-1296 BC. Cleveland 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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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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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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Mat weight in the form of a bear. China, Western Han dynasty, 202 BC - 9 AD. Gilt bronze. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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Mat weight in the form of a bear. China, Western Han dynasty, 202 BC - 9 AD. Gilt bronze. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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Tribute Giraffe with Attendant. China, Ming dynasty, 16th c. Ink and color on silk; hanging scroll. Philadelphia Museum of Art collection

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Tribute Giraffe with Attendant. China, Ming dynasty, 16th c. Ink and color on silk; hanging scroll. Philadelphia Museum of Art collection

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Stoneware cup with underglaze painted decoration . Northern China, 13th or 14th c . Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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Stoneware cup with underglaze painted decoration . Northern China, 13th or 14th c . Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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Mixtec-Puebla Skull-Shaped Censer from Mexico, a slip-painted ceramic artifact dating from 1400-1521.The piece is currently part of the collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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Mixtec-Puebla Skull-Shaped Censer from Mexico, a slip-painted ceramic artifact dating from 1400-1521.The piece is currently part of the collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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"Feeling the Enemy" by Winslow Homer, 1887-1888. Crayon, pen and black ink on paper. Princeton University Art Museum collection

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"Feeling the Enemy" by Winslow Homer, 1887-1888. Crayon, pen and black ink on paper. Princeton University Art Museum collection

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Chimú Prisoner Textile, fragment of a wall hanging that was over 100 ft long. Chimú culture, central coast, Peru, ca. 1200-1290 AD. Cotton with red, ochre, green, and blue pigments. Princeton University Art Gallery collection

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Chimú Prisoner Textile, fragment of a wall hanging that was over 100 ft long. Chimú culture, central coast, Peru, ca. 1200-1290 AD. Cotton with red, ochre, green, and blue pigments. Princeton University Art Gallery collection

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Grapes by Motsurin Jōtō . Japan, Muromachi period, ca. ca. 1480–92. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

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Grapes by Motsurin Jōtō . Japan, Muromachi period, ca. ca. 1480–92. Hanging scroll; ink on paper. Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

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Deer skull fragment with inscription about the time and place of a king's hunting activities. China, Shang dynasty, around 1200 BC

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Deer skull fragment with inscription about the time and place of a king's hunting activities. China, Shang dynasty, around 1200 BC

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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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A Manichæan silk painting of the Buddha-Jesus, from the Southern Song Dynasty, c.12-13th century CE. A syncretic figure is seated in lotus position. He holds a red lotus, in which rests a golden cross. He is haloed by a Christian nimbus, and rests under a Buddhist chatra .

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A Manichæan silk painting of the Buddha-Jesus, from the Southern Song Dynasty, c.12-13th century CE. A syncretic figure is seated in lotus position. He holds a red lotus, in which rests a golden cross. He is haloed by a Christian nimbus, and rests under a Buddhist chatra .

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An early Arabic inscription, found in Tayma, modern Saudi Arabia, dating to 656 CE, during the first fitna immediately following the assassination of Caliph Uthman. Translation in comments.

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An early Arabic inscription, found in Tayma, modern Saudi Arabia, dating to 656 CE, during the first fitna immediately following the assassination of Caliph Uthman. Translation in comments.

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White-ground ceramic lekythos with the virgin huntress Atalanta pursued by Eros and Erotes. Greek, Attic, ca. 500-490 BC; decoration attributed to the vase painter Douris. More pics in museum link in comments. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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White-ground ceramic lekythos with the virgin huntress Atalanta pursued by Eros and Erotes. Greek, Attic, ca. 500-490 BC; decoration attributed to the vase painter Douris. More pics in museum link in comments. Cleveland Museum of Art collection

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