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Ziggurats in the U.S.: the reception of Assyrian architecture in New York City
Ziggurats in the U.S.: the reception of Assyrian architecture in New York City

Architects used Assyrianizing motifs strategically to help their businesses stand out in New York’s competitive urban landscape.

Muriel Hasbun, <em>Todos los santos (Volcán de Izalco, amén)</em>
Muriel Hasbun, Todos los santos (Volcán de Izalco, amén)

Superimposing Arabic calligraphy over a photograph of El Salvador's Izalco volcano, Hasbun reflects on her family's diasporic origins.

Maya Lin, <em>Ghost Forest</em>
Maya Lin, Ghost Forest

Installed in Madison Square Park, these skeletal trees express the devastation of climate change.

<em>Standing Male Worshipper</em> (Tell Asmar)
Standing Male Worshipper (Tell Asmar)

One of a group buried in a temple almost 5,000 years ago, this statue’s job was to worship Abu—forever.

Mirror with game board design and animals of the four directions
Mirror with game board design and animals of the four directions

This ancient bronze mirror features elaborate designs representing immortality and the cosmos.

Jar (Hu)
Jar (Hu)

Painted spirals recall the crests of waves on this 4,500-year-old jar.

Elephant Mask (Bamileke Peoples)
Elephant Mask (Bamileke Peoples)

Members of the Kuosi society express the authority, affluence, and strength of the ruler through masquerade.

Artist, scribe, and poet: Abu Zayd and 12th-century Iranian ceramics
Artist, scribe, and poet: Abu Zayd and 12th-century Iranian ceramics

Poetry is central to this bowl—Persian and Arabic poems encircle the vessel on both its exterior and interior.

Tomb model of a watchtower
Tomb model of a watchtower

Buried in an Eastern Han tomb, this watchtower model represents the ideal world of the tomb occupant's afterlife in miniature.

A Mamluk candlestick base
A Mamluk candlestick base

Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad's candlestick base exemplifies a new visual language of power that emerged in 14th-century Egypt and Syria.

André Masson, <em>Battle of Fishes</em>
André Masson, Battle of Fishes

The Surrealist interest in chance, subconscious creativity, and metamorphosis of forms can be seen in Masson's Battle of Fishes

Depicting Judaism in a medieval Christian ivory
Depicting Judaism in a medieval Christian ivory

With two figures representing the Church and the Synagogue, this work demonstrates how Carolingians were negotiating the relationship between Christianity and Judaism