Gold, glass, and marble dazzle the eye in this 6th-century church. High above us, Emperor Justinian presides.
Essay refreshed August 2022
Ku-ka’ili-moko, one of the manifestations of Ku, is the Hawaiian god of war, and this one was made for and erected by King Kamehameha I at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Temple figure of war god Ku-ka’ili-moku
![Seydou Keïta, Untitled [Seated Woman with Chevron Print Dress], 1956, printed 1997, Mali, Bamako, gelatin silver print, 60.96 x 50.8 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)](https://smarthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/screen-shot-2016-10-15-at-8-42-48-am-524x350.png)
Studio photography produced mementos for the growing middle class: Keïta’s Bamako studio was abuzz with clients.
Seydou Keïta, Untitled (Seated Woman with Chevron ...
A sacred object made by Rarotongan men and women represents an important deity to Cook Islanders
Staff-god
This painting blends deep piety with scientific observation. Both its architecture and figures were radically new.
Masaccio, Holy Trinity
In this still life, objects and customs from around the world converge around one delicious food: chocolate.
A Still Life of Global Dimensions: Antonio ...
This dignified portrait of a Native leader belies the cruel treatment he endured at the time of its painting.
The White Cloud, Head Chief of the ...
This photograph commemorates a historic royal visit and captures the practice of Fijian gift exchange.
Presentation of Fijian Mats and Tapa Cloths ...
We can approach an artwork as a physical object, a visual experience, a cultural artifact—or as all three.
Introduction to art historical analysis
This photograph commemorates a historic royal visit and captures the practice of Fijian gift exchange.
Presentation of Fijian Mats and Tapa Cloths ...
The small-scale societies of these islands became famous in the West for their ceremonial wooden carvings.
Melanesia, an introduction
Hawaiian nobility donned these “red garments” in ceremonies and battle and later gave them to Europeans as gifts.
Feather cape
Studio photography produced mementos for the growing middle class: Keïta’s Bamako studio was abuzz with clients.
Seydou Keïta, Untitled (Seated Woman with Chevron ...
While its itsy bitsy American counterpart climbed up the waterspout, the spider shown here brought wisdom to Ghana.
Linguist Staff (Okyeamepoma) (Asante peoples)
Pious, multilingual, and technologically advanced, these coins were currency in more ways than one.
Aksumite Coins
Who is this mysterious running horned woman, painted in a secluded, difficult to access part of Tassili?
Running Horned Woman, Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria
These sculptures reflect the complementary social roles of men and women in Senufo culture.
Male and Female Poro altar figures (Senufo ...
Each of these works embodies complementary Bamana ideals of physical beauty and moral character
Mother and Child & Seated Male with ...
This type of vessel has been interpreted by art historians as a representation of the mythic ark central to Dogon accounts of genesis.
Ritual Container (Dogon peoples)
“Beautiful women paintings” provide insight into ideals of beauty and other social customs at the Tang court.
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