This “lost or stolen friend” left Easter Island in 1869. Carved of dense volcanic rock, it towers over the viewer.
Essay refreshed July 2022
Led by aggressive warrior kings, Assyria dominated the fertile crescent for half a millennia, amassing vast wealth.
Assyria, an introduction
Liturgy provided the script, architecture the set—and the altar sat center stage.
Architecture and liturgy
Founded by the famed Sargon the Great, Akkad was a powerful military empire.
Akkad, an introduction
Islanders grew fruit trees and used the wood to carve figures. This one depicts Ku, the “land snatcher.”
Polynesia, an introduction
One of the oldest known forms of writing, cuneiform was the writing system for fifteen languages over 3,000 years.
Cuneiform, an introduction
Leveraging their enormous wealth, the Assyrians built great temples and palaces full of art, all paid for by conquest.
Assyrian Sculpture
This 15th century manuscript is based on Egyptian Coptic sources, but its creators imbued it with local flair.
Illuminated Gospel
Since the 16th century, Akan women potters have created ceramic heads to serve as the focus of funerary rituals.
Memorial Head (Akan peoples)
Kanaga masks were traditionally worn during the dama, a six-day long funerary ritual for Dogon men.
Mask (Kanaga) (Dogon peoples)
Ife’s refined and highly naturalistic sculptural tradition was unlike anything else in Africa at the time.
Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures from West Africa
For two thousand years, Babylon’s lost Tower and Hanging Gardens have haunted European imagination.
Babylonia, an introduction
This mask is a portrait of a particular woman, but was worn and danced by her male relatives.
Owie Kimou, Portrait Mask (Mblo) of Moya ...
Rejecting the Rococo, artists valued moderation and favored a clear drawing style more in line with the times.
Neoclassicism, an introduction
Pop seems to glorify popular culture, but a second look reveals a critique of post-war marketing and consumerism.
Pop Art
From the advent of the printing press to the perfection of oil paint, this was a time of change in northern Europe.
An introduction to the Northern Renaissance in ...
Disorganized and youthful, Dutch troops surrender to the seasoned Spanish army. Count the victors’ spears!
Diego Velázquez, The Surrender of Breda
The intimacy of this clay sculpture is unprecedented in the ancient world. What can it tell us about Etruscan culture?
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!
