Ancient Art

Sculpture

A Great Mystery: Sanxingdui Masks

Who doesn’t love a mystery? Especially an art history mystery. Made by a previously unknown Chinese kingdom, the 3,000-year-old bronze...

Nadine Waldmann 7 January 2026

Ancient Egypt

The Egyptian Icon in Berlin: The Bust of Queen Nefertiti

The bust of Queen Nefertiti housed in Berlin’s Neues Museum is one of Ancient Egypt’s most famous works of art. A prime example of ancient...

Nadine Waldmann 7 January 2026

Ancient Egypt

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut in Egypt

Hatshepsut (c. 1507-1458 B.C.E.) was the fifth pharaoh of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty and arguably the most important among ancient Egypt’s many female...

Maya M. Tola 7 January 2026

Ancient Art

How to Show Up in a Gym—3 Ancient Sculptures of Hercules

In Greek mythology, Herakles was a demigod and a much-admired heroic figure. The Romans called him Hercules (Herakles was his Greek name), and he was...

Ameera Patel 1 January 2026

Standing Bodhisattva, 3rd century, gray schist stone, Gandhara, Pakistan, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Standing Bodhisattva

Standing Bodhisattva is a great example of Gandharan art and its blended multicultural origins: East meets...

James W Singer 14 December 2025

Buddha Dated 338, gilt bronze, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, USA. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Buddha Dated 338

Buddha dated 338 is a masterpiece of Buddhist art and Chinese art with deep historical significance. It exemplifies the early blending of Indian...

James W Singer 14 December 2025

Quiz

QUIZ: Can You Guess This Ancient God?

Ania Kaczynska 13 December 2025

Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire, Destruction, 1836, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Ancient Rome

Painting the Fall of the Roman Empire

After many centuries, we are still wondering why the Roman Empire disappeared. Many theories try to explain it: wars, ideological problems, a chaotic...

Celia Leiva Otto 11 December 2025

Ancient Rome

The Ancient Queen and the Modern Sculptress: Zenobia by Harriet Hosmer

Harriet Hosmer, the 19th-century American sculptor from Watertown, Massachusetts was the exceptional talent behind the towering sculpture of Zenobia.

Maya M. Tola 8 December 2025

Quiz

QUIZ: What Do You Know About Ancient Mosaics?

Alexandra Kiely 6 December 2025

Ancient Rome

Roman Floor Mosaics: Stories in Stone and Glass

Floor mosaics are one of the most well-preserved and widespread objects of Roman art. They were found throughout the Roman Empire from Britain to...

Anuradha Sroha 1 December 2025

Art of Australia & Oceania

Indigenous Australian Art: Traditions from a Fascinating Ancient Past

Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) culture is nowadays considered one of the most ancient in the world. Some historians...

Camilla de Laurentis 25 November 2025