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Found in the Royal Tombs of Ur (Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq). Specifically in Tomb 779, which is considered the second oldest on this site. From the Early Dynastic period, 2550-2400 BCE. It was excavated in the 1920s by Sir Leonard Woolley and is now held in the British Museum in London. Made from wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, red limestone, and bitumen. It is decorated on all four sides with an early example of pictorial narrative. There is a War and Peace side that reads from bottom to top. The war side shows the early Sumerian army and shows the before and after of war. You can see the wealthier people at the top registers, it also shows three levels of society. The king is seated higher showing hierarchical scale and is wearing fancier clothing known as Kaunakes. On the war side you see violence and people being trampled by chariots led by donkeys. At the bottom you see people leading animals. The middle register has soldiers in formation for battle. Again, you see the king on the top register being brought naked prisoners of war. A lugal is the most important man which would be the king.

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This is from the Tomb PG 1237, Royal Tombs of Ur, Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq. From the Early Dynastic Period, 2550-2400 BCE. It is made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, copper alloy, shell, red limestone, and bitumen. The ram head and legs are layered in gold leaf, with copper ears. The horns and upper fleece are lapis lazuli. Artists in Mesopotamia liked to use many varied materials and colors in their art. There is another piece to the ram, one in London and the other is in Philly. The ram is eighteen inches tall and has a wooden core.

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From Crete, Greece in c. 1600 BCE. She is made from faience which is a non-clay ceramic material. The height is eleven and a half inches and is now in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Crete, Greece. She was discovered by Sir Arthur Evans at Knossos, Greece.

We are yet to fully understand the purpose of this object, but it is believed she was used for ritual purposes. This was found in a devoted pit in the company of another figure. When the Snake Goddess was originally excavated her head and left arm were missing. The cat placed on her head had no real reason for being there. The goddess is wearing a flounced shirt which is a weaving known to Minoans. The personal adornment was very important to the Minoans.

The woman is fully symmetrical and elongated holding snakes in her hands. Her waist is very sinched in, with very white skin.

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The Toreador fresco was found at the palace of Knossos, Crete, Greece, in c. 1400 BCE. Now in Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Crete. This shows bull leaping which was a popular Minoan pastime. Bull leaping is illustrated on multiple artifacts. The bulls were very sacred to at the time and were used in ritual events. We can see three human forms; a woman stands on either side with a man leaping over the bull with elongated bodies. The woman on the left holds the horns of the bulls. There is no landscape on the back of this image of the bull leaping scene. You can see adornments on the women's arms with elongated bodies. They are not conquering the bull they are only leaping over it. The shoes look to be short stockings and pointed moccasin-like shoes. They seem to have long black hair and an acrobatic approach to the bull.

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Nike of Samothrace is from ca. 190 BCE and is a Hallmark of Hellenistic art. She was found at the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on the island of Samothrace. Now she is on display at the Louvre and has been since 1866. The sculpture is made of two parts, the ship's bow is made of bluish-grey Lartos marble, and the statue is made from white Parian marble. The statue of Nike is nine feet tall, and the entire composition is over eighteen feet. You must move around the sculpture to understand what it is doing. She was part of a large multimedia composition. There was a fountain of running water, and ships well made of stones, paint, metal, and would have been a sensory experience. This was a victory monument standing for a naval victory. It was an important part of propaganda in the Hellenistic period to show in sanctuaries. It would show your status, strength, and your wealth. Her drapery was in motion, and the windswept. It slightly shows her anatomy; you can see her positioned as if she was slightly stepping down on her right foot. Her wings look to be still beating, her arms would have been outreached.

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This box dates to 332-20 B.C. in the Ptolemaic Period. From Egypt said to be from Middle Egypt, Asyut (Lykopolis) The medium of the piece is painted gilded wood, linen, resin, and feathers. The dimensions is it is twenty-three and one sixteenth inches tall by nine and thirteen sixteenth inches wide and thirteen and one eighth deep. You can now find this in the Metroplitan Museum of Art in New York City. The inside of the box has feathers from a falcon but no bones.  The colors consist of gold pigment along with earthy tones like red, green, and black. The box gives a warm tone with gold pigment. The falcon is the focal point with darker colors being used. The texture appears glossy and smooth on both the falcon and the box. The vertical lines have a rougher texture. The falcon and the box both have a scale-like texture. The top of the box has a checkered/ tiled pattern.

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The Good Shepherd mosaic is on the north side of the Oratory of Galla Placidia. The mosaic is from Ravenna, Italy in c. 425. It was a mosaic that covered the upper portions of the walls. One of the most important representations of Christ in early Christian art. We see Christ tending to his flock. Christ is seated in a landscape, it is naturalistic. We see iconography as Jesus seen as an emperor with a purple toga, his nimbus, and a cross inscribed scepter. He is attending to the sheep that have mass and volume. Jesus also resembles Apollo and Orpheus. The landscape is rooted in classical tradition. Late antiquity is a time of emerging Christianity when the Romans were coming to have a new Christian identity.

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The Virgin of Vladimir is from Istanbul, Turkey in c. 1131. It is made with Tempura and gold on a panel with dimensions of 44¾ × 26¾ in. You can find this icon at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. This was an icon that was a vehicle of prayer. This has a function and a purpose not just an image and is viewed as having spiritual powers. Before icons were put in museums they were added to, touched, and restored if the image was damaged. These are not artistic creations; they are religious objects so the artist would never be upset if it was ruined. Very typical Byzantine representation of mother and Christ child. Very compassionate as their faces touch, but with a sense of sadness. The posture of the two is distinctive of Byzantine art. The bodies of the figures are flat and are two-dimensional. This icon was produced in the twelfth century in Constantinople and was brought to Kiev as a diplomatic gift. This icon was associated with miracles and divine protection. It was believed this icon was apotropaic and had the power to ward off invading armies. This image traveled extensively before it ended in Moscow in 1480 to help against the Mongol invasion. She warded off many attacks but now has some wear and tears. The icon has been repainted and fixed many times.

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Augustus as Imperator was discovered in the Villa of Liva, Prima Porta, Italy, in the early first century CE. You can now find this sculpture in the Vatican Museum in Rome. The material is marble and was originally painted with polychrome. It is believed the original was made of bronze from the late first century BCE. The height is six feet and eight inches. Augustus came to power in his early thirties which is why he looks so youthful. He never ages in any of his portraits. When he became emperor, he utilized material culture in the service of the empire. He creates monumental architecture and understands that art is power. Augustus makes sure to send out his image all over the empire to make himself more familiar to the people of Rome. He has idealized proportions and a contraposes stance. Augustus looked towards classical Greece during the material culture. He is wearing a cuirass which is a skirt and a breast plate. He is standing next to a contrapposto pose where his arm is extended, and he is about to address. The symbolism is Roman, but the style is classical Greece. The support is an image of Cupid riding a dolphin. Augustus claimed to have ascended from Venus the same as Cupid. Augustus claims divine lineage which gives him the right to be emperor. We see relief sculptures that show peacefulness. In the pectoral region, we know the sky God displayed in the mantel and the chariots that pulled the sun and moon. This shows that everything the sky touches during the night and the day is under Augustus' power. The middle is the most important diplomatic event under Augustus. On the left, we see a soldier and on the right side, we see a Roman soldier holding a Roman standard. Augustus is showing that he can resolve things without conflict. He was able to negotiate the exchange of Roman standards.