Browse Items (972 total)

Cowries throughout Africa are symbols of wealth and well-being and, in some parts of West Africa, were used as a form of currency. In Akan communities cast gold cowrie shells were worn by high-status individuals such as the Asantehene, paramount…

British Colonial Issue rupee of George V, King of the United Kingdom, 1918

Neck rings, such as this imposing gold example, are cited in early sources as playing a role both in the glorification of military heroes and in coronation ceremonies. This pectoral necklace is composed of a plain, hollow neck ring attached to a…

Folio from a manuscript of Mu'nis al-ahrar fi daqa 'iq al-ash'ar (The Free Men's Companion to the Subtleties of Poems) by Muhammad ibn Badr al-Din Jajarmi: Treasurer, money changer, courier and jeweler; tent, pavilion, drum, and banner; lion, onager,…

Gold solidus of Emperor Justinian I, Byzantine (r. c. 527 - 565 CE), pierced

Print, American, 1938

Silver Tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter, minted in Egypt (r. 323-285 BCE)
Obv.: Head of Alexander in lion skin and aegis r., with horns of Zeus Ammon; dotted border.
Rev.: Athena Alkidemos, r., holding spear and shield; to r., an eagle clutching…

https://harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/191447?position=0