Ceremonial & Religious

Items designed for rituals, religious practices, and special ceremonies from around the globe. This category includes ornate tools, masks, and symbols that highlight the spiritual and communal traditions of various societies.

Ballgame Palma (c.900-1100 CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Veracruz culture

Carved 900–1100 CE, this stone ballgame palma from Mexico’s Gulf Coast shows bats and sacrifice in Classic Veracruz style.

Byzantine ivory panel of the enthroned Virgin and Child, Constantinople, 950–1025

Enthroned Mother of God (950-1025 CE)

Antiquities Byzantine Ceremonial & Religious Europe

Carved 950–1025 CE, this Byzantine ivory panel from Constantinople seats the mother of god and Christ with angels above.

Khmer bronze naga finial with multiple heads, Angkor period, 1100s CE

Naga Finial (1100s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Khmer

Cast during the Angkor period (9th–15th centuries), this bronze piece shows a multiheaded naga.

Chavín hammered gold plaque with fanged deity and serpent border, 500–200 BCE

Gold Plaque (500-200 BCE)

Antiquities Ceremonial & Religious Chavin Culture South America

Hammered between 500 and 200 BCE, this gold plaque from Peru’s Chavín culture shapes a fanged deity with sixteen serpents along the edges.

Negoro Tray (1392–1573 CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Japan

A wooden tray from Japan’s Muromachi period, adorned with red-over-black Negoro lacquer, crafted for Buddhist rituals, showcasing elegance and spiritual duality.

Egyptian canopic jar with falcon head lid, 664–525 BCE

Canopic Jar With Falcons Head (664-525 BCE)

Antiquities Africa Ceremonial & Religious Egyptian

A travertine canopic jar from 664–525 BCE, topped with a falcon-headed lid symbolizing Qebehsenuef, crafted to safeguard intestines for the Egyptian afterlife.