Ceremonial

Items designed for rituals, celebrations, and sacred practices, spanning diverse cultures and eras. These artifacts, such as ornate vessels and symbolic tools, reveal the spiritual and communal traditions that shaped societies.

Vajrasattva (1100s-1200s CE)

Antiquities Asia Khmer Sculpture

The statue depicts Vajrasattva holding a vajra (thunderbolt) in the right hand and a ghanta (bell) in the left.

Maya cylindrical vessel with carved ballplayer figure, c. 600–1000 CE.

Vessel With Ballplayer (c.600-1000 CE)

Antiquities Ceremonial & Religious Maya Mesoamerica

This cylindrical vessel, adorned with a carved depiction of a diving ballplayer, captures the dynamic intensity of the Mesoamerican ballgame, a central ritual in Maya culture.

Nayarit earthenware pair of standing figures in Ixtlán del Río style, 100 BCE–300 CE.

Pair of Standing Figures (100 BCE-300 CE)

Antiquities Ceremonial & Religious Mesoamerica Nayarit

A pair of standing figures, crafted in the Ixtlán del Río style from earthenware with colored slips, depicts a male and female adorned with jewelry and symbolic attributes.

Sasanian silver-gilt dish with royal lion hunt, 400s–500s CE.

Dish With King Hormizd II (400s-500s CE)

Antiquities Household Items Iran Middle East

This 5th–6th century CE Sasanian silver-gilt dish, depicting a royal lion hunt possibly of King Hormizd II, showcases intricate metalwork and symbolizes kingship and divine order.