Childhood

Objects tied to the world of children, from toys to educational tools. This category offers a nostalgic glimpse into how youth was experienced and nurtured in different historical contexts.

Mourning Female Servant (c.330-320 BCE)

Antiquities Europe Greece Sculpture

A marble grave statue that turns the quiet pose of a female servant into the whole meaning of the work. Made in Attica, Greece, around 330–320 BC.

Statue of a Mourning Girl (c. 360 BCE)

Antiquities Europe Greece Sculpture

Behold an Attic funerary statue that turns a simple gesture into the whole emotional center of the work. Dated to about 360 BCE, it shows a young mourning girl with her head resting on her hand.

Cotton Mill Girl by Lewis Hine, black-and-white photograph of child laborer Sadie Pfeifer standing beside a large spinning machine in a South Carolina cotton mill, 1908

Cotton Mill Girl (1908 CE)

Documents Historic & Iconic Photography

The Cotton Mill Girl (Sadie Pfeifer), 1908 is one of the most arresting images produced by Lewis Hine. The photograph shows a frail young girl standing beside an enormous cotton-spinning machine in a South Carolina mill.

Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange, black-and-white documentary photograph of Florence Owens Thompson with children during the Great Depression, 1936

Migrant Mother (1936 CE)

Documents Historic & Iconic Photography

Widowed in 1931 and responsible for seven children by 1936, this mother was part of the vast internal migration of American families forced to travel in search of seasonal agricultural work during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years.

Family posing with pet lion, documentary photograph, 1970s

The Family Who Raised Pet Lions (1970s CE)

Documents Historic & Iconic Photography

It began in the summer of 1970 when Nina Berberov and her daughter Eva visited a zoo in Baku and discovered a sickly lion cub, that Eva initially mistook for a dying dog.

Dina Sanichar, nicknamed “Mowgli”, historical portrait photograph, 1889–1894

Dina Sanichar “Mowgli” (1889-1894 CE)

Documents Historic & Iconic Photography

Discovered in 1867 in the forests of northern India, he was described as a child who had lived for years among wolves, moving on all fours and communicating through growls rather than speech, just like the fictional character Mowgli.

Turtle Baby (c. 1910–1916 CE)

Antiquities North America Sculpture USA

Far from being a static or purely decorative piece, the sculpture embodies a vivid moment of life and movement atop a turtle, evoking curiosity, joy, and the spontaneous energy of childhood.

Pellet crossbow for a child, 1600–1650, wooden stock and bow mechanism

Pellet Crossbow for a Child (1600-1650 CE)

Antiquities Armour and Weapons Europe Germany

This small pellet crossbow, designed to launch pebbles or pellets rather than arrows, offers a glimpse into a world where playtime intertwined with practical skills.