Stone

Crafted from stone, one of humanity’s earliest materials for tools and art. This category includes carvings and implements that reflect ancient ingenuity and artistry.

The Omphalos of Delphi (19th-20th century CE)

Antiquities Ceremonial & Religious Europe Greece

This Omphalos stands at the center of the earth, the point where Zeus marked the world’s navel and where Apollo’s oracle gave voice to divine knowledge.

Small Buddhist votive stupa sculpture with architectural details

Miniature Votive Stupa (435 CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious China

This votive stupa carved in steatite and densely inscribed with sacred text and imagery, it encapsulates key aspects of early Chinese Buddhism: devotion, cosmology, and the transmission of religious ideas along the Silk Road.

Miniature metate stone grinding slab from Central Mexico, 700–1000 CE

Miniature Metate (700–1000 CE)

Antiquities Household Items Mesoamerica Veracruz culture

This miniature metate is a small, intricately carved stone grinding slab from Central Mexico, likely originating in Xochicalco (Morelos region) during the Epiclassic period.

Gandharan patera with man riding a monster, 1–200 CE

Patera with Man Riding Monster (1–200 CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Gandaharan

A patera is a shallow bowl or dish traditionally used for libations—the ritual pouring of liquids such as water, wine, or oil as offerings to deities, ancestors, or sacred forces.

Aztec Chalchiuhtlicue sculpture, 1200–1521 CE, goddess figure in stone

Aztec Chalchiuhtlicue (1200-1521 CE)

Antiquities Aztec Ceremonial & Religious Mesoamerica

Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of terrestrial waters—rivers, lakes, and groundwater—was central to Aztec cosmology, reflecting the critical role of water in their agriculture-based society.