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A Japanese Edo period sword guard (tsuba) in copper-gold shakudō alloy with enamelled cloisonné (shippō) decoration, ca. 1615–1868 — the finest expression of Japanese metalwork artistry in miniature.

A carved chert cylinder seal from the Akkadian Empire (ca. 2250–2150 BCE) bearing a hunting scene — the world's earliest form of personal identification, rolled across wet clay to authenticate documents and seal containers in ancient Mesopotamia.

A moulded polychrome tile in the cuerda seca (dry cord) technique, gilded, dated 824 AH / 1421 CE — from a Timurid or early Safavid architectural context in Iran. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

A fine Ottoman Iznik stonepaste dish painted with two birds among flowering plants in polychrome underglaze, ca. 16th–17th century — one of the most celebrated ceramic traditions in world art history.

A carved stone bust of the multi-armed Buddhist deity Hevajra from the Khmer Empire, Angkor period, late 12th to early 13th century CE — from the civilisation that built Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world.

A carved elephant ivory panel depicting the Koimesis — the Dormition (falling-asleep) of the Virgin Mary — from the Byzantine tradition, late 10th century. One of the supreme expressions of Byzantine miniature carving.

A well-preserved silver denarius of the Roman moneyer Postumius Albinus, ca. 96 BCE, struck at the height of the late Roman Republic — among the finest examples of Roman numismatic portraiture and reverse iconography.

A cast copper alloy brooch of the La Tène Celtic tradition, ca. 600 BCE, displaying the fluid curvilinear ornament that characterises Iron Age Celtic art across Europe — a supreme example of pre-Roman European metalwork.

A cast copper alloy round box brooch with selectively applied silver foil from the Viking Age, Norway, 1000–1100 CE — the type of personal ornament worn by Viking women to fasten their layered linen and wool garments.

A moulded earthenware tile with cobalt painting on opaque white glaze, powdered with gold under a transparent glaze — from Andalusia (Muslim Spain) in the second half of the 15th century. A rare survival of Nasrid-period architectural tilework.

A large pressure-flaked obsidian blade from the Mexica (Aztec) tradition, Central Mexico, 13th–16th century CE — among the most technically demanding stone tools ever produced, with an edge sharper than modern surgical steel.

A carved jadeite bird pendant from the Maya Classic period, 300–700 CE — among the most precious objects in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, where jade surpassed gold in value and sacred significance.