A <n>Mayan</n> <n>Seated Figure with Removable Helmet</n> from Petén, Guatemala, c. 600-900 AD. Photo by <n>Justin Kerr</n>.

<n>Breastplate in the Shape of a Shirt</n> (c. 900 AD) from the <n>Lambayeque (Sicán) culture</n> of Peru.

<n>Acrobat Vessel</n>, a <n>Colima</n> culture ceramic from Mexico, c. 2nd century BC–3rd century AD. From <n>The Met</n>.

<n>Electric Kettle</n> designed by <n>Peter Behrens</n>, 1908-09.

Ancient Greek <n>marble vessel</n> from 425 BC, shaped like a <n>Pelican's Foot Seashell</n>.

<n>Kettle</n> designed by <n>John Gordon Rideout</n>, c. 1940. Image from the <n>Brooklyn Museum</n>.

A <n>Phoenician</n> <n>cosmetic-vessel</n> carved from a Tridacna shell, 8th-7th century BC. From the <n>British Museum</n> collection.

700 BCE-650 BCE PHOENICIAN Carved shell (Tridacna squamosa) with a human head and two incised winged sphinxes on the edge of the inner side; lotus buds and flowers in the space above the sphinxes with a band of triangles framed by parallel lines defining the inner edge of the field; assembled from fragments. The carved shell was used to hold cosmetics. E.MED, found probably in Vulci Italy. B.M.

<n>Silver goddess figurine</n> with gold highlights from <n>Anatolia</n>, c. 2500-2300 BC.

A <n>Celtic bronze purse</n> with gold coins, c. 200 BC, found in Manching, Germany.

A <n>basalt pebble carved as a mouflon</n> from the Indus Valley, 3rd millennium BC.

<n>Mayan conch shell paint container</n> in the form of a human hand.

A <n>ritual wine vessel (You)</n> in the shape of an owl from China's late <n>Shang dynasty</n>, c. 13th/12th century BC.

<n>Male Head</n>, a bronze sculpture from the <n>Ban Chiang culture</n> in Thailand, c. 1st millennium B.C.

<n>Relief plaque with face of an owl hieroglyph</n> from ancient Egypt, c. 400–30 B.C.

<n>Theatre Masks of Ancient Greece</n>. Image credit <n>The Kennedy Center Arts Edge</n>.

<n>Roman Carved Rock Crystal Fish</n>, 1st Century AD. Photo by <n>Timeline Auctions</n>.

<n>Badger-shaped incense burner</n> from Japan's <n>Edo Period</n>, c. 1780.

A sculpture inside the <n>Capilla de las Capuchinas</n>, designed by architect <n>Luis Barragán</n>.

A 10th-century stone sculpture of an <n>Elephant</n> from Nishapur, Iran, possibly a chess piece or toy.

A <n>Storm God vessel</n> from the <n>Mixtec civilization</n> in Mexico, c. 1100-1400.

Yusuke Wakasa Katakuchi Sake Server Cup Set

<n>Pottery Vessel in the Form of Ram</n>, a ceramic from Western Iran, c. 1350-800 B.C.

The <n>Yachou Axe</n>, a ceremonial bronze axe from the Late <n>Shang Dynasty</n>.

<n>Female ceramic figurine</n> from the <n>Nazca culture</n>, Peru (100-800 AD). From the collection of the <n>Regional Museum of Ica</n>.

The <n>Shropshire bulla</n>, a Late Bronze Age gold pendant from 1000-800 BC, housed at the <n>British Museum</n>.

<n>Shakōki-dogū</n> figurine from the late <n>Jōmon period</n>, 1000-400 BC.

<n>Anthropomorphic figure of a polar bear carrying its cub</n>, an <n>Inuit</n> carving from the early 19th century.

An <n>Egyptian rock crystal scarab</n> from the <n>Late Period</n>, c. 664-332 B.C.

A <n>Brazilian Modern</n> style bench designed by <n>Jose Zanine Caldas</n>.

An <n>Ancient Egyptian black serpentine scarab</n> amulet, dated to 664-332 BCE.

<n>Side Chair, model no. 371</n>, designed by <n>Josef Hoffmann</n> for the 1908 <n>Kunstschau Wien</n>.

JOSEF HOFFMANN
Side Chair, model no. 371
circa 1908

A 9th-century <n>Female Torso</n> sculpture from Rajasthan, India, displayed at the <n>Victoria and Albert Museum</n>.

<n>Inuit Otter Amulet</n>, an engraved and pigmented ivory sculpture from c. 1870-1880.