Our collections

Treasures of the ancient world

Browse highlights from our seven galleries. Filter by civilisation, then select an object to learn its story.

Filter by civilisation

Showing 15 objects

Gold funerary mask with a blue-striped headdress, a cobra and vulture on the brow and a long plaited beard
Egypt

Gilded Funerary Mask

c. 1300 BC · Gold leaf over cartonnage

Blue lapis scarab beetle holding a red sun disc, framed by outspread wings inlaid with coloured stones
Egypt

Heart Scarab Amulet

c. 1450 BC · Glazed steatite

Canopic jar with a human-headed lid and an ankh symbol on its side
Egypt

Canopic Jar of Imsety

c. 1000 BC · Limestone

Tall black Greek amphora with two handles, painted with orange figures in a lively scene
Greece

Red-Figure Amphora

c. 480 BC · Painted terracotta

Polished bronze Corinthian helmet with a tall blue and tan horsehair crest, on a stand
Greece

Corinthian Helmet

c. 550 BC · Hammered bronze

Silver Roman coin showing Augustus wearing a laurel wreath
Rome

Denarius of Augustus

c. 2 BC · Silver

Roman mosaic of fish, a squid and an eel on a pale background inside a chequered border
Rome

Fish Mosaic Panel

c. AD 100 · Stone tesserae

Small pale clay tablet divided into boxes filled with wedge-shaped cuneiform signs
Mesopotamia

Cuneiform Ration Tablet

c. 2100 BC · Fired clay

Dark stone cylinder seal next to its rolled-out clay impression showing seated figures at a banquet
Mesopotamia

Cylinder Seal

c. 2300 BC · Lapis lazuli

Square stone seal and its clay impression, each showing a one-horned bull, a ritual stand and signs of Indus script
India

Indus Valley Seal

c. 2200 BC · Carved steatite

Wide clay pot painted in brown with bands of striding animals, plants and sun symbols
India

Harappan Painted Jar

c. 2500 BC · Painted terracotta

Dark stone ball with four rounded knobs covered in carved spirals and concentric rings
Scotland

Carved Stone Ball

c. 3000 BC · Carved sandstone

Tall weathered standing stone in a field, carved with a beast, a mirror and a comb, under a stormy sky
Scotland

Pictish Symbol Stone

c. AD 600 · Carved sandstone

Round clay jar with a short neck, painted in brown with animals and leaves
UAE

Umm an-Nar Stone Bowl

c. 2300 BC · Soft stone (chlorite)

Silver coin showing a head wearing a lion-skin headdress
UAE

Coin of Mleiha

c. 200 BC · Silver

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