including headings The art of our species, The Egyptian style, Figures in the round, The sphinx, Akhenaten and Nefertiti, ...
The earliest porch of Chartres cathedral - the triple entrance in the west façade - introduces Gothic sculpture in its most extreme form. Each of the biblical kings and queens stands on a tiny platform projecting...
The sculpture of the American continent makes a powerful start. The style is primitive but the scale is monumental. Figures of this kind, introduced by America's first civilization (that of the Olmecs at San Lor...
There is a rich tradition of tomb sculpture in British cathedrals and parish churches, from the middle ages through to the 18th century, and most of these effigies are carved by local artists. But once fashionable sc...
Early in 1499 a sculpture of the Virgin Mary, holding on her lap the dead Christ, is placed in one of the chapels of old St Peter's in Rome. This Pietà is still one of the most beautiful works of art in the...
The area controlled by the Shang rulers is relatively small, but Shang cultural influence spreads through a large part of central China. In addition to their writing of Chinese characters, the Shang introduce many elemen...
Athens has a unique place in human history. As the people who pioneer the arts of history, philosophy and theatre, who attempt the first radical version of democracy, and who achieve a degree of perfection in architectur...
The characteristic sculpture of Africa, which forms the largest part of what is usually considered primitive art, can be seen as early as 500 BC in the Nok culture - named from the village in Nigeria where pottery figure...
The most characteristic sculptures of San Lorenzo and La Venta are astonishing creations. They are massive stone heads, more than two metres in height, of square-jawed and fat-lipped warriors, usually wearing helmets wit...
Images in Egyptian paintings, Assyrian sculptures and Roman mosaics reveal that by the time of these civilizations there are many different shapes and sizes of dog. To use the word 'breed' may be anachronistic, though th...
An unusual tradition within African sculpture is the cast-metal work done from about the 12th century in what is now southern Nigeria. It reaches a peak of perfection among the Yoruba people of Ife. Betwe...
Rome is the centre of neoclassical sculpture. The Venetian sculptor Antonio Canova arrives to set up his studio in 1782. He is soon producing beautifully modelled nudes in the Greek style - such as Theseus with th...
