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Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Explore more than 1,000 essays on a wide range of topics, including artists, materials, movements, and themes.

Essays

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Mask made of hammered sheet gold alloy and covered in red pigment
Ancient Andean Metalworking (900-1532 CE)
The funerary offerings found in Moche, Sicán, and Chimú tombs reveal highly developed metallurgical practices.
Paloma Carcedo de Mufarech
October 1, 2024
Gold plaque depicting a combat between a tiger and a horned monster
Gold, Griffins, and Greeks: Scythian Art and Cultural Interactions in the Black Sea
Anatoly Grablevsky
May 1, 2024

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Chronologies

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Marble statue of three women standing and leaning toward each other. Sections of the statue are missing including arms and all the heads of the women.
Ancient Greece, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
A bronze sculpture of the Buddha Maitreya surrounded by celestial musicians and a flaming halo as he descends to earth to rescue the devout.
China, 500–1000 A.D.
A tryptect of eight acolytes in vibrant, robes with colorful swirling patterns.
Eastern Africa, 1600–1800 A.D.

About

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History presents a thematic, chronological, and geographical exploration of global art history through The Met collection. Authored by The Met’s experts, the digital publication is a reference, research, and teaching tool conceived for students and scholars of art history. The Timeline currently comprises more than 1,000 essays and 300 chronologies. It is regularly updated and enriched to provide new scholarship and insights on The Met collection.

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The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History is funded by the Heilbrunn Foundation, New Tamarind Foundation, and Zodiac Fund.

Additional support is provided by Cynthia and John S. Reed.