West and Central asia

The Kabba

631–632 C.E.

Granite masonry, covered with silk curtain and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread

The Blackstone (Al-Hajar al-Aswad), which is said to have been given to Ibrahim by the archangel Gabriel) is the only remaining portion of the original Kaaba, and is encased in its eastern corner.

Dome of the rock

Jerusalem, Palestine. Islamic, Umayyad. 691–692 C.E., with multiple

renovations.

Great mosque

isfahan iran Islamic 700 C.E

Folio from a qur’an

Arab, North Africa, or Near East. Abbasid. c. eighth to ninth century C.E. Ink, color, and gold on parchment.

Basin (Baptistère de St. Louis).

1320–1340 C.E. Brass inlaid with

gold and silver

The ardabil carpet

Maqsud of Kashan. 1539–1540 C.E. Silk and wool.

Bahram gur fights the karg

Great Il-Khanid Shahnama. Islamic; Persian, Il’Khanid.

c. 1330–1340 C.E. Ink and opaque watercolor, gold, and

silver on paper

The court of gayumars

Shah Tahmasp’s

Shahnama. Sultan Muhammad. c. 1522–1525 C.E. Ink, opaque

watercolor, and gold on paper.

Buddha

Bamiyan,

Afghanistan. Gandharan. c.

400–800 C.E. (destroyed in

2001). Cut rock with plaster and

polychrome paint

Jojo rinpoches

Believed to have been brought to Tibet in 641 C.E. Gilt metals with semiprecious stones, pearls, and paint; various offerings

Petra, Jordan : treasury and great temple

Nabataean Ptolemaic and Roman. c. 400 B.C.E.–100

C.E. Cut rock