Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
The Ryukyu Kingdom (historical English name: Lewchew, Luchu, or Loochoo) was an independent kingdom that ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th to the 19th century. The kings of Ryukyu unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan.<br/><br/> Despite its small size, the kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East and Southeast Asia.
Li Gonglin, style name Boshi, pseudonym Longmian Jushi (Householder of Sleeping Dragon), was a Chinese painter, civil officer and archaeologist in the Northern Song Dynasty.<br/><br/> Born into a scholarly home near what is modern day Lu'an City, Li Gonglin passed the highest level of civil service examinations at 21 and became a civil officer. He became famous for his paintings of horses, then he turned to Buddhist and Daoist religious painting, as well as portraits and landscapes. His painting style was attributed to the style of Gu Kaizhi and Wu Daozi.
Dong Ho painting (Vietnamese: Tranh Đông Hồ or Tranh làng Hồ), full name Dong Ho folk woodcut painting (Tranh khắc gỗ dân gian Đông Hồ) is a genre of Vietnamese woodcut paintings originating from Dong Ho village (làng Đông Hồ) in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam.<br/><br/> Using the traditional điệp paper and colours derived from nature, craftsmen print Dong Ho pictures of different themes from good luck wishes, historical figures to everyday activities and folk allegories. In the past, Dong Ho painting was an essential element of the Tết holiday in Vietnam.
Dong Ho painting (Vietnamese: Tranh Đông Hồ or Tranh làng Hồ), full name Dong Ho folk woodcut painting (Tranh khắc gỗ dân gian Đông Hồ) is a genre of Vietnamese woodcut paintings originating from Dong Ho village (làng Đông Hồ) in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam.<br/><br/> Using the traditional điệp paper and colours derived from nature, craftsmen print Dong Ho pictures of different themes from good luck wishes, historical figures to everyday activities and folk allegories. In the past, Dong Ho painting was an essential element of the Tết holiday in Vietnam.
Sogdiana or Sogdia (Old Persian: Suguda-; Ancient Greek: Σογδιανή; New Persian: سغد – Sōġd; Tajik: Суғд – Sughd; Turkish: Soğut; Chinese:粟特人) was the ancient civilization of an Iranian people and a province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great.<br/><br/> Sogdiana, at different times, included territories around Samarkand, Bukhara, Khujand and Kesh in modern Uzbekistan. The inhabitants of Sogdiana were the Sogdians, an Eastern Iranian people, who are among the ancestors of modern-day Tajiks and Yagnobis.
Emperor Taizong of Tang (January 23, 599 – July 10, 649), personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is ceremonially regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty along with Emperor Gaozu. He is typically considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, emperors in Chinese history. Throughout the rest of Chinese history, Emperor Taizong's reign was regarded as the exemplary model against which all other emperors were measured, and his era was considered a golden age of Chinese history and required study for future crown princes.<br/><br/> During his reign, Tang China flourished economically and militarily. For more than a century after his death, Tang China enjoyed peace and prosperity. During Taizong's reign, Tang was the largest and the strongest nation in the world. It covered most of the territory of present-day China, Vietnam, Mongolia and much of Central Asia as far as eastern Kazakhstan. It laid the foundation for Xuanzong's reign, which is considered Tang China's greatest era.
Tsumori no Kisa was a Japanese envoy to the Tang Dynasty Court in 659-661 as representative of the Saimei Empress. This drawing is by the Japanese artist Kikuchi Yosai.
Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram Shah Jahan I (1592 –1666), or Shah Jahan, from the Persian meaning ‘king of the world’, was the fifth Mughal ruler in India and a favourite of his legendary grandfather Akbar the Great.<br/><br/> He is best known for commissioning the ‘Phadshahnamah’ as a chronicle of his reign, and for the building of the Taj Mahal in Agra as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Under Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire attained its highest union of strength and magnificence. The opulence of Shah Jahan’s court and his famous Peacock Throne was the wonder of all the European travelers and ambassadors. His political efforts encouraged the emergence of large centers of commerce and crafts—such as Lahore, Delhi, Agra and Ahmedabad—linked by roads and waterways to distant places and ports.<br/><br/> He moved the capital from Agra to Delhi. Under Shah Jahan's rule, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi were built, the Shalimar Gardens of Lahore, sections of the Lahore Fort and his father's mausoleum.
Eisen Tomioka was born in Nagano prefecture with the given name of Hidetaro. He went to Tokyo with the intention of becoming a full-time artist. But first he took a post as a civilian employee with the Japanese army to make a living.<br/><br/>Later he resigned from this post to study art with Kobayashi Eitaku. He worked as an illustrator. During the late Meiji period publishers of newspapers, journals and book used to sell their products with supplements of woodblock prints. These prints are called kuchi-e and were created using the traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking techniques.<br/><br/>Eisen Tomioka died at a young age of 41 years, when he was about to fulfill his great dream: becoming what he considered to be a 'real' artist - a recognised painter.
Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram Shah Jahan I (1592 –1666), or Shah Jahan, from the Persian meaning ‘king of the world’, was the fifth Mughal ruler in India and a favourite of his legendary grandfather Akbar the Great.<br/><br/> He is best known for commissioning the ‘Phadshahnamah’ as a chronicle of his reign, and for the building of the Taj Mahal in Agra as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Under Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire attained its highest union of strength and magnificence. The opulence of Shah Jahan’s court and his famous Peacock Throne was the wonder of all the European travelers and ambassadors. His political efforts encouraged the emergence of large centers of commerce and crafts—such as Lahore, Delhi, Agra and Ahmedabad—linked by roads and waterways to distant places and ports.<br/><br/> He moved the capital from Agra to Delhi. Under Shah Jahan's rule, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi were built, the Shalimar Gardens of Lahore, sections of the Lahore Fort and his father's mausoleum.
World War I (WWI or WW1 or World War One), also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and tactical stalemate. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved.<br/><br/> The war drew in all the world's economic great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire) and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Although Italy had also been a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did not join the Central Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive against the terms of the alliance.<br/><br/> These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies, and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria the Central Powers. Ultimately, more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history.
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799) was the fifth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1736 to 7 February 1795.<br/><br/> On 8 February, he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor - a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power until his death in 1799.<br/><br/> Although his early years saw the continuity of an era of prosperity in China, he held an unrelentingly conservative attitude. As a result, the Qing Dynasty's comparative decline began later in his reign.
Ferghana horses were one of China's earliest major imports, originating in an area in Central Asia.<br/><br/> Dayuan, north of Bactria, was a nation centered in the Ferghana Valley of present-day Central Asia, and even as early as the Han Dynasty, China projected its military power to that area.<br/><br/> The Han imperial regime required Ferghana horses and imported such great numbers of them that the rulers of Ferghana closed their borders to such trade. That move resulted in a war that China won. In 102 CE, the Chinese required of the defeated Ferghana that they provide at least 10 of their finest horses for breeding purposes, and 3,000 Ferghana horses of ordinary quality.
Dong Ho painting (Vietnamese: Tranh Đông Hồ or Tranh làng Hồ), full name Dong Ho folk woodcut painting (Tranh khắc gỗ dân gian Đông Hồ) is a genre of Vietnamese woodcut paintings originating from Dong Ho village (làng Đông Hồ) in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam.<br/><br/> Using the traditional điệp paper and colours derived from nature, craftsmen print Dong Ho pictures of different themes from good luck wishes, historical figures to everyday activities and folk allegories. In the past, Dong Ho painting was an essential element of the Tết holiday in Vietnam.
A Japanese diplomatic mission to the Tang Court, 8th-9th century, by an anonymous Japanese painter. Numerous Japanese missions were sent to the Tang Court during this period, viewed by the Chinese as tribute missions, but not necessarily so by the Japanese. No fewer than six missions were sent during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (649-683) by the Kotoku, Saimei and Tenji Emperors of Japan, including a mission led by Tsumori no Kisa in 659-661 during the reign of Empress Saimei.