Zheng He, the Great Eunuch Admiral
Captured, castrated, and forced to serve the Hongwu Emperor, Zeng He subsequently led a massive Ming fleet of treasure ships across an ever-expanding empire.
The Fencing Moral Panic of Elizabethan London
In Elizabethan England, it seemed like everyone was carrying a sharpened object with the intent to inflict damage.
Why Are Cities Filled with Metal Men on Horseback?
The original inspiration for the now-ubiquitous equestrian statue, a classical bronze of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, was almost melted down and lost forever.
An Ancient Egyptian Funerary Vessel Heads to Outer Space
Tavares Strachan's “Enoch” was launched into space on December 3rd, 2018. It's the latest in a long line of artworks inspired by Egyptian canopic jars.
When Landscape Painting Was Protest Art
The landscape painter Thomas Cole celebrated the American landscape, but also expressed doubts about the limits of civilization.
The Surprising History of the Kimono
The kimono that the world associates with Japan was actually created in the late-nineteenth century as a cultural identifier.