Credit Card

This credit card exemplifies the global nature of modern finance. Money has become power. The credit card also displays the vast increase of techology over the centuries. Everything can be done electronically and you can own objects now with the swipe of a card rather then the old fashioned trade off of a goat and cash money.

Early Victorian Tea Set

Historically this set has been associated with Queen Adelaide (1792 - 1849), wife of William IV. During the Victorian era, the wealthy and the polite were considered powerful. Tea was initially a luxury product but by 1830 it was increasingly drunk by everyone in Britain using mass-produced pottery and porcelain. Although simple and originally moderately-priced, the pieces have been ornamented with silver to make them more prestigious and desirable.

Pieces of Eight

The Pieces of eight were the world's first global currency. They were used across the Spanish Emipre as well as out side of it. The front of the coin is decorated with the coat of arms of the Habsburgs, the rulers of Spain and the most powerful family in Europe.

Taino Ritual Seat

This wooden seat known as a duho was sculpted by a Taino artisan.The Taino were one of the pre-European, native peoples of the Caribbean. It is carved in the shape of an ancestor spirit known as a cemi.
These were used to communicate with the spirit world. The Tainos were ruled by both male and female chiefs. The chief or an important visitor could sit in the chair and ask the spirts for advice on war and such.

Maya Relief of Royal Blood-letting

The Maya ruled much of Mexico and Central America between AD 250 and 100. Bloodletting and human sacrifice was used to mark significant events in the lives of Maya rulers, such as the birth of an heir, accession to the throne and death.

Hinton St Mary Mosaic

This mosaic is probably one of the oldest surviving depictions of Christ. It comes from a Roman villa in Dorset. Christ is portrayed as a fair-haired and clean-shaven man wearing a tunic and cloak.

In AD 312 the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and the religion began to spread freely throughout the Roman Empire. Here we first see religion and power come into play. For years and years, Christianity had held power. Priest became corrupted as did the followes at the time. This mosaic shows on of the first starts to many of religious/worship art pieces dedicated to Christianity.

Head of Augustus

This head  if of the emperor, Augustus. Statues were created and used to remind the people the power of the emperor. Augustus is always shown you to display his strength. The Roman Empire enjoyed a period of long-lasting peace under Augustus' reign. When he died he was declared a god by the Roman Senate.

Gold Coin of Croesus

This is where we see money and power associated with eachother for the first time. The Gold Coin of Croesuswas produced in Lydia, western Turkey over 2500 years ago. The lion on this coin is seen as a symbol of royalty Lydia was known for its weath and  its last king Croesus. He name and power lived on by the saying "as righ as Croesus."

This statue of the Pharaoh Ramesses II was designed to show him as a ruler, a great warrior and a god. He is known as one of Egypts most successful Pharaohs. He commissioned more statues of himseld than any other Egyptian pharaoh. The statues insured Rameses  god like "immortality" after his death.

King Den's Sandal Label

The figure holding a mace on this hippopotamus ivory label is King Den. A member of the first dynasty of rulers that united Egypt. They creasted this label to show his power and attached it to one of Den's sandals and buried it with him when he died.

Maya Maize God Statue

 the Mayan maize god found in a pyramid-style temple in Copan in modern-day Honduras surrounded by many other maize gods. For thousands of years the Mayans praised the maize god. They worshiped and believed their ancestors came from the maize dough. Maize was the most importand food source to them so they prayed to the statues.

Mummy of Hornedjitef

This is the mummy of Hornedjitef an Egyptian priest who was buried in a coffin, within a second, outer coffin.The embalmers have placed four packages inside his torso, probably his lungs, liver, stomach and intestines. He lived over a thousand years after Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great at a time when Egypt was ruled by Greek kings. This relates to power because only the royality and weather were mummified.

When ancient Egyptians like Hornedjitef died they believed they were setting off on a journey from this world to the afterlife. This coffin is decorated with images of gods and extracts from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. This shows the power of the gods and that the mummified were ready for rebirth.