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Procession of Tribute Bearers
Artist / Origin: Unknown artist(s), Persepolis
Region: West Asia
Date: Achaemenid Period, 559–330 BCE
Period: 500 BCE – 1 CE
Material: Stone relief
Medium: Sculpture
Location: Persepolis, Iran
Credit: © CORBIS
Shah Jahan Watching an Elephant Fight
Artist / Origin: Attributed to Bulaqi
Region: South and Southeast Asia
Date: Mughal Period, ca. 1639
Period: 1400 CE – 1800 CE
Material: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Medium: Calligraphy, Illumination, and Illustrated Books
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource, NY
Ceremonies can happen anywhere. An intentionally chosen location, however, can heighten the impact of an already momentous event or lend gravity to an event that might otherwise seem insignificant. Sometimes the site chosen for a particular rite or ritual has historic significance, sometimes religious. Sometimes it is a structure created for the precise purpose of demonstrating a leader’s strength and resources or overwhelming an audience through its enormity, costly materials, and visual opulence. Throughout history, rulers from different parts of the world have recognized that the backdrops for ceremonies can often be as effective in communicating power as the ceremonies themselves.