The main Pergamon altar, reconstruction of the western façade, with frieze panels of the Gigantomachy and original architectural elements, Hellenistic, Pergamon, ca. 170 BC © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antikensammlung / Johannes Laurentius; CC NC-BY-SA

Orpheus mosaic, Roman, Miletus, 2nd C. AD © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antikensammlung / Johannes Laurentius; CC NC-BY-SA

Detail of the painted wooden paneling from the reception hall of a Christian merchant, Aleppo/Syria, dated 1600–01 and 1603 © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Georg Niedermeiser

Façade of the Caliph's Palace of Mshatta, near Amman, Jordan, 743-4 (Inv. No. 6163) © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Kramer

Alhambra dome, Granada, Spain, c. 1320 (Inv. No. 5/78) © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Johannes Kramer

Mosaic with Alexandrine parakeet, the ‘altar chamber’ in palace V, Hellenistic, Pergamon, 160–150 BC © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antikensammlung / Johannes Laurentius; CC NC-BY-SA

Aleppo Room, painted wood panelling from the reception room of a Christian merchant from Aleppo, Syria, dated 1600-01 and 1603 (Inv. No. 2862) © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Islamische Kunst / Georg Niedermeiser