PFH1168823: China: Emperor Hongxi, 4th ruler of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1424-1425). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1168835: China: Emperor Zhengtong, 6th and 8th ruler of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1435-1449; 1457-1464). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1168871: China: Empress Xiaoding, consort of the 13th Ming Emperor Longqing (r. 1567-1572). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1168883: China: Emperor Taichang, 15th ruler of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1620). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1168889: China: Emperor Chongzhen, 17th ruler of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1627-1644). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1169024: Japan: Japanese Buddhist monk Nichiren (1222-1282), founder of Nichiren Buddhism. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1169054: China: Emperor Taizong (Tang Lishimin), 2nd ruler of the Tang Dynasty (r. 626-649). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1169057: China: Emperor Taizong's visit to hell (painting) / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166413: Laos: An 1867 illustration of a dug-out boat being towed upriver through the Keng Pansao rapids on the Mekong River between Vientiane and Luang Prabang. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166467: China: A Yao girl photographed on her wedding day in Yunnan province in 1925. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166518: Afghanistan: A Durrani Tribesman / Douran (1843). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166527: Japan: Oshidori ('Mandarin Ducks'), by Utagawa Hiroshige (1735-1814). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166623: China: A sketch of Nightlife in Old Shanghai in the 1930s., Schiff, Friedrich (1908-1968) / Bridgeman Images

TWC330757: Parrying dagger with the hilt made up of a cylindrical pommel, c.1600 (iron or steel and gold), Italian School, (17th century) / Bridgeman Images

TWC330769: Wheel lock firearm with ramrod, c.1590 (steel, gold, walnut, antler and wood), German School, (16th century) / Bridgeman Images

PFH1169312: China: Emperor Xuanzu (Zhao Hongyi, 899-956), father of the first two Song emperors Taizu and Taizong, created Emperor Xuanzu posthumously as founding ancestor of the Song Dynasty. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1169357: China: Emperor Duzong (Zhao Mengqi), 15th ruler of the Song Dynasty and 6th ruler of the Southern Song (r. 1264-1274). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166926: Burma / Myanmar: Daw Mi Mi Khaing (1916-1990) with her husband Sao Saimong Mangrai, Unknown photographer, (20th century) / Bridgeman Images

PFH1169474: China: 'The Red Emperor of Trueness and Three Qi in the South' of the Daoist pantheon. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1169669: Turkey: Portrait of Sultan Mustafa III (1757-1774). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170404: China: Huang Taiji, 2nd Qing Emperor (1592 - 1643), his temple name was Taizong / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170479: China: Noble Consort Xun (-1797), concubine of the Qianglong Emperor. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170527: Afghanistan: Detail of a miniature painting of Noah's Ark, c. 1425 / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170530: Iran: Battle scene from Firdausi's 'Shah Nama', c. 1450 / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170536: Afghanistan: Folios from an illuminated Qur'an dated 1519, perhaps from Herat. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1170557: China: Consort Xiang (- 1861), concubine of the Daoguang Emperor / Bridgeman Images

PFH1168090: France: A French zouave soldier from 1888 wearing white summer trousers instead of the usual red. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166178: India: 'India Intra-Gangem', a miniature map of the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, from Pierre Duval's 'Geographiae Universalis', (1679). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166352: India: Portrait of Padmapani, Ajanta Caves. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166373: China: 'Finishing an Orchid-Water Bath', Shanghai, 1930s. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166517: Japan: A Japanese Horseman / Cavalier Japonais (1843). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1166757: China: Opium-smoking 'singsong girls' with bound feet, late Qing period, c.1900. (Black and White). / Bridgeman Images

PFH1167138: Thailand: A Yunnanese Chinese caravan of 'Chin Haw' traders camped near Chiang Khong, late 19th century. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1167282: Mongolia: Traditional Buddhist religious painting illustrating bodhisattvas and the heavenly spheres. / Bridgeman Images

PFH1167378: Vietnam: Woman of Saigon (early 20th century) / Bridgeman Images

PFH1167387: Vietnam: Saigon River, Saigon (early 20th century) / Bridgeman Images