This lustre-painted ceramic tile once decorated the walls of the burial chamber in a Muslim saint's shrine – the Imamzada Yahya. Passages from the Qur'an encircle its border.

Glasgow Boy artist John Lavery was commissioned to paint this portrait by William Burrell for his sister’s 21st birthday. It shows Mary Burrell’s sophistication and the objects hint at her own collecting interests.

This casket commemorates the death of St Thomas Becket. One of medieval Europe’s most important saints, Becket’s fame spread throughout Europe, and his shrine at Canterbury, Kent, became a major pilgrimage destination.

Once a full-figured statue, this lion head represents the goddess Sekhmet, with the slot on its head originally holding a solar disc. It may have stood at Amenhotep III’s mortuary temple.

A deadly weapon, the longsword combines the swordmaker’s skills – working with iron and steel – with the lethal fighting ability of its proud owner, who would have been equally well trained.

English missionary St Walburga worked to Christianise the people of Southern Francia (modern Southern Germany). This sculpture of St Walburga was possibly made for inclusion in a large German altarpiece.

The Scottish colourist Peploe produced decorative and stylised still-life paintings in the early 1920s. He painted the same objects again and again, exploring colour, form and composition.

Drinking beer was seen as a fashionable pastime for both men and women in the mid-to-late 1800s. It was part of the Parisian café-society that greatly inspired Manet and the Impressionists.

Eight long-necked camels dominate this large tapestry. It was originally designed as part of a set of hangings that showed scenes from the voyages of Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama.

Hunting scenes were popular subjects for medieval and Renaissance tapestries and Burrell collected several examples. This one shows a particularly dynamic moment as the two birds fight in the sky.