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This painting is the most intimate portrait of Peter Paul Rubens’ wife (1638), whom he married late in life and whose features he often incorporated into his works. In a naturally graceful pose, the young woman evokes Venus, the classical goddess of love.

The Dutch master Rembrandt painted this canvas in 1652, depicting everything around him in dark colours with his face the only area of light.

More than any of his other paintings, this one contributed to Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s fame as a portrayer of peasant life. He painted the picture on wood in 1568. The viewer feels right in the middle of a rustic wedding.

A number of paintings by Titian can be found in the Italian Collection. In this one (1518) the Madonna’s dress is painted in the red-brown colours for which the artist is famous.

German artist Albrecht Dürer painted many Madonna pictures, but this one is among the best known, showing the Virgin Mary bending over a child holding a pear core.

From 1562 Giuseppe Arcimboldo served as portrait artist and organizer of festivities at the court of Rudolf II. The Italian painter became famous for his heads composed of various fruits and vegetables which served as allegorical representations.

Crafted in Vienna around 1750, this elegant, pure gold set, which belonged to the empress, consists of 70 pieces, including a heated teapot stand, tea-pots, cups and a kettle.

Figurines of hippos are often found in Middle Kingdom tombs (c.2000 BC) of Ancient Egypt, and this example has images of its habitat painted on its body. Hunting hippos was once a royal privilege granted to subjects.

The stela (stone slab), which is more than 2,500 years old, is lavishly painted in gold, red and blue and depicts Osiris among other Egyptian gods, who are praised in the inscriptions. The stela was discovered inside a tomb in Thebes.

This delicate ivory carving is a fine example of late 9th-century artistry, showing St Gregory working with his loyal scribes.