The reconstructed Ishtar Gate, Babylon, Iraq, Middle East

Nine Dragon Wall, Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Asia

The royal gates of the Royal Palace of Turin (Palazzo Reale) embossed with a golden Medusa symbol to fend off intruders, Turin, Piedmont, Italy, Europe

Lion brick relief, Nebuchadnezzar's Palace, Babylon, Iraq, Middle East

A faithful Buddhist uses the traditional portable roller-book (prayer wheel), Bhutan, Asia

Wat Phra Chetuphon, formerly Wat Po, founded in the 17th century, the oldest temple in Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Asia

Jewellery, Gioielli Tuareg, Southwest desert, Libya, North Africa, Africa

Catherine Palace, Pushkin, Russia

Gates of the Royal Palace of Turin (Palazzo Reale) embossed with a golden Medusa symbol, Turin, Piedmont, Italy, Europe

Church of St. Dimitri on the Blood, Uglich, Russia

Close-up of gold ornament on top of Jokhang temple, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Yokohama, Japan

Detail at Ngoc Son temple, Hanoi, Vietnam

Wall decor at Ngoc Son temple, Hanoi, Vietnam

Long Song Temple mosiac, Nha Trang, Vietnam

Altar with embossed silver. Igreja do Santissimo Salvador da Se. Capital Angra do Heroismo, the historic center is part of UNESCO world heritage. Island Ilhas Terceira, part of the Azores (Ilhas dos Acores) in the atlantic ocean, an autonomous region of Portugal. Europe, Azores, Portugal.

Credit card debt counselor Mary Rammel with a pile of credit cards cut up by debtors upon entering a credit counseling program in Willmington, DE, the credit card capital of the world. There are over 1.3 billion credit cards in America and in 2003 they accounted for over 786 billion dollars in credit card debt.

Colorful glass bottles, and embossed, metal ceiling tiles are repurposed features of an architectural folly, Imlay, Nevada, United States of America

Gold Artifacts Chimu Culture, 1000-1400AD NCoast gold breastplate (pectoral) and two epaulets in the Rafael Herrera Museum, Lima, Peru

Precolumbian Gold Chimu Culture 1000-1400AD Gold Arms with embossed warrior figures, used in funerary rites collection of Museo del Oro, Lima, Peru

Precolumbian Gold Chimu Culture 1000-1400AD Gold Arms with embossed warrior figures, used in funerary rites collection of Museo del Oro, Lima, Peru

Close up of raised corporate seal