If you could walk through a German village in the Middle Ages, one of the first sounds you would notice would probably be the steady, ringing rhythm of a hammer striking an anvil. The blacksmith’s forge was impossible to miss: sparks flying, smoke rolling from the chimney, the glow of the fire spilling out into the street. For centuries, this was the soundtrack of life in many German towns, a reminder that almost everything people needed—tools, horseshoes, weapons, nails and hinges—passed through the hands of a smith…

There's an old story that the Roman architect Vitruvius tells about how the acanthus leaf became one of the most enduring motifs in decorative arts. A young girl in Corinth died, and her nurse gathered some of her belongings in a basket, placing it on the grave and covering it with a roof tile to protect the contents. An acanthus plant grew up around the basket, its leaves forced outward by the tile and curling around the edges. The sculptor Callimachus, passing by, noticed this arrangement and was inspired by the form to create what became the Corinthian capital…