The chronological span is broad, the selection eclectic, with a core group of about a dozen pieces each by Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent.

Yet because African culture is a fluid, manifold, cross-pollinating phenomenon, the stylistic range of the objects on view is broad and the chronological span wide, from the second millennium B.C. almost to the present.

Yet despite the chronological span, one is struck here by how little Mr. Cadmus's art seems to have changed over time.

The reference book for calceological studies covers the chronological span from European prehistory (Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages), Roman period, the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

The history of the Jewish presence in Morocco is phrased in more concrete terms in the show, beginning with a pair of objects that establish a chronological span.

As the archaeologist Catherine Johns put it: "Common to Celtic art over a wide chronological and geographical span is an exquisite sense of balance in the layout and development of patterns.

Grove limited the chronological span of his work to begin at 1450 while continuing up to the present day.

Because of the works' high quality and their thematic and chronological span (almost 60 years, from 1764 to 1823) the curators of the show believe that Fuseli selected them himself as a gift to another artist, perhaps his supporter William Blake.

It houses representative artifacts from all the periods of Cretan prehistory and history, covering a chronological span of over 5,500 years from the Neolithic period to Roman times.

The chronological span is huge, and although the written word prevails, there are visual delights aplenty.