11 stunning bookish artworks from the Getty collection

Daguerrotype: The Sands of Time

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

A still life with books, glasses, hourglass and a human skull. Thomas Richard Williams, daguerreotypist (English, 1825-1871) Vanitas/Still Life with Skull, Open Book with Glasses, and Hourglass/The Sands of Time, 1850-1852, stereograph, daguerreotype Two 1/6 plates image (each): 7 x 5.9 cm (2 3/4 x 2 5/16 in.); object (whole): 8.3 x 17.1 cm (3 1/4 x 6 3/4 in.)

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Decorated pottery from 470-450 BC.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu

This fragment of pottery, which shows a boy reading from a scroll, dates from 470-450 BC. Akestorides Painter, painter (Greek [Attic], active about 470-450 BC) Boy Reading a Scroll, about 470-450 BC, terra cotta Object (greatest extent): 6.8 cm (2 11/16 in.) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu

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On Monday the Getty joined the ranks of museums that are making their collections not just digitally accessible, but downloadable also. Through its Open Content program, the Getty lifted restrictions on more than 4,600 digital images in its collection, works it holds all rights or are in the public domain. Here are 11 of those artworks -- in a wide range of media -- from more than 2,400 years.

By Carolyn Kellogg