Purposes and subjects thumb|Moai from Easter Island, where the concentration of resources on large sculpture may have had serious political effects thumb|Medal of John VIII Palaeologus, , by Pisanello, the first portrait medal, a medium essentially made for collecting One of the most common purposes of sculpture is in some form of association with religion. Cult images are common in many cultures, though they are often not the colossal statues of deities which characterized ancient Greek art, like the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. The actual cult images in the innermost sanctuaries of Egyptian temples, of which none have survived, were evidently rather small, even in the largest temples. The same is often true in Hinduism, where the very simple and ancient form of the lingam is the most common. Buddhism brought the sculpture of religious figures to East Asia, where there seems to have been no earlier equivalent tradition, though again simple shapes like the bi and cong probably had religious significance.
purposes and subjects thumb|moai from easter island where the concentration of resources on large sculpture may have had serious political effects thumb|medal of john viii palaeologus  by pisanello the first portrait medal a medium essentially made for collecting one of the most common purposes of sculpture is in some form of association with religion cult images are common in many cultures though they are often not the colossal statues of deities which characterized ancient greek art like the statue of zeus at olympia the actual cult images in the innermost sanctuaries of egyptian temples of which none have survived were evidently rather small even in the largest temples the same is often true in hinduism where the very simple and ancient form of the lingam is the most common buddhism brought the sculpture of religious figures to east asia where there seems to have been no earlier equivalent tradition though again simple shapes like the bi and cong probably had religious significance