ART HISTORY MONUMENTS

PREHISTORIC ART: woman of willendorf, Austria, c. 24,000 BCE

Limestone figurine; goddess of fertility; represents abundance and survival.

PREHISTORIC ART: Hall of Bulls, Lascaux Caves

hunting magic and ritualistic purpose; animal movement and naturalistic representation

PREHISTORIC ART: Stonehenge, England, c. 2750-1500 BCE

a Neolithic burial and ceremonial site aligned with solar events

Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia): Waka Vase

Alabaster; ritual offering; depicts divine hierarchy and agricultural abundance.

Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia): Stele of Naram-sin, c. 2254-2218 BCE

Limestone; commemorated is the victory of Naram-Sin, king of the Akkadian empire, has a vertical hierarchal scale

Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia): Standard of Ur, c. 2600-2500 BCE

shell inlay and lapis lazuli; narrative panels; shows war and peace, social order.

Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia): Ziggurat at Ur

Mudbrick; temple platform; connects heaven and earth, reflects religious centrality

Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia): Stele of Hammurabi, c. 1792-1750 BCE

THE PUNISHMENT REFLECTS THE CRIME symbolizes justice and divine authority.

Ancient Egypt: Palette of King Narmer, c. 2950 BCE

The unification of upper and lower Egypt, divine kingship

Ancient Egypt: Khafre Enthroned, from Giza, Egypt, c. 2520-2494 BCE

Diorite; funerary statue; eternal strength and divine rule; symbolizes united egypt

Ancient Egypt: The Great Temple of Amun at Karnak, Egypt, begun 15th c. BCE

Sandstone; religious complex; reflects cosmic order and pharaonic power.

Ancient Egypt: Nebanum Hunting Birds in the Marshes, Thebes, 1350 BCE

Fresco; tomb decoration; symbolizes rebirth and leisure in afterlife.

Ancient Egypt: Akhenaten and his family

Limestone relief; domestic scene; promotes monotheism and intimacy with Aten

Early South and Southeast Asian Art: lion capitol of ashoka

Polished sandstone; imperial emblem; symbolizes dharma and Buddhist rule.

Early South and Southeast Asian Art: Great Stupa in Sanchi

Brick and stone; reliquary; represents enlightenment and cosmic axis.

Early South and Southeast Asian Art: Buddha and Attendants, from Maathura, 2nd c. CE, India

Red sandstone; devotional; conveys serenity and spiritual guidance.

Early South and Southeast Asian Art: Shiva Nataraja, 11th century, India

Bronze; ritual icon; symbolizes cosmic dance and destruction/creation cycle.

Early South and Southeast Asian Art: Buddhist Tempe at Borabudur, Java, Indoesia, c. 800 BCE

Bronze; ritual icon; symbolizes cosmic dance and destruction/creation cycle.

Early East Asia: funerary banner of lady dai, c. 168 BCE, Han Dynasty, China

Silk; burial shroud; depicts afterlife beliefs and cosmic realms.

Early East Asia: Terracotta army, Qin Dynasty, China

Clay; tomb guardians; reflects imperial power and belief in afterlife protection.

Early East Asia: Bi Disk with Dragons, China

Jade; ritual object; symbolizes heaven and spiritual purity.

Early East Asia: pagoda at horyu-ji, 7th century CE, Nara, Japan

Wood; Buddhist temple; reflects harmony, balance, and sacred geometry.

Aegean Art: cycladic figures

Marble; funerary; abstract female forms, fertility and purity.

Aegean Art: snake goddess (Minoan)

Faience; household deity; symbolizes fertility and control over nature.

Aegean Art: lion’s gate at Mycenae

Stone; fortress entrance; power and divine protection.

Bronze, Age, Archaic, and Classical Greek Art: dipylon terracotta krater (geometric)

Ceramic; grave marker; honors the dead, depicts funerary rituals.

Bronze, Age, Archaic, and Classical Greek Art: anavysos kouros (archaic)

Marble; grave statue; idealized youth, heroism, and virtue.

Bronze, Age, Archaic, and Classical Greek Art: spear bearer (Daryphoros) by Polykleitos

Marble; canon of proportion; reflects harmony and physical perfection

Bronze, Age, Archaic, and Classical Greek Art: The Parthenon, Athens, 447-432 BCE

Marble; temple to Athena; symbolizes democracy, civic pride, and divine order.

Late Classical and Hellenistic Greece: Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos, c. 350 BCE

Marble; first nude goddess; celebrates beauty and sensuality.

Late Classical and Hellenistic Greece: Nike of Samothrace, 180 BCE

Marble; commemorative; dynamic victory and divine intervention.

Late Classical and Hellenistic Greece: Seated Boxer, 4th-2nd, c. BCE

Bronze; realism; conveys emotion, defeat, and human vulnerability.

Etruscan Art and the Roman Republic: reclining couple on sarcophagus from Cerveteri, c. 520 BCE

Terracotta; tomb; celebrates love and equality in afterlife.

Etruscan Art and the Roman Republic: Augustus of Primaporta

Marble; political propaganda; divine lineage and imperial authority.

Etruscan Art and the Roman Republic: ara pacis augustae (altar of Augustan Peace)

Marble; altar; peace under Augustus, civic religion.

Etruscan Art and the Roman Republic: colosseum

Concrete and stone; amphitheater; imperial grandeur and public entertainment.

Imperial Roman Art: arch of titus

Marble; triumphal arch; commemorates victory and divine favor.

Etruscan Art and the Roman Republic: column of trajan

Marble; narrative relief; glorifies military conquest and emperor’s legacy.

Etruscan Art and the Roman Republic: pantheon

Concrete and marble; temple; symbolizes cosmic unity and Roman engineering.

Etruscan Art and the Roman Republic: equestrian statue of marcus aurelius

Bronze; equestrian; wisdom and stoic leadership.