Ancient Near Eastern Art

- deity Anu (god of the sky; most important Sumerian deity)

- buttresses spaced across surface to create light and shadow pattern

- whitewashed to disguise mud appearance

- tapers down so rainwater washes off

- temple on top small and removed form populace; access reserved for royalty and clergy

- only base remains

- interior contains cella and smaller rooms

- top terrace for outdoor rituals; temple for indoor

- resembles mountain and contrasts with vast flat terrain

- built high because gods descend from heaves to high place on earth

- four corners oriented to compass

White Temple and its ziggurat

- different heights (hierarchy of scale)

- hands folded in gesture of prayer

- huge eyes in awe, perhaps staring at the deity

- men: bare upper chest; skirt from waist down; bear in ripple patterns; belt

- "It offers prayers" inscribed on back

- representatives of Sumerian worshipers

- large, sturdy feet

- sometimes hold cups/branches

- placed in temple and praying (to Abu?)

- found buried in groups under temple floor

- hundreds survive

- not specific people

Statues of votive figures, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar, Iraq)

- reflects extensive trading network: lapis lazuli from Afghanistan; shells from Persian Gulf; red limestone from India

- figures w/ broad frontal shoulders, body in profile

- emphasized eyes, eyebrows, ears

- organized in registers; figures stand on ground lines

- narrative to support ruler in a story

- left to right, bottom to top

- war side: account of warfare where losers suffer injury; enemy soldiers naked (sign of defeat) and marched to be presented to king (in hierarchic scale)

- peace side: serene scenes of feasting (possibly of above victory) including servants' preparation of

Standard of Ur from the Royal Tombs at Ur (modern Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq)

- right to left, top to bottom

- text in Akkadian language

- Hammurabi united Mesopotamia and created dominant kingdom

- one of earliest law codes ever written

- sun god (Shamash) handing Hammurabi ring and rod of kingship (signs of royal power), and rope

- Shamash's beard fuller

- depicts Hammurabi's ability to approach gods on behalf of people = key feature of authority

The Code of Hammurabi

- human-headed winged animal guardian figures

- five legs (front: standing at attention; side: walking)

- wards off in/visible enemies

- feeling of harmony and stability

- placed at either side of each gate (in Sargon II's city wall at Khorsabad)

- bore weight of arches above gates

Lamassu from the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad, Iraq)

- destroyed by Alexander the Great

- seat for spectacular receptions and festivals

- on artificial terraces

- giant lamassu gates, inscribed as "The Gate of All Nations"

- relief sculptures depict delegations from all parts of empire bringing gifts to be stored in local treasury

- apadana: 36 columns covered by wooden roof; stairways adorned with reliefs of New Year's festival and procession of representatives

- columns w/ bell-shaped base (inverted lotus blossom); capitals bulls/lions

- Immortals (King's Guard); carved onto stairs

- contribution of many cultures

- stairs w/ central relief of king enthroned with attendants; crown prince behind him w/ dignitaries bowing

- orderly/harmonious world symbolized by static processions

Audience Hall (apadana) of Darius and Xerxes