Vocab: Ancient Near Eastern Art

Apadana

an audience hall in a Persian palace

Apotropaic

having the power to ward off evil or bad luck

Capital (column)

the top element of a column

Cella

the main room of a temple where the god is housed

Cuneiform

the world's first system of writing. wedge/arrowhead shape

Facade

the front of a building

Ground line

a base line upon which figures stand

ground plan

the map of a floor of a building

hierarchy of scale

a system of representation that expresses a person's importance by the size of his or her representation in a work of art

Lamassu

a colossal winged human-headed bull in Assyrian art

Negative Space

empty space around an object or a person,

Register

a horizontal band, often on top of another, that tells a narrative story

Relief Sculpture

Sculpture that projects from a flat background

Stele

a stone slab used to mark a grave

Votive

offered in fulfillment of a vow or a pledge

Ziggurat

A pyramid shaped temple tower. Terraces at each level