Near East #3

Assyrian Art (Neo-Assyrian Empire)

Assyrian Art (Neo-Assyrian Empire)

• 900-612 BC

title, date, material, findspot

• Statue of Assurnasirpal II

• Neo-Assyrian Period, 883-859 BC

• Magnesite on red dolomite plinth

• Temple of Ishtar, Nimrud

• 3 feet, 5.25 in high

Statue of Assurnasirpal II

• Built a new capital at Nimrud

• Over 3 feet tall and would stand on a base that was 2 feet tall

• Familiar:

  • Shape (cylinder shape) → Mesopotamian form

  • Pius king (Gudea king)

  • One armed robe (fancy robe on)

  • On top of robe, there is a fringe shawl that is wrapped around his body

    • Tucked in his belt

  • Holding things that show power → cykel (Type of weapon the gods would have used to fight off monster)

    • Not related to justice like to rod and ring

  • Huge, long, ornate beard

  • Longer hair → curves outwards

  • Big inscription carved on his chest

    • Situation where writing is mixed into art

• They used stone: gypsum/limestone

  • Readily available
    

• Style:

  • Cylinder shape

  • Muscular (round/stocky figure)

  • New: fringe and you could see his thumbnails

    • Has a ton of detail

      • Toenails on feet, strands of hair
        

• How does the artist show the details?:

  • Subtractive (subtracting the stone)

  • Modeling (as if you are using clay – smooth stone)

  • Details are not shown through modeling

    • Not sculpting individual strands

  • Take a tool and insize it into a stone (in-sizing)

• Function:

  • Found in a temple of Ishtar

  • Perpetual reminder of the deity – king’s devotion

    • Way to connect kings to deities

title, date, material, findspot

• Plan of the Palace Citadel of Khorsabad

• Neo-Assyrian Period, 883-859 BC

• Khorsabad (ancient Dur Sharrukin), Iraq

Plan of the Palace Citadel of Khorsabad

• Palaces are not preserved very well

• 721-705 BC reigned, city named after king

• King was killed in a battle

  • King died before it was finished

• City was deserted 

• Role of Assyrian city:

  • City was meant to present the Assyrian Empire to the civilized world

  • Meant to be a statement

  • Wanted to show power and glorify reigns

• Covers one square mile

  • Pretty symmetrical 

  • City gates

  • And palace

  • Fortress area that protects the southern wall

  • ‘F’ might be a tiny palace → right near a gate (Gate 5)

  • Gate 5 was important → traffic

• Enter through gateway

• Center square that was called “square of the foreign peoples”

  • In the heart of the city

• Place where people gathered for important occasions

  • Military expeditions set out from there

• Has its own Ziggurat
  

• Palace itself is interesting

  • Set up on platform

  • Entered the palace through a tripled entrance that brought you too an enormous court

  • Administrative offices and religious areas (temples)

  • Private apartments for the King

  • Great throne great (VII) with huge court outside of it (VIII)
    

• Basic architecture:

  • Series of squares and rectangles

  • Public spaces, religious spaces, administrative spaces, and apartments
    

• What was it made out of?:

  • Palaces are built out of mudbrick (sun dried mudbrick)

  • Mudbrick would sometimes be glazed with colors

  • Sometimes the interior of the rooms would have painted walls

  • Other walls had carved panels with stone
    

• Along walls → thin, huge slabs of gypsum that would be carved/inscribed with scenes

  • “Don’t cross Assyrian ruler…”

title, date, material, findspot

• Winged Bull — Lamassu

• Neo-Assyrian Period, 883-859 BC

• Gypsum Alabaster

• Nimrud, Iraq

Winged Bull — Lamassu

• Greet visitors

• Mixed mythological creature

• Enormous 

• Can be up to 5 meters tall

• Can be carved from a single block of stone

• Example of Assyrian guardian figure

• Lots of deity iconography

• Lamassu – guardian figure that the Assyrians marshalled to guard their palaces

• Bodies to bulls, but have human heads and have wings

• Installed at various gateways and entrances to palaces

• Message of power and connection between the divine forces (and protection from the divine forces)

• Mostly put at doorways 

• Ward off the entrance of evil spirits

• Have plenty of deity iconography

  • Horned cap (multi-layered)

  • Stylized beard and stylized long hair (what kings wear)

• Mixtures of humans and animals

• Assyrian reliefs made out of local stone known as Gypsum

• Hyper attention to detail

• Details shown through carving through the block of stone → incision 

• Multiple feet → all about perspective

  • Fitted in a way through locations

  • Corner of entrance

  • Less cylindrical than we are used to

title, date, material, findspot

• Kneeling Genies and Sacred Tree

• Neo-Assyrian Period, 883-859 BC

• Gypsum alabaster

• Nimrud, Iraq

Kneeling Genies and Sacred Tree

• Meant to be seen by visitors

• Send propaganda messages

  • Celebrate king’s conquest

  • Demonstrate king’s power by killing lions

• Majority of reliefs are carved out of gypsum/alabaster

  • Grayish white in color

• Interesting property → hardens and darkens when exposed to air

• Plenty of it → available

• Quarry stone with iron picks 

• Cut into rough blocks to make sure it is the proper dimensions

• Slice slabs off of blocks

• Mount slabs onto the palace walls

• Then carve them

• Polish them and then painted

• Displayed in public areas or private areas → can tell by what scene is being shown

• Low relief

• Hyper attention to detail

• Early reliefs → scenes that stuck together on one stone (compressed)

  • Symbols of deities → not a lot of scenes

  • Whole story happens in one scene

• By end of Assyrian Period → dimensions of the stone/slab were ignored

  • Little minor scenes

  • Artistic conventions

  • Used hieratic scale → ruler is always larger

  • Comic book representation (narration)
    

• A series/two scenes of winged genies (top) and eagle-headed genies (below)

• Guardian figures

• Holding buckets and pinecones

• Sacred tree

• Gives the viewer a window into Assyrian ritual and religion

• In between scenes → cuneiform inscription

• Located in throne room, right behind the throne

  • Seated king was apart of the scene that was occurring

  • Became part of complex/ritual activity
    

• Attention!

  • See toenails

  • Little bits of wing (pieces of feathers)

  • See fringe from wig

  • Decorated with earrings, necklaces, and bracelets

title, date, material, findspot

• Tribute Bearer Procession

• Court D, Northwest Palace

• Neo-Assyrian Period, 865 BC

• Gypsum alabaster

• Nimrud, Iraq

Tribute Bearer Procession

• Trained monkey → bringing tribute to king

title, date, material, findspot

• Lion Hunt (Ashurbanipal)

• Neo-Assyrian Period, 645-625 BC

• Gypsum alabaster

• North Palace, Nineveh, Iraq

Lion Hunt (Ashurbanipal)

• Lion hunts were popular during time

• Hunt was not real

  • Series shows King’s zoological park

• Lion hunts were staged for the king’s participation 

• Did not hunt lions off of horse back → still used chariots

  • Chariots needed drivers

• Chariots and lion huntings are a symbol of control
  

• Assyrian King (sending message of powerful king):

  • Focal point

  • Horizontal movement of chariot, but king is vertical

  • Diagonal from torso of lion and is picked up by diagonal of king’s arm

  • Axis of motion

  • King has already killed a lion → can see arrows

  • Faces of people are very static (dead-pan)

  • Lion’s faces are open, powerful, violent roar

  • Scale of lion and scale of king

  • Curve of arrow is parallel to the curve of the wheel

    • Dead space in between → shows off king

  • Composition is carefully thought out

  • Lion is message to the visitors to not cross the king

title, date, material, findspot

• Battle of Til Tuba Panels (Elam)

• Neo-Assyrian Period, 650 BC

• Gypsum alabaster

• North Palace, Nineveh, Iraq

Battle of Til Tuba Panels (Elam)

• Battle scenes

• Shows a town (Elam town)

• Town itself is abandoned → people have gone out to submit to the Assyrians

• Procession of people being led → on way out

  • Women and children leaving

• Below procession, there is a river

  • Bodies and wheels in river

  • Carcesses of men, horses

• Cuneiform right in the town → tells what town it is about

• Citadel

• Can see town wall

• Date palm growth

  • Not center, but suburban of town

• Elevation point of view and bird's eye view 

• Depiction of enemies

  • Hunched, contorted, twisted

  • Assyrians are standing straight up → larger and ready to fight

title, date, material, findspot

• Ashurbanipal and Queen Taking Refreshment

• Neo-Assyrian Period, 645 BC

• Gypsum alabaster

• North Palace, Nineveh, Iraq

Assurbanipal and Queen Taking Refreshment

• One panel that is a summary of entire campaign in scene

• King and queen celebrating their victory

  • Seated in an area that is covered in vines

  • King is reclining on couch

    • Detail on furniture! → high end Assyrian furniture

  • Holding flower, drinking

  • Queen is in a high back throne

• Musicians behind king and queen

• Surround king and queen

• HARP!

• Attendants are all female

• Celebration could have taken place in the women’s corridor
  

• Jewelry → Egyptianizing necklace

• Egyptian collar/necklace

  • Refers directly to Assurbanipal’s campaign

• Incredibly detailed
  

• Table behind Assurbanipal is stacked with weapons

• Eye, hair, and ear hanging from a tree in the garden → head of the Elamite king

  • Assurbanipal conquered

• Jolting message → grim war scenes

• MILITARY MIGHT
  

• Botanical garden with all types of trees, fruits, and vegetables

• GARDEN 

• Creates ideal setting

• King’s power over conquered territory

• Ability to create harmony

Neo-Babylonian Empire

• 626-539 BC

Achaemenid Persian Period

• 559-331 BC

title, date, material, findspot

• Ishtar Gate

• Neo-Babylonian Period, 605-562 BC

• (reign of Nebuchadnezzar II)

• Glazed terracotta bricks

• Babylon, Iraq

Ishtar Gate

• Reconstructed

• Stood 50 feet high

• New years festival

  • Took cult statues out of city

  • During festival, they were brought back into the city

• Plotting animals – animals in a row

  • Many are mixed, mythological animals to turn away evil

title, date, material, findspot

• Palace at Persepolis

• Achaemenid Persian Period (559-331 BC), c. 485-423 BC

• Limestone

• Persepolis, Iran

Palace at Persepolis

• Palace was center

• Massive complex

• Gateway leads you right in to a massive hall

  • Was done by successors

  • Separate terrace

• Stairways 

• About 250 square feet

• Guard rooms

• Three sides of it were surrounded by Corticos

• Public area

• Residential place for 1st ruler

• Many private apartments

• Famous area in southeastern part of palace – treasury

  • Surrounded by super thick walls 

  • Recesses and buttresses 

  • 1000 of arrowheads were found

  • Many tablets were found – Persepolis tablets
    

• Built on artificial terraces 

  • Like temples on Ziggurats

  • Made out of mudbrick

• Stone slabs (like Assyrian reliefs)

• Baked glazed bricks

• Gateways are protected by massive mixed mythological creatures

• Square rooms form bases of plan

• Nestled into mountains

• Enclosed by a massive mudbrick wall

• Only one entrance – northwest slide
  

• Columns have distinctly Greek bases

  • Egyptian filtered through the Greeks

• Threshold and gateway (seen in Assyrian palaces)

• Gateway of all countries

• Seeing other focuses on gateways

  • Gate Posts on Inanna (Uruk Vase, Anzu Relief)

• Could be a potentially dangerous spot – in liminal space

• Focus on gateway, threshold, and guardian figures

  • Typical form for a Persian gateway

    • Approached by long flights of step
      

• Square and rectangle

• Like Assyrian Palaces, this palace was a giant piece of propaganda 

  • Center piece of Persian Empire

title, date, material, findspot

• Achaemenid Columns

• (Palace at Persepolis)

• Achaemenid Persian Period (559-331 BC), c. 485-423 BC

• Limestone

• Persepolis, Iran

Achaemenid Columns

• Gatehouse 

  • Held with 4 columns

• Made of stones

• Clearly influenced by the Greeks

  • Derived from Greece (Ionia)

• Rounded base shape – Ionian

• Unique features – shape of capitals

• Mix of Greek architectural style and Persian architectural style

title, date, material, findspot

• Dignitaries Climbing Stairway of Tripylon

• (Palace at Persepolis)

• Achaemenid Persian Period (559-331 BC), c. 485-423 BC

• Limestone

• Persepolis, Iran

Dignitaries Climbing Stairway of Tripylon

• Flanking stairways

• Take you up along the sides of the platform

• Stairway Leading to Audience Hall

  • Leading into a massive reception room

• All manner of reliefs in various sizes that were decorating entry ways throughout the palace

Subjects/Depictions:

combat scene

• Motif of lion → in action

• Protoliterate period → lion attacking stag

  • Theme of combat

• Armies in profile (protoliterate period)

  • Soldiers

  • Includes guardsmen

  • Headdresses relate to weapons (rectangular or circular headdress goes along with weapons)

• Visitors processing 

  • Internal visitors walking up stairs

• Tribute bearers

  • Carved to be processing up the steps → giving gifts to kings (different items)
    

• Submissive to king

• Tribute the king

• Power is reaching far

• Shows that king cares

• Power of the King (lion and the king)
  

New Persian style

• Very distinct hairstyle

  • Round curls

• Muscular → smooth and relaxed

  • More rounded, not a focus on detail of anatomy

  • New kinds of garments of iconography

    • New costumes

• Figures are a bit more 3-dimensional (not a high relief – slightly higher relief compared to other periods)

• Details:

  • Comes more forward (see in bottom of clothes – folds of clothing)

  • Stone with subtraction

    • Modeling!!

  • modeling/shaping a surface to show details

  • Difference in relief

    • Variety of levels

  • Beard shapes to face (where jaw meets neck)

  • See eyebrow ridge