Unit 2 Vocab

ziggurats

ziggurats

mesopotamian buildings created for religion; stories indent as built upwards

palaces

mesopotamian buildings built for the state

animism

belief that gods/spirits are embedded in/control nature

facade

front/showiest part of a building

floor/ground plan

bird's eye map of building

bent-axis

pathway through/up building that doesn't take straight path

buttress

extra stone/brick that supports a wall/structure

votive offering

gift of gratitude to a deity

hierarchy of scale

person's importance relates to his/her size relative to others in the artwork

inlaid

embedding item/object into/onto something else

register

horizontal level of artwork separated from other levels

cuneiform

wedge-shaped system of writing created by sumerians

subtractive

type of sculpture that begins with larger material and reduces it to create the desired image

lamassu

assyrian winged human-headed bull; guardians

hybrid

2+ different things joined (typically animal forms)

apotropiac

believed to have the power to ward off danger, evil, and bad luck

citadel

fortress/palace that protects a town/city

relief

method of moulding/carving/stamping in which the design stands out from the surface to a greater (high) or lesser (low) extent

apandana

audience hall in a Persian palace

hypostyle hall

hall with roof supported by many columns

historical narrative

story/sequence that is or purports to be historically accurate

mastaba

simple tomb with four sloping sides which covers an underground burial chamber

load-bearing construction

active elements of a building that hold the weight of what is placed above

necropolis

complex of funerary buildings

sphinx

egyptian hybrid animal with the body of a lion and the head of a pharoah

living rock

rock that is not detached and is still in its original geographic setting

in situ

artwork created and exists where the original materials were found

canon of proportions

system of measurement in which artists can regulate size, scale, and proportions

colonnade

long row of columns joined by an entablature

portico

shallow, columned porch

axial plan

building with elongated ground plan

corridor axis

long path/hallway enclosed by large stone masonry

pylon entrance

The simple and massive gateway, with sloping walls

clerestory

roof that rises above lower roofs and creates a space for light to enter on the side of a buiding

capital

top of a column

ankh

egyptian symbol of life

amarna style

artistic style during Akhenaton's rule where traditional egyptian conventions were abandoned for more expressive and non-idealized art

sunken relief

type of relief carving where all lines are made into the surface so the design is set into the material

crook and flail

egyptian symbols of kingship

ka

the immortal human life force that lives on after death; dead body had to be mummified to remain intact

enamel

melted and fused glass powder mixed with pigment to create a colored, smooth surface once cooled

papyrus

paper-like material prepared in ancient egypt from the nile

continuous narrative

image that illustrates multiple scenes in a single grame; therefore, some figures repeat