APAH Unit 2.1

Hierarchy of scale

A system of representation that expresses a person’s importance by the size of their representation in a work of art.

Registers

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

Stylized human forms

Artistic representations of humans that are simplified or exaggerated rather than realistic.

Personification of animals

Attributing human characteristics to animals, seen in cultures like the Egyptians and Greeks.

Polytheism

The belief in many gods.

Votive

An offering made in fulfillment of a vow or pledge.

Figures are cut away

Sculptures that are hollowed under their arms and between their legs from their stone.

Lamassus

Man-headed winged bulls at Persepolis, representing the personification of animals.

Stele

A carved stone slab erected to mark a grave.

Carved relief sculpture

Sculpture that projects from a flat background; a very shallow relief is called a bas-relief.

Ziggurats

Pyramid-like buildings made of several stories that indent as they get taller, featuring terraces at each level.

Cella

The main room of a temple where the god is housed.

Ground plan

The map of a floor of a building.

Cuneiform

A system of writing with wedge or arrowhead-shaped strokes, created by the Sumerians.

Ka

The spirit or soul of a human being, believed to reunite with the body in the afterlife.

Hieroglyphics

Egyptian writing using symbols or pictures as characters.

Ground line

A base line upon which figures stand, usually within a register.

Mastaba

A low, flat-roofed tomb with sloping sides, Arabic for "bench."

Necropolis

A large burial area that includes a pyramid and other tombs.

Colonnade

A row of columns.

Obelisk

Tall monolithic pillars with pyramidal tops.

Nemes

Striped trapezoidal head cloth worn by pharaohs in ancient Egypt.

Hypostyle Hall

A hall in an Egyptian temple supported by a dense thicket of columns.

Amarna style

Art created during Akhenaten's reign, featuring a more relaxed figure style.

Ankh

An Egyptian symbol of life.

Axial plan

A building with an elongated ground plan.

Benben stone

A sacred stone relic found at Heliopolis, the center of the sun god.

Clerestory

An upper portion of a wall containing windows for natural light and air.

Pylon

A monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple marked by two flat sloping walls.

Pyramid

A monumental structure with a square or triangular base and sloping sides.

Engaged column

A column that is attached to a wall and not freestanding.

In situ

A Latin term meaning something is in its original location.

Papyrus

A tall aquatic plant whose fiber was used as a writing surface in ancient Egypt.

Peristyle

A colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a courtyard.

Sarcophagus

A stone coffin.

Iconography

The study of images and symbols specific to a culture, religion, or individual.

Amarna style of naturalism

Features exaggerated physical traits and a relaxed figure style, differing from earlier periods.

Akhenaton

Pharaoh who led a religious revolution, halting polytheism.

AKENATON, NEFERTITI, AND THREE DAUGHTERS form

 sunken relief stele of royal family, an informal scene, containing hieroglyphics; shows naturalism in figures by incising undulating curves rather than rigid lines. The ends of the rays hold the ankh, the sign of life.

Content of akenaton, efertiti, and 3 daughters

royal family seated in front of their sun disc god, Aten.

Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters Context

: Amarna style (period) – art created during the reign of Akhenaton, which features a more relaxed figure style than in old kingdom. Amarna style of naturalism, with features exaggerated as protruding jaw, extended skull, bulging belly and wide hips. Domestic environment is new. We see a rare, intimate look at the royal family, basking in the rays of their Aten god above. Akhenaten led a religious revolution, bringing polytheism to a halt.

Function of Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters

a decorated panel in Akhenaton’s home.

Theme and Patron of AKENATON, NEFERTITI, AND THREE DAUGHTERS

: ritual/ceremonial, knowledge and belief, domestic, individual/society; identity

Tradition/Change of a,n,atd

profile but not strict (composite)