Art History Terms 1

Material Culture

The materials, objects, and technologies that accompany everyday life.

Ziggurat

A stepped pyramid or tower-like structure in a Mesopotamian temple complex.

Facade

Any exterior vertical face of a building, usually the front.

Course

A layer of bricks or other building units arranged horizontally along a wall.

Ashlar

A stone wall masonry technique using finely cut square blocks laid in precise rows, with or without mortar.

Mosaic

A picture or pattern made from the arrangement of small colored pieces of hard materials, such as stone, tile, or glass.

Votive

An image or object created as a devotional offering to a deity.

Courseware

A type of thick, gritty pottery used for everyday purposes.

Terra-Cotta

Baked clay; also known as earthenware.

Libation

The ritual pouring of a liquid, often alcohol, to a spirit or deity as an offering while prayers are said.

Pictorial Narrative

Storytelling in pictures that presents a connected sequence of events.

Register

A horizontal section of a work, usually a clearly defined band or line.

Hierarchical Scale

The use of size to denote the relative importance of subjects in an artwork.

Low Relief

Raised forms that project only slightly from a flat background.

Iconography

Images or symbols used to convey specific meanings in an artwork.

Hieroglyph

A type of written script that uses conventionalized signs to represent concepts, sounds, or words.

Necropolis

A large cemetery; from the Greek for “city of the dead.”

Faience

A glassy substance that is formed and fired like ceramic, made by combining crushed quartz, sandstone, or sand with natron or plant ashes.

Engaged Column

A column attached to, or seemingly half-buried in, a wall.

Capital

The distinct top section usually decorative, of a column or pillar.

Stele

A carved stone slab that is placed upright and often features commemorative imagery and/or inscriptions.

Archaizing

The use of forms dating to the past and associated with a golden age.

High Relief

Raised forms that project far from a flat background.

Rock-Cut

Carved from solid stone, where it naturally occurs.

Monolith

A single large block of stone.

Orthostat

An upright, standing stone slab, often protecting the lower part of a wall.

Portico

A projecting structure with a roof supported by columns; typically functions as a porch or entrance.

Mastaba

A massive, flat-topped rectangular tomb building with slanted side walls; built of either mud brick or cut stone.

Amulet

An object that is worn or carried in the belief that it will protect its owner.

Pylon

A monumental stone gateway to an ancient Egyptian temple composed of two wide towers.

Obelisk

A tapering, four-sided stone pillar, usually with a small pyramid as the capstone.

Sunken Relief

Relief that is carved into a sunken area and does not project above the surface.

Colonnade

A long series of columns at regular intervals that supports a roof or other structure.