Mesopotamia + Egyptian Terms

animism

belief that gods/spirits are embedded in nature, and that they control nature

apadana

audience hall in Persian palace

apotropaic

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

bent-axis

a pathway through or up a building that is not straight or direct, but takes a bent or angled path instead

buttress

a support of stone or brick against a wall

citadel

fortress protecting a town

cuneiform

wedge-shaped system of writing created by Sumerians

facade

front of building

floor plan/ground plan

birds eye map of building

hierarchy of scale/hierarchal perspective

a person’s importance relates to his size relative to others in an artwork

hybrid

two or more different things joined together (usually in animal forms)

hypostyle hall

a hall with a roof supported by multiple columns

lamassu

assyrian winged human-headed bull; guardians

register

a horizontal level of artwork that is delineated from other levels

votive offering

a gift of gratitude to a diety

ziggurat

pyramid-like building whose stories indent as building progresses upward

anarna style

an artistic style during the amarna period - akhenaten’s rule - where traditional egyptian conventions were abandoned for a more expressive and non-idealized style of art

ankh

an egyptian symbol of life

axial plan

a building with an elongated floor plan

canon of proportion

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

capital

top of a column

clerestory

a roof that rises above lower roofs and thus has window space beneath that lets in light

colonnade

a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature

continuous narrative

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

corridor axis

a long hallway or path enclosed by large stone masonry, possibly symbolized the Nile

enamel

melted and fused glass powder mixed with pigment to create color; very smooth once cooled

historical narrative

a story or sequence of events that is historically accurate

in situ

on site and in its original place

ka

soul imbedded in fleshy body, but upon death could live on; for the ka to live securely, the dead body had to remain as intact as possible, led to mummification

living rock

rock that is not detatched and is still in its original setting

mastaba

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

narrative

artwork that conveys a story, either as an ongoing story or as a sequence of events

necropolis

greek for “city of the dead”; a complex of funerary buildings and tombs

negative space

empty space around an object or person, such as the cut-out areas between a figure’s legs or arms of a sculpture

papyrus

paper-like material prepared in ancient egypt from nile plants

portico

a shallow columned porch

pylon

the simple and massive gateway, with sloping walls, of an egyptian temple

relief sculpture

figures project from a background of which they are a part

sphinx

a hybrid animal, with body of lion and head of pharaoh/god that exhibits protective qualities

subtractive

a sculptural process including the removal of material of a black through cutting, chiseling, chipping, or scraping away

sunken relief

a type of relief carving where all