Chapter 2: Ancient Near Eastern Art

Ziggurats

The first great buildings of the ancient world; were made of baked mud, and they were tall, solid structures that dominated the flat landscape.

Lascaux

A network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France.

Lamassus

A Mesopotamian celestial being with a human head, bull's body, and wings.

Cuneiform

a system of writing in which the strokes are formed in a wedge or arrowhead shape

Apotropaic

having the power to ward off evil or bad luck

Negative space

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

Sumerian art

It has realistic-look-ing figures acting out identifiable narratives.

Nudity

A sign of debasement; only slaves and prisoners are nude.

Hierarchy of scale

a system of representation that expresses a person’s importance by the size of his or her representation in a work of art

Local god

An advocate for a given city in the assembly of gods.

Temple

Became the center point of both civic and religious pride.

Bent-axis plan

ascending the stairs requires angular changes of direction to reach the temple

Cella

the main room of a temple where the god is housed

Whitewash

was used to disguise the mud appearance; hence the modern name of White Temple.

Uruk

May be the first true city in history; the first with monumental architecture.

Anu

The god of the sky, the most important Sumerian deity.

Votive

Offered in fulfillment of a vow or a pledge

Ground line

a baseline upon which figures stand

Ground plan

the map of a floor of a building

Register

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

Lapis lazuli

a deep-blue stone prized for its color

Shamash

Sun god, enthroned on a ziggurat, hands Hammurabi a rope, a ring, and a rod of kingship.

Shamash

judge of the sky and the earth, with a tiara of four rows of horns, ­presents signs of royal power, the scepter and the ring, to Hammurabi.

Shallow relief sculpture

an Assyrian specialty, although the lamassus are virtually three-dimensional as they project noticeably from the walls they are attached to.

Khorsabad

Sargon II founded the capital at \____; the city was surrounded by a wall with seven gates.

Capital

the top element of a column

Apadana

an audience hall in a Persian palace

Audience hall (apadana)

It had 36 columns covered by a wooden roof; held thousands of people; was used for the king’s receptions; had stairways adorned with reliefs of the New Year’s festival and a procession of representatives of 23 subject nations.

Hypostyle hall

An indication of one of the many cultures that inspired the complex.

Alexander the Great

He destroyed the Apadaa; perhaps as an act of revenge for the destruction of the Acropolis in Athens.

White Temple and its ziggurat

__**Details:**__

* c. 3500–3000 B.C.E
* mud brick
* Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq

__**Form**__:

* Buttresses spaced across the surface
* tapers downward so that rainwater washes off
* resembles a mountain
* Bent-axis plan

__**Function**__:

* terrace at top for rituals
* temple on top is small; access for royalty and clergy only.
* interior temple has cella and small rooms for deities

Statues of votive figures

__**Details:**__

* Square Temple at Eshnunna
* c. 2700 B.C.E.
* Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone

__**Form:**__

* different high figures
* huge eyes
* men are bare chested; women are dressed draped over one shoulder.
* pinkie in a spiral; chin a wedge shape; ear a double volute.

__**Function:**__

* “*It offers prayer.*“
* Represents mortals.
* Placed in temples to pray before a sculpture of god,

Standard of Ur

__**Details:**__

* Royal Tombs at Ur
* c. 2600–2400 B.C.E.
* Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red ­limestone
* British Museum, London

__**Forms:**__

* frontal shoulders; bodies in profile; twisted perspective.
* emphasis on eyes, brows and ears.
* organized in registers.
* read from bottom to top.

__**Content and Theories:**__

* Two sides:
* War Side
* Peace Side
* Found in a tomb at a royal cemetery.
* reflects extensive trading network

Code of Hammurabi

__**Details:**__

* Babylon (modern Iran), Susian
* c. 1792–1750 B.C.E.
* basalt
* Louvre, Paris

__**Form and Function:**__

* stele meant to be placed in an important location
* earliest law codes; 300 entries

__**Content and Context:**__

* Shamash as sun god, judge of the sky ad earth
* Shamash giving Hammurabi the laws.
* Written in cuneiform; Akkadian language

Lamassu

* __**Details:**__


* From the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (c. 720–705 B.C.E.)
* Alabaster
* Louvre, Paris

__**Form:**__

* human-headed animal guardian figures; winged
* has five legs; seem to be walking
* faces exude calm, serenity, and harmony.

__**Function:**__

* meant to ward off enemies both visible and invisible.
* inscriptions in cuneiform

Apadana of Darius and Xerxes

__**Details:**__

* c. 520–465 B.C.E.
* limestone
* Persepolis, Iran

__**Form:**__

* artificial terraces
* bell-shaped base columns
* bulls/lions capitals
* built to dwarf the viewers

__**Function:**__

* for lavish receptions and festivals
* lamassu gates welcome visitors

__**History:**__

* Built by Darius I and Xerxes I
* Destroyed by Alexander the Great