Near Eastern and Egyptian Art Midterm

White Temple and Ziggurat, Uruk, Sumer, Iraq, 3300 BCE, mudbrick and plaster, Protoliterate (sumerian)

• dedicated to god Anu

• Ziggurat = mountain to heaven

  • built on platform to raise above (man made construction)

  • projections and recesses (play with light and reflection)

    • indicate religious space

• staircase and ramp for animal sacrifice

• Large temple space

  • small interior spaces (only select few could enter)

  • main entrance is along the side

    • bent access approach (controlled vision)

    • long cella

• Temple’s floors and walls where plastered with white gypsum

  • controlled entry; one could not walk directly into the temple

  • tripartite plan with a main cella, and subsidary surrounding rooms

• Monumental stairway (experience of climbing upwards) was an elemental part of the ritual.

• Exterior of temple had niched walls and grooved buttresses

Uruk/Warka Vase, Eanna precinct, Uruk, 3300 BCE, relief carved alabaster, Protoliterate (Sumerian)

• representation of New Years festival represented (1st narrative relief sculpture)

  • performative/narrative image

• nature was significant to religion → shows cycle of life and ritual of goddess Inanna

• Broken down into registers

  • bottom registers → water, plants, male and female sheep

  • middle register → men carrying variety of offerings (bowls, baskets, jugs)

  • top register → two figures in hierarchical scale; may represent priest king and priestess or Inanna and partner (blurred boundaries between gods and their representatives)

    • Inanna/priestess receiving offerings → see interior of temple with offerings

      • priest king identified by sash

      • Inanna/priestess identified by pair of ring and post (symbols)

Female head (Inanna), Eanna precinct, Uruk (Warka), 3300 BCE, marble, Protoliterate (Sumerian)

• missing inlaid eyes, eyebrow, and hair

• believed to represent Inanna and to have been originally connected to a body (maybe made of wood)

  • life size temple statue

• combination of naturalism and stylization

  • naturalistic modeling in softly carved lips, rounded cheeks

  • may have naturalistic elements but does not desire to represent realism → representative of the divine (imaginative)

• early example of monumental sculpture → may have been a cult statue

Priest-King Hunting Stele, Uruk, 3300 BCE, relief carved basalt, Protoliterate (Sumerian)

• shown with bow and arrow hunting animals

  • wears a long kilt with vertical fold at the center held by a wide belt

• Priest king identified by hairstyle and skirt (belt)

• priest king responsible for

  • making surrounding area safe

  • forces of the wild are subdued; priest king brings order

• example of early political monument (legitimizing power)

Silver Vase of Enmetena, Girsu, Iraq, Early Dynastic Period, 2400 BCE, silver, and copper

• Votive vessel

  • inscription on neck identifies as being dedicated my Enmetena (ruler of Lagash)

• inscription at the top → describes how the object is made of fine material, made for a god to hold oil for their consumption

• below inscription are 2 engraved registers

  • recumbent calves circle upper register

• Lower register → image of an eagle with lion head grasping oxen, lions, and goats

  • represents Imdugud bird often shown with god Ningirsu (dedicated god)

Statuettes of Worshippers, Square Temple at Eshnunna, Iraq, 2700 BCE, gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone, Early Dynastic Period

• not found in temple but buried underneath

• votive offerings = imbued with life force

  • believed to represent mortals perpetually worshipping god

    • the figures of people stand in for the person represented, and capture the gesture of prayer

  • reciprocal nature

• hands folded in a gesture of prayer (holding a cup)

  • stone was not readily available in Mesopotamia

• figures are abstracted images - reduced to basic geometrical shapes

  • stylized figures (not naturalized)

  • more abstract expression

Votive Statue of Enmetena, Ruler of Lagash, Ur, Iraq, 2400 BCE, black diorite, Early Dynastic period

• much larger in size compared to typical votive figures

• carved from exotic stone

• have a inscription dedicating the image of Enmetena to the god Enlil

  • details his lineage, his pious acts (built temples)

  • also gives the statue a title “Enmetena whom Enlil loves”

    • statement of performative declaration (desired outcome)

Female votive statue, from Nippur, Iraq, Early Dynastic Period, 2550 BCE, greenstone and gold, lapis lazuli, and shell

• women made votive sculptures too

• no lasting inscription telling us identity of woman who commissioned statue - but must have been wealthy (made of expensive material)

Stele of the Vultures, Girsu, Early Dynastic Period, 2450 BCE, limestone

• public monument commemorates defeat of enemies

• left top register → king leading infantry into battle

  • marching over bodies of enemies

  • vultures carrying of deceased

• right top register → hierarchical scale

  • God Ningirsu holding enemies in bag - and hitting them

    • way in which enemies are defeated and humiliated

• public monument (meant for consumption)

  • could evoke a variety of responses

• contractual agreement that war was over (declared end of battle)

Dagger and sheath of Meskalamdug, Royal Cemetery of Ur, Iraq, Early Dynastic Period, 2550-2400 BCE, gold with lapis lazuli handle

• metal work techniques

  • granulation

  • filigree

  • repousse

  • chasing

Headdress of Queen Puabi, Royal Cemetery of Ur, Ur, Early Dynastic period, 2550-2400 BCE, gold, lapis lazuli, and carnelian

• metal work technique

Royal Standard of Ur, Ur iraq, Early Dynastic period, 2550-2400 BCE, lapis lazuli and red limestone

• not sure how it function

  • may have been part of furniture

• ends depict mythological creatures

• Peace side → banqueting scene

  • hierarchical scale

• War side → battle scene

  • bodies shown beneath chariots

  • group of prisoners of war being taken to king

• most likely historical narrative

Bull-headed lyre, King Meskalamdug’s Tomb, Royal Cemetery of Ur, Ur, 2550-2400 BCE, Early Dynastic period, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, bitumen, wood

• plaque → humanoid mythical creatures preforming a ritual

  • correlation with nature and man - man dominating nature

Cylinder seal of Queen Puabi, Ur, Iraq, Early Dynastic period, 2600 BCE, lapis lazuli

• two register banquet scene

  • often represent kings, queens, and perhaps priestesses and priests drinking from cups

Head of an Akkadian ruler, from Nineveh, Iraq, 2250 BCE, bronze or copper alloy, Akkadian period

• life size → monumental metal work

  • most likely part of full scale figure of king

• hollow-cast lost wax technique

• level of humanism/naturalism we haven’t seen before

  • more stylized eyebrows

  • inlaid eyes

  • stylized hair (human but divinesque)

• balancing naturalism and stylizations

• seems eyes and ears have been intentionally destroyed

Disc of Enheduanna, Ur, 2300-2250 BCE, alabaster, Akkadian period

• Enheduanna → portrayed in hierarchical scale (isosepoli - heads on same level)

  • not in actively pouring libation

• 4 figures moving towards altar/ziggurat

  • pouring libations

• Enheduanna - daughter of Sargon, and wife of Inanna (priestess)

• may have been intentionally smashed

  • Akkadians → consolidating and solidifying power and connection to gods (legitimization)

• Contextual Significance

  • women as goddesses → indicated women may have played significant roles in society

  • priestess → oversees rituals

    • most public representation of women

Victory Stele of Naramsin, found in Susa, Iran, 2250 BCE, limestone, Akkadian Period

• King took on divine status

  • concept of divine produced new visual rhetoric

• naturalistic landscape → moving within scene climbing over bodies

  • hierarchic scale

• Naramsin shown with horned helmet

  • muscular perfection

  • standing/climbing over bodies of enemies

• stars above represent immortality

  • organized army - compared to enemies in disarray

• Reception Theory (power of political monument)

  • was taken by later king as booty (important enough to save and re display)

Statue of Gudea holding temple plan, Girsu, 2150 BCE, diorite, Neo-Sumerian Period

• diorite → expensive and strong material

• votive statues indicate piety

  • prayerful dedication to gods and requesting something in return

• Gudea = Ruler of Lagash, rejected tactics of previous rulers

  • rebuilt temples where his statues were found

    • inscriptions tell a lot about where he got materials and how he rebuilt the temples and who they were dedicated too

• less focus on active body - shown in frontal view

  • rounding of the body

• change in how rulers choose to represent themselves

Statue of Gudea standing, Girsu, 2150 BCE, diorite, Neo-Sumerian period

Stele of Urnammu (restored), Ur, 2100 BCE, Neo-Sumerian Period

• second from top resister → 2 seated figures on either side (wearing horned headdresses, wearing flounced skirts)

  • gods shown in hierarchical scale (holding rod and line; authoritative justice)

    • handing rod and line to king Urnammu

  • king (Urnammu) is shown giving offerings to both gods

    • burning offerings

    • in a gesture of piety

• 3rd from top register → shows Urnammu walking with tools that would have been used to construct the temple

Ziggurat of Ur, built by King Urnammu (patron), 2100 BCE, mudbrick, Neo-Sumerian period

• dedicated o god Innanu

  • much larger - 3 platforms built of mudbrick

  • recesses in sidesof walls

    • signals religious structure (also helps stablize)

• beielve first plantform had plants

• served both religious and administrative functions

Private House, Ur, Isin-Larsa period, 2000 BCE

• made of mudbrick - had 2 stories (upper class)

• opened paved court yard in middle of center of the household

• one entrance into the home

  • staircase that led o second story

  • wooden balcony

  • rooms on the upper story were more private

    • lower story rooms were more public

• many homes had private altars shrines were also located at different parts of the city

Relief of Lilith, Isin-Larsa period, 2000 BCE, terracotta

• Relief → frontal composition

  • helped viewer to engage more directly with the divine

• usually placed over an altar (could have been for private/localized devotion)

• holding rod and line → represents justice

  • composite features shown with owls and lions

  • wearing horned headdress

• shown in a specific setting (scaled section below her represents mountains)

• debate about her identity → may represent Inanna

  • owl iconography

  • connection with Inanna (origin of words)

Puzur-Ishtar of Mari, Istanbul, Isin-Larsa Period, 2000 BCE

• emphasis on the body

  • more rounded forms

Goddess holding a flowing vase, Mari, Isin-Larsa period, 2000 BCE, (life size fountain)

• fountain from Mari courtyard

• fish represented on her dress

Investiture Scene, Palace of Zimiri-Lim, Mari, 19th century BCE, wall painting, Isin-Lara period

• shows king has blessings from gods

  • divine authority from gods to rule → means agricultural plentitude

• principle scene

  • goddess Ishatr (Inanna) standing on lions handing over line and rod (ability to enact justice)

• other gods are present (horned headddresses)

• lower register

  • one is holding vase w/ water - central to plentitude (abundance of water )

Statuette of Hammurabi kneeling in adoration, 1760 BCE, bronze with gold, Old Babylonian period

• votive statue → would have been placed in a temple

• see new level of movement

  • looks like he’s in the middle of kneeling down

• inscription on side shows him kneeling before n enthroned goddess

  • purpose of perpetual prayer

Stele with the law code of Hammurabi, showing the king before the sun god, Shamash, 1760 BCE, diorite, Old Babylonian period

• shown being given rod and line standing before god Shamash

• Hammurabi sown in pious position - more rounded figures

• Shamash → hierarchical scale

Inanna Temple, Eanna Precinct, Uruk, built by Karaindash, 1415 BCE, molded brick facade, terracotta Kassite period

• Bilateral symmetry - straight line of sight from entrance (no longer controlled sight)

• male and female deities shown in recesses on facade of temple

  • mountain and water god/goddesses

  • molded brick

Catal Huyuk, Turkey, wall painting, Deer Hunt (6000 BCE), Landscape with volcanic eruption (6150 BCE), Anatolia Neolithic period

Gobeklitepe, near Urfa, Turkey, 9500 BCE, Neolithic (Anatolia)

• oldest religious or ritual site that has yet been discovered

• monolithic structures - engravings of animals

Lion Gate, Bogazkoy (ancient Hattusas), Turkey, 1400 BCE, relief sculpture, Hittite Period

• part of massive city wall

• hidden tunnel beneath walls

  • ramps up to top of walls that allowed for easy defense

Temple 1, Hattusas, Turkey, 1400 BCE, Hittite Period, mudbrick with stone foundation

• surrounded by storage spaces and workshops

  • administrative and religious importance

• priests, musicians, crafters were regularly present