Art history terms

Ubaid culture

Originally signifying a style of pottery in southern Iraq, it now denotes a vast Near Eastern interaction zone characterized by material culture similarities.

Tournette

A pivoted work surface that makes shaping and decorating pottery easier and quicker.

City-state

An independent city, and sometimes its surrounding land, with its own government separate from nearby countries.

Cuneiform

A writing system characterized by wedge-shaped characters used in ancient Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit.

Gilgamesh

A demigod of superhuman strength and the semi-mythic King of Uruk, known as the hero of The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Ziggurat

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

Cella

The inner chamber of a temple, usually housing a cult statue.

Bent-axial plan

A plan that incorporates two or more angular changes of direction, typical of Sumerian architecture.

Registers

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

Votive offering

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

Stele

A carved stone slab placed upright, often including commemorative inscriptions.

Heraldic composition

A symmetric design typically involving a central figure flanked by other figures.

Lost-wax casting technique

A method of creating metal sculpture where a clay mold surrounds a wax model that is later melted away to fill with molten metal.

Ashlar masonry

A technique using finely cut square blocks of stone laid in precise rows to construct walls.

Orthostat

Squared stone blocks greater in height than depth built into the lower portion of a wall.

Lamassu

Guardian sculptures often placed outside prominent sites, appearing in pairs.

Apadana

The great hall in ancient Persian palaces.

Sculpture in the round

Freestanding three-dimensional sculpture that can be viewed from every angle.

Relief

Raised forms that project from a flat background.

Post-and-lintel

Construction method where two upright posts support a horizontal beam.

Megalithic

A large stone used to construct prehistoric structures or monuments.

Henge

An ancient monument featuring a circular ditch and inner bank.

Necropolis

A large cemetery, Greek for 'city of the dead'.

Serdab

A narrow chamber in an ancient Egyptian mastaba containing a statue of the deceased.

Ka

The 'life force' that moves about the world and returns to the preserved body or statue.

Mastaba

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

Capitals

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

Engaged columns

Columns that are attached to or half buried in a wall.

Axial plan

Architectural design organized along a central axis, leading to a symmetrical arrangement of spaces.

Pylons

Support bars or rods that hold up structures like bridges.

Clerestory

The upper section of a wall containing windows, allowing light to enter the building.

Hypostyle hall

A large room supported by rows of columns or pillars.

Valley temple

Buildings containing niches or chapels for statues of temple owners, previously thought to be mummification sites.

Funerary temple

Temples created for the resurrection of deceased rulers, serving as burial places and cult centers.

Sunken relief

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

Amarna period

The era of Akhenaten's reign known for significant religious, artistic, and political changes in ancient Egypt.

Karma

The sum of a person’s actions that determines their future existence.

Dharma

Duty or righteousness.

Samsara

The cycle of existence.

Nirvana

The goal of non-existence in Buddhism.

Chakra (wheel)

The representation of Buddha's teachings, signifying completeness and perfection.

Stupa

An important form of Buddhist architecture, typically a burial mound or repository for religious objects.

Mandala

A spiritual diagram of the cosmos used in Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Asian religions.

Harmika

A fence-like enclosure symbolizing heaven, found at the top of a stupa.

Jataka

Stories of the Buddha’s past lives.

Circumambulation

The act of walking around a sacred place or object.

Toranas

Decorative arched gateways for ceremonial purposes.

Yakshi/yaksha

Spirits believed to inhabit natural elements; yakshas are male and yakshis are female.

Mithuna

An amorous couple representing fertility, considered auspicious in South Asian cultures.

Lakshanas

The 32 auspicious marks by which the Buddha can be recognized.

Urna

A tuft of hair or dot between the eyebrows of the Buddha symbolizing the third eye.

Ushnisha

A protuberance from the head of the Buddha, often a topknot of hair.

Mudras

Hand gestures used in meditation and yoga to focus the mind and direct energy.

Axis mundi

The connection between heaven and earth in certain belief systems.

Linga

An abstract representation of Shiva denoting his divine energy.

Shikhara

The tower above the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple, found in North Indian temples.

Mandapas

Porches or halls for public rituals in Hindu temple architecture.

Amalakas

Segmented stone disks found atop Hindu temple shikharas, symbolizing a lotus or the sun.

Garbhagriha

The location of the murti of the temple's primary deity.

Vimana

The tower above the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple in South India.

Vishnu

The god of Preservation in Hinduism, often appearing in various incarnations.

Shiva

The god of destruction and renewal, one of the three main gods in Hinduism.