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

Sumerian art

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

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

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.

gods

In the Sumerian world, the \_____ symbolized powers that were manifest in nature.

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

Shallow relief sculpture

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

Capital

the top element of a column

Apadana

an audience hall in a Persian palace

Hypostyle hall

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

White Temple and its ziggurat

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

Statues of votive figures

* different heights
* hands are folded - gesture of prayer
* huge eyes; arms and feet cut away
* placed in a temple to pray before a sculpture of a god.

Standard of Ur

* wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red ­limestone


* broad frontal shoulders; bodies in profile; twisted perspective
* reflects extensive trading network
* Has two sides: War Side and Peace Side

Code of Hammurabi

* Written in cuneiform | Akkadian language
* One of the earliest law codes; 300 entries

Lamassu

* Human-headed winged animal guardian figures
* Meant to hold up the walls and arch of a gate.
* Meant to ward off enemies both visible and invisible.
* Carved from a single piece of stone.

Apadana of Darius and Xerxes

* Built for lavish receptions and festivals
* proudly proclaim this complex as the seat of a great empire.
* Built by Darius I and Xerxes I
* Destroyed by Alexander the Great