Art history terms

Ubaid culture: Originally coined to signify a style of pottery in southern Iraq, and by extension an associated people and a chronological period, the term "Ubaid" is now often used loosely to denote a vast Near Eastern interaction zone, characterized by similarities in material culture, particularly ceramic style

Tournette: a pivoted work surface that makes the shaping and decorating of pot easier and quicker

City-state: that an independent city — and sometimes its surrounding land — which has its own government, separate from nearby countries.

Cuneiform: denoting or relating to the wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit, surviving mainly impressed on clay tablets.

Gilgamesh: is a demigod of superhuman strength who befriends the wild man Enkidu. Together, they embark on many journeys, most famously defeating Humbaba. Gilgamesh is the semi-mythic King of Uruk best known as the hero of The Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2150-1400 BCE)

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

Cella: inner chamber of a temple, usually houses a cult statue.

Bent-axial plan: A plan that incorporates two or more angular changes of direction, characteristic of Sumerian architecture.

Registers: a horizontal section of work, usually a clearly defined band or line

Votive offering, votive figure: an image or object created as a devotional offering to a deity.

Stele: a carved stone slab that is placed upright and often includes commemorative and or inscriptions.

Heraldic composition: the symmetric design of elements in a heraldic display, typically involving a central figure flanked by other figures.

Lost-wax casting technique: a method of creating metal sculpture in which a clay mold surrounds a wax model and is then fired. When the wax melts away, molten metal is poured in to fill the space.

Ashlar masonry: A stone wall mason art technique using finely cut square blocks laid in precise rows, with or without mortar

Orthostat: Orthostates are squared stone blocks much greater in height than depth that are usually built into the lower portion of a wall.

Lamassu: that Lamassu are guardian sculptures, typically appearing in pairs, that were often placed outside prominent sites. They were parts of city gates or citadel gates.

Apadana: that the great hall in ancient Persian palaces. A great hall.

sculpture in the round: freestanding three- dimensional sculpture that can be viewed from every angle, for example, by walking around it.

Relief: raised forms that project from a flat background

post-and-lintel: a form of construction in which two upright posts support a horizontal beam (lintel).

Megalithic: is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones.

Henge: an ancient monument with an outer circular ditch and inner bank

Necropolis: a large cemetery, Greek for “city of the dead”.

Serdab: a narrow chamber of the ancient Egyptian mastaba either concealed or accessible only by a narrow passage and containing a statue of the deceased.

Ka: “life force”. The Ka moved about the world but returned to rest in the preserved body or in statues designed to serve as eternal repositories for it.

Mastaba: a massive, flat-topped rectangular tomb building with slanted side walls; built of either mud brick or cut stone.

Capitals: the distinct top, usually decorative, section of a column or pillar.

engaged columns: a column attached to, or seemingly half buried in a wall.

axial plan: An axial plan is an architectural design that is organized along a central axis, often resulting in a symmetrical and linear arrangement of spaces.

Pylons: a bar or rod that supports some structure, like a bridge or a highway overpass

Clerestory: the upper section of a wall that contains a series of windows, allowing light to enter the building.

Hypostyle hall: a large room with rows of columns or pillars supporting the roof.

valley temple: contain niches or chapels for statues of the owner of the temple. It used to be assumed that the temples were mummification places for the deceased king. We now know that the actual purpose of the buildings was to enable the king in question to meet visiting gods.

funerary (mortuary) temple: a pyramid temple, a causeway and a valley temple, were at the same time burial places of kings and places of perpetuating or maintaining the kings' funerary cults — they were created for one primary reason: the resurrection of the deceased ruler.

sunken relief: relief that is carved into a sunken area and does not project above the surface.

Amarna period: Ancient Egypt was the era of the reign of Akhenaten (1353-1336 BCE), known as 'the heretic king’. known for its religious, artistic, and political changes. It was a time of social upheaval and a shift from traditional polytheism to monotheism.

Karma: the sum of a person’s actions that determines their future existence.

Dharma: duty or righteousness

Samsara: the cycle of existence.

Nirvana: goal being non-exitance (Buddhism)

Chakra (wheel): The Wheel of Dharma, also known as the Dharma Chakra or the Buddhist Wheel, is a representation of the teachings of Buddha. The wheel, with its circular shape, signifies the completeness and perfection of Buddha's teachings. Each part of the wheel holds a special meaning, reflecting key aspects of Buddhism.

Stupa: an important form of Buddhist architecture, though it predates Buddhism. It is generally considered to be a sepulchral monument—a place of burial or a receptacle for religious objects. At its simplest, a stupa is a dirt burial mound faced with stone.

Mandala: typically comprised of concentric circles and squares, a spiritual diagram of the cosmos used in Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Asian religions.

Harmika: a square, fence-like enclosure that symbolizes heaven and appears at the top of a stupa.

Jataka: stories of the Buddha’s past lives.

Circumambulation: means the act of walking around or circumambulating a sacred place or object.

Toranas: A torana is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes

Yakshi/ yaksha: Yakshas are male figures, and yakshis are their female counterparts. They were believed to be spirits that inhabited trees, mountains, rock mounds, rivers, and oceans.

Mithuna: an amorous couple, representing fertility and considered auspicious in south Asian cultures.

Lakshanas: In Buddhism, the 32 “auspicious marks” (physical traits) by which the Buddha can be recognized.

Urna: one of the 32 markers of the Buddha, a buddha, or bodhisattva. A tuft of hair or small dot between the eyebrows that symbolizes the third eye.

Ushnisha: one of the 32 markers of the Buddha, a protuberance from the head, usually a topknot of hair.

Mudras: hand gestures: a small action with the hands. Mudras are used in meditation and yoga to help guide the flow of energy in the subtle body to help focus the mind and go inward.

Axis mundi: the center of the world and/or the connection between heaven and earth in certain belief systems.

Linga: an abstract representation of the Hindu god Shiva that denotes his divine generative energy.

Shikhara: the tower above the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple, used specifically for north Indian temples.

Mandapas: porches or halls; a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture

Amalakas: An amalaka is a segmented or notched stone disk, usually with ridges on the rim, that sits on the top of a Hindu temple's shikhara or main tower. According to one interpretation, the amalaka represents a lotus, and thus the symbolic seat for the deity below. Another interpretation is that it symbolizes the sun and is thus the gateway to the heavenly world.

Garbhagriha: the garbhagriha is the location of the murti (sacred image) of the temple's primary deity.

Vimana: The tower above the inner sanctum of a Hindu temple in south India.

Vishnu: Vishnu is the god of Preservation, the great maintainer who often appears in various incarnations (avatara) to provide salvation for humanity.

Shiva: Shiva is the Hindu god of destruction, transformation, and renewal. He is one of the three main gods in Hinduism, along with Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver.