Download In this chapter you will

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Chapter 2: Art of The Ancient Near East
Art History
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In this chapter you will...
! Explore the development of visual narrative conventions to tell stories of gods,
heroes, and rules in the sculpted reliefs of the ancient Near East.
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In this chapter you will...
! Discover how artists of the ancient Near East used colorful and precious
materials to create dazzling effects in art and architecture.
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In this chapter you will...
! Survey the various ways rulers in the ancient Near East expressed their
power in portraits, historical narrative, & great palace complexes.
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In this chapter you will...
!Be able to appreciate the distinctive form of
architecture that evolved for worship.
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Art of the Ancient Near East
! In public works such as this stone stele (upright stone slab), the artists of
Mesopotamia developed a sophisticated symbolic visual language that both
celebrated and communicated their political stratification that gave order and
security to their world.
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Stele of Naram-Sin,
2254-2218 BCE
! This 6 1/2 ft high stele, or upright stone slab, memorializes one of NaramSin’s military victories over the people of the Zargros Mountains.
! We see Naram-Sin holding his weaponry and proudly standing atop the
mountain above the fallen Lullubi people.
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The Fertile Crescent & Mesopotamia
! Long before farming occurred in Europe, people in Asia Minor and the
ancient Near East domesticated grains
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The Fertile Crescent & Mesopotamia
! Later around the 6th or 5th millennium BCE, agriculture developed in the plains in
the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which would be given the name
“Mesopotamia” by the Greeks, which means “land between the rivers”
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City-States Emerge
! Between 4000 & 3000 BCE, agricultural villages evolved into cities in both northern and
southern Mesopotamia.
! These prosperous cities joined with their surrounding territories to create what are known as
city-states, each with its own gods and government
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The Roles of Architecture
! Builders & artists labored to construct large temples & government buildings.
! Organized religion played a huge role because the people that controlled rituals &
sacred sites eventually became priests.
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Sumer
! The cities that developed along the rivers of Southern Mesopotamia from 3500-2340 BCE were
collectively known as Sumer.
! These peoples are given credit for many important “firsts” such as invention of the plow and
wagon wheel, & perhaps the greatest contribution to civilization- a system of writing.
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Sumerian Advancements: Cuneiform Writing
! Sumerians pressed cuneiform, or wedged shaped symbols, into clay tablets with a
stylus, or pointed writing instrument
! System of writing to keep business records
! They document the evolution of writing & arithmetic
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The Ziggurat
! The Sumerian’s most impressive surviving archaeological remains are the
ziggurats.
! They seem to tower over the flat plains and proclaim the wealth, prestige
and stability of the city’s rulers and glorified its gods.
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Uruk &
The White Temple
! Uruk, the first independent Sumerian city-state held two large structures, one
dedicated to the goddess of love & war, Inanna, the other to the sky god Anu
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The Warka Head, 3300-3000 BCE
! This life-sized marble face from Uruk may represent such a goddess.
! The face is thought to have been attached to a wooden head with a fullsized wooden body.
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Carved Vessel,
3300-3000 BCE
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! Found near the complex of Inanna, the goddess of love and war, this
carved vase shows stories of the society
! The scene is usually interpreted as the ritual marriage between the
goddess and a human priest king during the New Year’s festival.
The Lower Register
! The sculptor organized the picture space into registers, or horizontal bands
! They condensed the narrative, much like a modern comic strip.
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The Middle Register
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The Upper Register
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Votive Figures
2900-2600 BCE
! These limestone statues are known as votive figures, or images dedicated to the gods
! These figures are an early example of an ancient Near Eastern religious practice: the placement in a shrine of
statues of individual worshipers before a larger, more elaborate image of a god or goddess.
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Votive Figures in Detail
! Simple faces and bodies; large, wide-open eyes that are said to represent approaching god with an attentive gaze
! We also gain knowledge of the clothing styles worn by these ancient people by studying the dress of these votive figures.
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Sumerians & Other Works
! From about 3000 BCE on, Sumerian artisans worked in various
precious metals, in bronze, often combining them with other
materials such as wood, shell, etc.
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! One of the greatest examples of this artistry is a lyre- a kind of harp- found in a royal tomb
! The harp is a combination of wood, gold, lapis lazuli, and shell
! This work dates 2600-2500 BCE.
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! The front panel of the sound box we see four horizontal registers, or narrative story
bands, which were made by inlaying shell in bitumen, a tar like substance.
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The Bottom Register
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The Second Register
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The Third Register
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The Top Register
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Cylinder Seals
! About the time written records appeared, Sumerians developed seals for identifying
documents and establishing property ownership.
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Akkad- Head of a Ruler
! During the Sumerian period, a people known as the Akkadians had
settled north of Uruk.
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! Under the powerful military & political figure Sargon I they
conquered most of Mesopotamia.
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Sumerian City-State of Lagash & the Rule of Gudea
! Around 2180 BCE, the Guti, a mountain people from the northeast,
conquered the Akkadian empire
! They controlled most of the Mesopotamian plains for a brief time before
the Sumerian people regained control of the region.
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Votive Statue of Gudea, 2090 BCE
! In this image, he holds a vessel of flowing life-giving water dividing into two streams, filled with leaping fish.
! The sculptor emphasizes the power centers of the human body: the eyes, head, and smoothly muscled chest and
arms in the imposing yet small 2 1/2 foot statue.
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Babylon & Hammurabi
! After over 300 years of going back & forth with stable
governments & complete political turmoil in Mesopotamia, the
Amorites come in & reunite the region under the ruler
Hammurabi.
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Hammurabi’s Code
! Among his many achievements, Hammurabi had a written legal code that listed the
laws of his realm and penalties for breaking them
! Here we see the Stele of Hammurabi that depicts the ruler and his set of laws, 17921750 BCE.
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The Hittites of Anatolia
! In the ancient Near East, outside of Mesopotamia, other cultures developed & flourished
! The Hittites of Anatolia were among the most influential of these outside cultures
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The Lion Gate, 1400 BCE
! Seen here is the Lion Gate entryway from the Hittite stronghold of Hattusha
! The Hittites were known for the artistry of their fine metalwork and for their imposing palace citadels with double walls and fortified
gateways
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Assyria
! After centuries of struggle, a people called Assyrians rose to dominance in northern
Mesopotamia
! They came to power around 1400 BCE & after 1000 BCE started conquering neighboring
regions, by end of the ninth century BCE, they had influence as far as Egypt
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Kalhu
! During his reign (883-859 BCE), Assurnasirpal II established his capital at Kalhu,
on the east bank of the Tigris River, and undertook an ambitious building program.
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Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions, 875-860 BCE
! Most buildings at Kalhu were made of mud bricks, but limestone & alabaster were used to veneer walls with
architectural decoration.
! Low relief carvings of the king participating in religious rituals, war campaigns, & hunting expeditions often
covered grand entrance ways & wall panels.
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Dur Sharrukin
! Sargon II, who ruled from 721-706 BCE, built a new Assyrian capital at
Dur Sharrukin
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Guardian Figures at Gate A of the Citadel of Sargon II,
721-706 BCE
! Important visitors & ambassadors on the way to an audience with the ruler would have passed
sculpture extolling the power of the Assyrian armies & then come face-to-face with lamassus,
the extraordinary guardian-protectors of the palaces & throne rooms.
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Examining the Lamassu
! When viewed from the front, the forelegs are together & the creature appears immobile.
! From the side, it appears actively striding forward.
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! Because they were designed to be seen from the front and side,
they seem to have 5 legs.
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Assurbanipal and His Queen in the Garden, 647 BCE
! Assurbanipal (ruled 669-627 BCE), king of the Assyrians three generations after
Sargon II, maintained his capital at Nineveh.
! His palace was also decorated with alabaster panels carved with pictorial narratives
in low relief.
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Neo-Babylonia & Nebuchadnezzar II
! At the end of the seventh century BCE, the Medes allied with the Babylonians & Scythians &
invaded Assyria; eventually gaining control & Assyria was no more.
! The most famous Neo-Babylonian ruler was Nebuchadnezzar II who ruled from 605-562 BCE
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Persia
! In the sixth century BCE, the Persians began to seize power in
Mesopotamia
! They eventually overwhelmed all of the ancient Near East & established a
vast empire
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Parsa The New Persian Capital
! One influential ruler, Darius I, in about 515 BCE, began construction on
Parsa, the new Persian capital
! Today it is one of the best-preserved ancient sites in the Near East
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Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute, 491-486 BCE
! Many relief sculptures covered the complex in decoration.
! This one shows Darius holding an audience while his son & heir, Xerxes, listens from behind
the throne.
! Such panels would have originally been painted in bright colors, with metal objects (like his
crown) covered in gold leaf (sheets of thinly hammered gold).
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Reminders
! This is just a brief summary- you are still required to read the
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entire chapter.
! Take note of key terms and concepts as you read.
! Remember to check your calendar to stay up to date on
assignments and other due dates.
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