Midterm IDs Flashcards
Paleolithic Art
Chauvet Cave, France, 30,000 BCE
Significance:
They indicated motion of the animals using the 3D shape to the walls, flickering lantern lights, and multiple limbs/horns to give a sense of power and strength to the animals that may have had some spiritual significance (as they were not the animals frequently hunted). Overlapping images dated years apart show that this cite was repeatedly visited, possibly for some ceremonial or spiritual purpose as the cave was not a place Paleolithic humans lived.
Paleolithic Art
Woman of Willendorf, Austria, 24,000-22,000 BCE
Material: Oolitic Limestone
Significance: Small figurine likely meant to be handled or carried (cannot stand on its own). The figurine has no facial features and limited limb definition, but large breasts and prominent vulva and naval take center stage as well as sagging skin and decorated headdress or braided hair. The focus on female anatomy could denote fertility or accumulation of wisdom since the figure is aged.
Early Settled Communities:
Ancestor Skull, Jericho, Jordan Valley, ca. 7000 -6500 BCE
Material: Plaster, Human Skull, cowrie-shell inlay
Significance: Suggests a possible ceremony with dead ancestors as the skulls were removed from their graves, ‘refleshed’ with plaster, decorated with rare shells, and then placed back in their grave cites. Bodies were buried in graves under the house, and this along with the potential ceremony with the disembodied skull suggests a close relationship with the dead, or at least a strong importance on the deceased.
Early Settled Communities:
Wall Painting from Çatalhöyük, Turkey, 6400-6200 BCE.
Material: Used materials of the animals they were depicting as extra decorations
Significance: Similar to ancient cave painting, the art of Çatalhöyük expressed the power and strength of animals, which can be seen with the difference in size between the main creature (perhaps a red deer, the main food source) and the people around it who seem to be baiting or chasing it. One of the early examples of humans interacting with animals.
Art of Early Africa: The Highlands of the Sahara
Elephant Relief, Messak Settafet, Libya, 7500-5000 BCE
Significance: Incised into the rock is a petroglyph in the Large Wild Fauna Style, which were large examples carved by early African artists. This elephant is extremely realistic, with accurate folds of the ears and skin. This attention to detail as long as the large amount of time it would have taken to carve these huge petroglyphs (this one is around 1/2 the size of an actual elephant!) indicate that these animals were incredibly important to the artist. The unexplained object coming out of the rear of the elephant could be excrement, which could point to this pieces being used to celebrate or bring about a successful hunt for which the poop would be used to track the animal (though most think this is a symbol of some kind and not a physical object)
Art of Early Africa: The Highlands of the Sahara
Scene of cattle with men, women, and children, Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria, ca. 5000-2000 BCE
Material: Pigment bound with milk
Significance: This is an example of a Pastoralist style scene, which came about in the settlements that first domesticated cattle. The scene is very relaxed, with the children included (which are some of the first children found in this type of art) playing peacefully around the adults and cattle. The pigments used in this piece were bound with cow’s milk, likely adding to the focus on these animal and the importance they had to these peoples lives.
Amanitore and Natakamani on the entrance of the temple of Apedemak, Naqa, Sudan. Nubian, Meroitic Period ca. 50 BCE
Materials: Stone relief
Significance: Showing King Natakamani and Queen Amanitore in poses of military victory on the entrance to the temple for a war god. They hold the hair of many enemies while their other hand holds a weapon ready to strike and execute their prisoners. Shows military success as well as the strength of the rulers.
Southern Mesopotamian Art: Early Dynastic Period
Votive figures from the Temple of Abu, Eshnunna, Tell Asmar Iraq 2750-2600 BCE.
Materials: Gypsum, limestone, and alabaster with inlayed eyes of precious materials (lapis lazuli, shell, black limestone)
Significance: found buried under the waiting room floor where the cult statue would have been placed, indicates that these could have been used as stand ins of the people who commissioned them in eternal worship of their cult god. The ever open, wide eyes and clasped hands ready to hold libation cups also show this theme of eternal worship, though the eyes that were inlaid w/ luxury materials could also symbolize the gods eyes that constantly watch you.
Royal Standard of Ur, Royal Tombs of Ur, Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq, 2550-2400 BCE
Materials: Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, red limestone, and bitumen
Significance: While called a standard (which would have been a ceremonial banner), it is unknown what exact purpose this artifact may have had. The different sides show early examples of pictorial narrative through the separate registers, or layers, with specific scenes depicted. One side shows scenes of a battle with enemies being beaten by an army lead by a leader as seen by his hierarchical scale. The other side depicts a feast with a procession with offerings for a leader as well as musical instruments being played. Both of these narratives show of the strength, power, and leadership that the main leader wields.
Head of an Akkadian Ruler, Temple of ishtar, Nineveh, Akkadian Period, ca. 2250-2220 BCE
Materials: Copper alloy with previously inlaid eyes of precious stone
Significance: This image of kingship shows strength and power with the strong facial features, while also showing what kind of ruler he was, with a calm and serene expression with an almost smiling mouth. His eyes would have been made of a precious material, but they have been gouged out, possibly in protest of his rule. Show dedicated realistic features and 1st example of intricate wax copper casting technique which shows the Akkadians technological prowess
Seated Statue of Gudea, ruler of Lagash, dedicated to the god Ningishzida, Girsu (Tello, Iraq) ca. 2120 BCE
Material: Diorite
Significance: The many statues depicting Gudea, the ruler of Lagash, all depict him as a peaceful and pious man, with simple clothes, folded hands, and bare feet all depicting his devout nature. His expression is calm and serene, and while his entire image is rather simple to share his piousness, his exposed upper arm shows his strength with well defined muscles. He is seated on a simple throne, and covered in inscriptions which share his devout and pious nature to the god Ningishzida or ningirsu, though much of the inscription lauds his feats and accomplishments in the name of Ningirsu. The statue itself is made of diorite, which was not particularly precious monetarily but was incredibly long lasting and polished to give a sense of Gudea’s legacy eternally persevering.
Art of West Asian Empires: Babylon (Mesopotamia)
Law Stele of Hammurabi, ca. 1760 BCE, originally installed in Babylon, but excavated in Susu (Iran)
Material: Black Basalt
Significance: Illustrates the importance of justice for Mesopotamian Kingship, with this large (7 ft) stele being displayed publicly with inscribed laws written in cuniform surrounding the base. The top of the stele has a low relief depiction of Hammurabi interacting with a seated depiction of the sun god of justice, Shamash. Shamash is handing Hammurabi rod and ring, which is a symbol of royal power. This interaction between god and ruler gives credence to Hammurabi’s authority to rule and dispense justice.
Art of West Asian Empires: Neo-Assyrian Empire
Colossus winged lion (lamassu) that guarded a portal in the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Kalhu, ca. 879 BCE
Material: Gypsum
Significance: Large portals that connected the major throne room to the main ceremonial courtyard, and served as imposing and powerful-looking guards. The lamassu’s depicted are mythical creatures with human heads, lion bodies, and eagle wings, and inscriptions on the base of the structure connect their mythos with the construction of the palace to act as protectors and as ‘fittingly imposing’. The beasts are carved in such a way that allows them to be seen from multiple sides, with ‘5’ legs, two in the front that show a strong standing creature, and 3 more from the side that show a prowling motion. This would have given them an appearance of movement to anyone walking past them through the portals.
Art of West Asian Empires: Neo-Assyrian Empire
Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, from the North Palace, Nineveh (new capital of Neo-Assyrian Empire), ca. 645-635 BCE
Materials: Gypsum
Significance: This low relief image from an orthostat (upright standing stone slab) shows a scene from a one of King Ashurbanipal’s lion hunts, which showed his strength and power over one of the most impressive animals that represented royalty and kingship. This showed a shift towards narrative scenes instead of static scenes. The King is outfitted in royal garb and jewelry and accompanied by a servant who seems to have dealt the initial blow to the lion with his bow and arrow. The lion itself is depicted as extremely muscular and strong, with defined muscles and large teeth, though its wounds are also depicted showing its pain. This image shows the strength of the king, as he is besting this powerful creature with his hand around its throat, stopping it from killing him and stabbing him through the heart.
Art of West Asian Empires: Neo-Babylonian Empire
Ishtar Gate of Babylon, 605-562 BCE
Materials: Glazed Brick
Significance: Included low relief depictions of mythical creatures such as mushussu (lion legs, snake body, horned head) and other dieties against a beautiful blue background. This level of detail and color was a feat of engineering, as it was huge and was a key entrance into the city of babylon. The gate played a major part in the akitu festival, which held a procession where the people of the city carried the statue of Marduk, the city’s god, out side of the city to a seperate temple, and then back in through the gates after 12 days. The city was highly at risk while Marduk’s statue was removed, but the ceremony of removing and returning the statue was a way of ‘re-uping’ the protections placed on the city. His return brought the return of social and political order after the ‘limbo’ the city was placed in during his absence.