Early fourth millennium B.C.Mesopotamia and Egypt
Settlement of the great river valleys took place. In both areas writing, monumental architecture, and new political forms appear. During this time two different and major civilizations developed; Mesopotamia and Egypt. These two cultures were not cut off from one another. There were a series of contemporaneous city civilizations connecting Egypt to Mesopotamia. Along these cities and cultures trade took place, cultures diffused into one another and conquests occurred.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bible/map-01.html
Sumerian Art
The Sumerian people used the wheel and plow, controlled flooding in the area, and constructed irrigation ditches to bring river water to areas not directly on the rivers. Their techniques created what we know as the fertile crescent. Sumerians established the first urban communities Uruk (modern day Warka) and Lagash (Al-Hiba). They also developed the first script- cuneiform. The Sumerians relied heavily on trade. Even though they had great fertility of land their area lacked basics like stone, metal and wood.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/masterpieces.html?c=y&page=2
From the Paleolithic period there has been evidence of people trying to control their environment through the use of magic. With the emergence of the Sumerians the old magic began to be replaced by a religion of gods and goddesses. Often these deities personified the forces of nature humans deal with in day-to-day life. The gods were rulers over everything and humans were responsible for keeping them happy.
Some inventions of the Sumerians that created a urban society were: division of regularized activities, development of agriculture, and civic administrators. Priests were the civic administrators directing communal activities, like canal building and distribution of food to those not growing the food. Because of the division of activities not all members of the society were consumed with growing food, some were able to be involved in manufacturing and trade.
Temples were the cities monumental nucleus.The temple was actually a temple complex. There were priests and scribes. It is thought that writing developed into a precise instrument. The earliest examples have to do with records of accounts. At this time a stylus was pressed into soft clay which eventually hardened into a nearly indestructible record. To this point hundreds of thousands of these records have survived for us today.
The White Temple and ziggurat at Uruk has been well preserved. Sumerian builders used mostly mud brick so survival is unusual. The lack of longevity did not stop the Sumerian builders though they still built monumental settings for worship of their deities. Have we abandoned the practice of building monumental places of worship? Give an example to back up your thoughts.
The Sumerians also introduced monumental statues to the world. The marble female head (8 inches tall) is entirely manmade. To create this out of marble the stone had to be imported and would have been too expensive to create a full figure. This head would have been painted originally- not white as it appears today. The head is thought to be the goddess associated with Venus, daughter of the moon god.
The Sumerians also created statuettes. A group of statuettes ranging in height from a few inches to30" tall was found. These statuettes are believed to be for the Sumerian god Abu (god of vegetation). We believe that there is such a difference in sizes because size represents importance in this group of work. These are votive figures, created to offer up constant prayer to the deity. We this this is why their eyes are so big it symbolizes their constant wakefulness required to fulfill thier duty.
RESEARCH: The Royal Cemetery at Ur find one piece of art OR if you prefer the entire site and discuss the significance. Write at least 100 words on this topic
About 2300 B.C. the sity-states known as Sumer came under Akkadian rule. The Akkadians were very different from the Sumerians but assimilated Sumerian culture. They did, however, introduce a new concept- royal power. Now, rather than being loyal to a city-state citizens were loyal to a king. An example of this loyalty is a hollow cast bronze sculpture Head of an Akkadian ruler http://www.panoramio.com/photo/29685405 this work has suffered damage becasue it is a political work. The eyes were once filled with precious and semiprescious stones, there were ears and the other portions which have sustained damage were created without flaw. The artist who created this work paid special attention to details like hair and the curly beard (this was a Semetic culture). This piece is one ot the first attempts at hollow cast bronze that we known. Another piece of art dedicate to the god-like king of Akkadia is the Victory stele of Naram-Sin. It is a thin piece of snadstone 6'7" in height representing a victory over a neighboring enemy. This piece is also the first landscape work in Near Eastern art.
NEO-SUMERIAN ART
The Sumerians once again came to power after overthrowing another invader the Guti people. This reemergence created the neo-Sumerian period.
BABYLONIAN ART
During this time the MEso[otamian political pattern, city-states, reemerged. Due to the nature of this situation eventually the most powerful ruler of a city-state asserted power over the other sity-states and brought all under one centralized government. This king was Hammurabi, one of the city-states was Babylon. Ahmmurabi establised the first code of laws and prescribed penalties. These laws were inscribed on a Stele. A piece of basalt 7'4" tall. http://www.commonlaw.com/Hammurabi.html check out the different laws and punishments prescribed by the first written code of laws. Some are similar to laws we have today.
ASSYRIAN ART
Khorsabad palace was guarded by a man-headed, bull with fve legs and wings it is called a lamassu. It is carved limestone 13' 10" tall.The head is sculpture in the round and the body is high relief. The kings expected their dominance to be displayed through low relief limestone carvings of their hunting and conquering victories.
NEO-BABYLONIAN ART
As I am sure you have figured out the NEar East was an unstable place- warring was practically constant. With the collapse of Assyrian rule the Babylonians returned to power. King Nebuchadnezzer restored Babylon to one of the greatest ancient cities (his exploits are chronicled in the Bible, the book of Daniel). Under his direction the "hanging gardens" were built and the great ziggurat of Babylon to Bel (tower of Babel). A grand entrance way to the temple complex was built. Along the walled processional way sixty low relief lions were molded and glazed onto colored bricks. The Lions are brown, yellow and red against a dark blue backround they lead to the also brightly colored Istar Gate.
SASANIAN ART
" With the conquesr of Persia by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C., the history of the ancient Near East becomes part of the history of Greece and Rome. In the third century A.D., however, a new power rose up in Persia to challenge the Romans and sought to force them out of Asia. The new dynasts called themselves Sasanians and traced their lineage to a legendary figure names Sasan, who was said to be a direct descendant of the Achaemenid kings." Gardners Art Through the Ages, 10th ed. Check out Ctesiphon's palace. http://www.google.com/imgres?q=ctesiphon&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1152&bih=671&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=AEJ_MMw4XPzutM:&imgrefurl=http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog%3Ftopic_id%3D1113733&docid=wP4_eI6T8BqADM&imgurl=http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/Ctesiphon-ruin_1864_1qaa1.jpg&w=640&h=397&ei=zcUdT9yZJ4eC2AXXo6DiCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=695&vpy=362&dur=81&hovh=177&hovw=285&tx=120&ty=173&sig=100270782774107038522&page=1&tbnh=116&tbnw=187&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0
Check out this link for pictures of the work discussed in this post:
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumerart.html
RESPOND:
Post to the orange prompts above
1. Use an art history book to identify some architectural element in the Ctesiphon palace. Describe the feature and give credit to the art history text used.
No, in my opinion we haven't stopped building monumental places of worship. A recent example is the 13-story Muslim center called Park51 that is being built 2 blocks from Ground Zero. (Not that I encourage this, but it is still an example.)
ReplyDeleteWhen I researched the Royal Cemetary of Ur, I found a website called sumerianshakespear.com. On this website there is a lot of imformation and pictures provided for the artifacts found. Such as antient jewelry, weapons, lyres ( which are statues found in the King's grave), vessels, and numerous other miscellaneous items. There are also pictures and information provided on the historic structures such as the tombs, stairs, and the King's grave. As well as information on the people that lived in the time period. This is all relevent because a lot of the artifacts, especially the lyres, are perfect examples of the statues described in the Cemetary.
1. Some architectural elements are a very large arch and fortress walls on the front.-I had to use the internet for lack of a book.
2. This is important because a lot of the artifacts still exist today and it is a part of art and architectural history. It has sparked the Egyptian style art that is still prominant in some places today.
1. In my opinion I don’t think we haven’t strayed away from building monumental places of worship. Majority of worship and religious practices are varied in churches. Varying from Catholic and Christian church, Synagogue, and other Eastern Hindu temples.
ReplyDelete2. The Royal Cemetery of the Ur, discovered by C. Leonard Wooley in the 1920’s, was known as the Great Death Pit. The tomb revealed the bodies of six guards, sixty-eight court ladies, and Queen Paubi ; as well as, the treasures in the pit. Among the artifacts, the Ram in the Thicket drew most of my attention. The artifact was, as from the name, a Ram caught in a thorn bush like in the Bible with Abraham. Anyway, this piece is embellished with gold from its head to feet, its shells resembling the fleece, as the bush and flowers casted in gold as well. Its beauty is striking as well its gift for surviving the sands of time.
3. Majority element used in art, during the time period, was abstract figures and hieroglyphic figures. Most of the art based is based on segments of strong solid lines that have minimal curving. Though in a sense, they carved and chipped into wall and majority of the art. Art History book, pg.97
4. It is important to know time periods because it displays the stages of human revolution. The periods show the birth of creativity, inventions, and the structures of how we live today.
http://www.bible-archaeology.info/abraham.htm
http://www.penn.museum/sites/iraq/?page_id=208
http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/04/2011/iraqs-ancient-past
I don't think that we have abandoned the process of building places of worship. I don't think we build things like the Western Wall, but every where you go you see a church, even out in the middle of no where.
ReplyDeleteThe website I went to was called http://www.penn.museum/sites/iraq/?page_id=26. It states that a lot of the artifacts found there were used for long and elaborate mourning rituals It says that the city's kings and queens(They assumed) were berried there and that their tombs were filled with lots of treasure and attendants and animals. The people tried to bury people with all the things that they thought they would need during their afterlife. It also talks about a giant feast and fesitval that they would have after the funeral.
I read that it used conservatism, and that it was the principle trait in the art.
I think it's important to know about this time period because Egyptian art was influenced by religon and beliefs, which is what a lot of people today are still influenced by.