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VCU ARTH 103 - Art & Architecture of the Ancient Near East

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ARTH 103 1nd Edition Lecture 2 Outline of Last Lecture II. Paleolithic Period c. 38,000- 8,000 BCEIII. Neolithic Period c. 8,000-2,300 BCEOutline of Current Lecture IV. Sumer to Persia ca. 3,500- 300 BCEV. Ancient Sumer c. 3,500- 2,100 BCEVI. Akkad c. 2,340- 2,180 BCEVII. Babylon c. 1,792- 1,530 BCEVIII. Assyria c. 1,000- 612 BCEIX. Neo- Babylonia c. 612- 539 BCECurrent LectureIV. Sumer to Persia- Mesopotamia: land between the Tigris & Euphrates Rivers; aka the Fertile Crescent- Problems: volatile climate  unpredictable floods; volatile politics  shaped art- Primary subject of art: religion  gods and goddesses politics  propaganda- Religion and politics often went hand-in-hand V. Ancient Sumer- Invented first written language known as cuneiform text which was written by pressing awedge-shaped stylus into wet clay- Writing was a form of art- Most famous piece of writing: The Epic of Gilgamesh- Cylinder Seal - A form of signature in picture form for those who were not literate- *Carved Vessel*, alabaster c. 3,300- 3,000 BCEThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Alabaster was an imported material- Religious in nature, purely ceremonial use- Contains 3 bands of carvings, the bands are known as registers- Bottom band contains: plants and animals 2nd register: human beings 3rd register: divine beings- Thought to be have made for Inanna, the goddess of love and war- *Great Lyre with Bull’s Head*, wood with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, bitumen, and shell- Found in a King’s tomb- Lyres have a connection to death and funerals  believed that music would help journey into the afterlife- *Mythological Figures*, a part of “Great Lyre with Bull’s Head”-Divided into registers; 1st register: represents the king 2nd register: animals preparing for feast 3rd register: animals playing music 4th register: underworld greeting king-The story of the king’s burial- *Nanna Ziggurat*, unbaked and sun-baked bricks, bitumen c. 2,100- 2,050 BCE- Solid base; labor used: slave labor- Implicit honor to work on religious buildings- Each Ziggurat is dedicated to a god; only priests were allowed in- Bitumen: thick tar-like substance that the base was covered in, acted as a type of water-proofer- Top of Ziggurat is covered in mosaics- *Votive Figures*, limestone c. 2,900- 2,600 BCE- Found within the temple; left outside the temple by common people as a stand-in- Priests would bring them up the Ziggurat- *Votive Statue of Gudea*, diorite c. 2,120 BCE- Gudea  last Sumarian king; known to be very religious and pious- Diorite is a very hard stone and rare material  shows how important his votive is compared to the common people- This particular votive is for Geshunanna, the goddess of poetry and dreams- Holds a jar with two waterfalls spilling out  symbolizes the two rivers and how he is the protector of Mesopotamia- Contains text; something that the common people votives did not containVI. Akkad- The Akkadian people attempted to overtake the Sumerians; took over part of Mesopotamia- Adopted some ways of Sumerian culture- Different from Sumerian art because: they glorified their kings through art- *Stele of Naramsin*, limestone c. 2,254- 2,218 BCE- Stele: honors political or military victory- Naramsin: great military leader; name literally meant “Son of Sin” (son of the sun god)- Story of the Stele: conquering the Lullubi people- No clear registers, everything is one big storyVII. Babylon - *Stele of Hammurabi*, basalt c. 1,992- 1,750 BCE- Hammurabi: just ruler; just punishment to fit the crime- Mostly text which outlined all the laws- On top of the Stele: seated figure which is Shamash, god of Justice and Hammurabi accepting the law from Shamash- Iconography: very specific symbolism - On top of the Stele there is a rod symbolizing the administration of justice and a coil of rope symbolizing measuring out justiceVIII. Assyria- Invading people from modern-day Syria- Conquered all of Mesopotamia- Most of their art glorifies military power and aggressiveness- *Lamassus*, limestone; from Palace of Assurnasirpal II- Guardian figures 10 ft tall - *Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions*- Assyrian art is graphically violent- Element of naturalism  very life-like- Assyrians tend to not use a hierarchy scale ie. The only distinction of Assurnasirpal is thathe is wearing a crownIX. Neo-Babylonia- *Ishtar Gate*, glazed brick c. 575 BCE- Crenellation: a fortified look on top of a gate ie. The gate-like look on top of a castle- Thought of have represented Inanna because of the lions on the gate, but there aremany more other animals on gate- Original is in the Berlin museum and a remake sits at the original


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