ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ART

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Oscar Poole
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1 ART HISTORY AP ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ART Civic design currently in use has been arund since the 3 rd millennium 9 th c. BCE Assyrians were masters f impressin and intimidatins Ceremnial urbanism Reinfrce and cnfirm the ruler s abslute pwer High walls, impsing gates and temple platfrms Hmes f the priest kings= intermediary between the peple and the gds Lamassus: guardian-prtectrs f palace and thrne rms. Clssal gateway figures. 5 legs, meant t be seen frm frnt and frm the side. Often twice a persn s height represents the strength f the ruler. Exquisite detail. Arts played an imprtant plitical rle FERTILE CRESCENT AND MESOPOTAMIA PEOPLE IN Asia Minr and ANE dmesticated grains befre Eurpeans Fertile Crescent= stretches alng the Lebanese muntain range then circles the nrthern regin f Tigris and Euphrates river (present day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq) dwn thrugh the Zagrs muntains. Agriculture develped in the plans between the Tigris and Euphrates, knwn tday as Mesptamia- the land between rivers. Flding prblems led t the develpment f systems used t cntrl the water supply BCE Cultural shift= agricultural villages develped int cities, then surrunded by city-states (each individually gverned by their wn gds) Scial hierarchies emerged (rulers vs. wrkers) alng with specialized skills Builders and artists labred t create gvernment structures Organized religin= wrshipped numerus gds and gddesses. Each city had a prtective deity, fate f the city depended n them. Similar discrepancies with names, as with Greek/Rman Large gathering cmplexes develped in each city Sumerians first cntrlled the Suth. Center f pwer later shifted t the Assyrian in the nrth and then back t Babylnians. Persian eventually frged what is currently knwn as the Near East FIRST CITIES Jerich Lcated in tday s West Bank Biblical stry f Jshua reference the walls f Jerich- earliest stne frtificatin t date. Peple had been living there since 8000 BCE- evlved frm agricultural village t a twn f mud-brick huses Twn cvered 6-10 acres by 7500 BCE, ppulatin f 2,000

2 Huge brick wall fr frtificatin= 5ft thick, 20ft high. Als cnstructed a circular stne twer 28ft high, 33ft in diameter Ain Ghazal Present day Amman, Jrdan= even larger then Jerich Inhabited frm abut 7200 BCE t 5000 BCE, ccupied 30 acres Made f mrtared stnes- representative f American Suthwest cnstructins Chatal Huyuk Present day Turkey: Anatlia Ppulatin f abut 5,000 Thrived in bsidian trade (rare vlcanic glass used frm Palelithic t mdern times) Lived in single stry building clusters- entry t huses thrugh rfs Susa Present day Iran Flurishing farming regin by 7000 BCE 4200 BCE Susa established. Later the capital f an Elamite kingdm Knwn fr their war spils THE ARTS Sculpture, painting, textiles, and pttery flurished during this time. Sculptures give hints abut the technlgy and the culture f thse wh made them//t histric times. Ain Ghazal= mre than 30 painted plaster figures. Fragments suggest they were nearly life size. Sculptrs mlded the figures by applying wet plaster t reed-and-crd frames in a human shape. Eyes were inset cwry shells and small dts f black/tarlike substance= bitumen: used frequently. Figure prbably wrk wigs and clthing and std upright. Chatal Hayek= elabrately decrated building assumed t have been shrines. Bld gemetric designs, painted animal scenes, actual animal skulls and hrns, 3D shapes resembling breasts and hrned animals adrning walls. 1 chamber- lepard headed wman (high arched was area abve3 large bull s head, giving birth t a ram. Likely suggests wrship f fertility gddess. Like many early Near Eastern settlements- seems t be abandned suddenly and never reccupied. SOUTHERN MESOPOTAMIA Sumerians 1 st develped this area. Filled independent city states with new technlgy, literacy, arts and architecture. City states marked by cnstant feuds and eventually unified by ther peple. Akkadian united Mesptamia

3 Sumer Embraced Sumerian culture, later unificatin trn apart frm invaders frm the nrth east. Lagash survived and revived under the ruler Gudea. Mesptamia remained in turmil fr several centuries until rder was restred by the Amrites. Migrated t Mesptamia frm the Syrian desert. King Hammurabi= led rise t the city f Babyln. Cllective f cities and city-states develped alng the rivers f suthern Mesptamia between BCE Credited with inventing the wagn wheel and plw, created a system f writing (develped alngside that f Egypt s) Writing Cuneifrm (wedge-shaped) symbls int clay tables with a stylus (pinted writing instrument). Originally t keep business recrds. Dcument the gradual evlutin f writing and arithmetic (tls f cmmerce) Organized system f justice 1 st literary epic= The Epic f Gilgamesh Origins are Sumerian, but the fullest versin (written in Akkadian) was fund in the library f Assyrian king Assurbanipal (ruled BCE) in Ninevah Recrds the adventures f Gilgamesh, legendary Sumerian king f Uruk, and his cmpanin Enkidu. Upn Enkidu death, Gilgamesh sets ut t find the secret f eternal life frm a man and his wife wh are survivrs f a great fld. Describe/Discuss fld stries. Ziggurats Uruk Huge stepped structures with a temple r shrine n tp. May have develped frm the practice f repeated rebuilding at a sacred site Elevating the building als prtected the shrines frm flding. Prclaimed the wealth, prestige and stability f a city s ruler and glrified the gds. Symblic functin as a bridge between the earth and heaven (meeting place fr humans and gds). Huse f the Muntain, r Bnd Between Heaven and Earth 1 st independent Sumerian city state Had 2 large architectural cmplexes in the 1,000 acre city. One dedicated t Inanna= the gddess f lve and war.

4 Inanna buildings seemed t have been administrative cmplexes as well as temples. Sky gd= Anu, ther temple platfrms, built up in stages ver the centuries BCE whitewashed brick temple that archaelgist refer t as the White Temple, was erected n tp. Nw in ruins, was a simple rectangle riented t the pints f the cmpass. Statues f gds and dnrs were placed in the temples. Warka Head- may represent a gddess. Culd have been attached t a wden head a full-size wden bdy. Nw stripped f riginal paint, wig, and inlaid brws and eyes. Stark white mask Shells may have been used fr eyes and lapis fr the pupils, hair may have been gld. Carved alabaster vase fund near temple cmplex f Inanna. Organized picture space int registers (hrizntal bands) and cndensed narrative. Similar t mdern cmic strips. Stylized figures shwn simultaneusly with prfile heads and legs and with 3 quarter view trss- making bth shulder visible. Lwer register shws the natural wrld Abve plants, alternating rams and ewes stand n a gundline. Middle register, nude men carry baskets f fdstuffs Tp register, Inanna in frnt f strehuse as priest-king Usually interpreted as the ritual marriage between the gddess and human priest-king. Ritual meant t ensure the fertility f crps, animals, and peple Vtive Figures Limestne statues dated t abut BCE frm the Diyala River Valle f Iraq. Excavated in Small figurines that wuld be placed in frnt f a larger gd figure fr wrship. Dnrs f temple may cmmissin as a representatin f themselves (Discuss // t Christianity) Simple inscriptins One wh ffers prayers Served as Stand-ins Simplified faces and bdies, wit clthing that emphasized the cylindrical shape.

5 Stand slemnly with hands clasped in respect. Wide-pen eyesappraching gd with and intensive gaze. Characteristic arched brws and inlaid gaze. Male figures, bare chested dressed in sheepskin skirts. Stck and muscular with heavy legs, large feet, big shulders and cylindrical bdies. Female figures are as massive as the men. Nanna Ziggurat Als called Sin Mud-brick structure. Rectangular base f 205 x 141ft, 3 sets f stairs cnverging at an impsing entrance gate atp the first f what were 3 platfrms. Platfrm walls slpe utward frm tp t base- prbably t prevent rain water cllectin and ersin Precius Metals Frm abut 3000 BCE n= brnze and cmbinatin f ther materials. Decrated, r in the shape f, animals r animal/human/bird hybrids Cylinder Seals Clay stamps with incised surfaces t stamp textiles r bread Appeared abut the same time as written recrds Sumerians dev elped seals fr identifying dcuments and establishing prperty wnership BCE recrd keepers redesign seal as a cylinder Rlled acrss sft clay, applied t clsure that was t be sealed (i.e. a jar lid, knt securing a bundle r the dr t a rms. Cylinder left a raised image f the design. Usually less than 2 inches high. Made f hard stne (marble r lapis lazuli)- elabrate designs and scenes culd nt wear away. Textiles Usually wman s art, thugh famers prduced the raw materials (wl flax, and ther fibers) Spun fabric Fibers are cleaned, cmbed and srted Then twisted and drawn ut under tensin Spun int lng, strng flexible thread Weaving Whrl- weight t rtate spindle Distaff t hld the raw materials

6 Akkad Dne n a lms Warp are lead ut at right angles t the weft threadspassed ver and under the warp Tapestry lms Dyes Made frm natural pigments Settled nrth f Uruk. Adpted Sumerian culture but spke a Semitic language (same family f languages that includes Arabic and Hebrew). Sargn I: pwerful military and plitical figure (ruled BCE, knwn as King f the 4 Quarters f the Wrld Lagash and Gudea 2180 BCE, Guti cnquered the Akkadian empire Cntrlled mst f the Mesptamian plain fr a brief time befre Sumerians regained cntrl. Lagash remained independent Gudea (ruler) built and restred many temples, in which he placed vtive statues representing him as embdiment f just rule. Made f dirite (hard imprted stne) Difficulty f carving the stne prmpts cmpact simplified frms fr the prtraits 25 f these figure remaining Babyln Fr ver 300 years, plitical turmil alternated perid f stable gvernment Amrites (Semitic speaking peple fr the Syrian desert, t the west), reunited the regin under Hammurabi (ruled BCE) Capital city f Babyln Develped written legal cde HITTITES OF ANATOLIA Established capital at Hattusha abut 1600 BCE, city was destryed abut 1200 BCE Thrugh trade and cnquest, created an empire that stretched alng the Mediterranean Sea (Syria t Lebann), ptting them int cnflict with the Egyptian empire May have been the 1 st t wrk in irn= used fr war charits, weapns, chisels, hammer Nted fr artistry in their metalwrk and frtified gateways and palace citadels

7 LATER MESOPTOAMIAN ART Assyria Began t extend their pwer by 1400 BCE, after abut 1000 BCE began cnquering neighbring regins. By the end f the 9 century BCE, cntrlled mst f Mesptamia. By the early 7 th extended their influence as far west as Egypt. 600 BCE, empire cllapsed Built huge palaces n platfrms inside frtified cities. Palaces decrated with battle scenes- cmbat between men and beasts and religius imagery. Kalhu (Nimrud) Assurnasirpal II reigned frm BCE) established Kalhu (east band f Tigris river) Ambitius building prgram. City frtified with mud-brick walls 5 miles lng, 42 ft. high. Engineers cnstructed a canal that irrigate fields and prvided water fr the city. Mst f the building are made frm mud bricks, limestne and alabaster were used t veneer walls fr architectural decratin Lamassus- clssal guardian figures flanked majr prtals Religius rituals, war campaigns and hunting expeditins depicted. Dur Sharrukin Sargn II (ruled frm BCE), built the new Assyrian capital Walled citadel (frtress cntaining several palaces and temples straddled the city. Palace cmplex (grup f building where ruler gverned and resided). Demnstrates the use f art as prpaganda t supprt plitical pwers Guarded by 2 twers Ramp t main curtyard, flanked by service buildings n right and temples n left Heart f palace prtected by reinfrced walls Narrative relief panels shw tribute bearer- functined as audience halls. Ninevah Assurbanipal (ruled BCE), maintained capital f Nineveh after Sargn II Relief decratins f palace typical representatins Unusual- king and queen in garden relaxing. Apparently a victry celebratin Ne-Babylnia Medes, peple frm western Iran, allied with Babylnians and Scythians and invaded Assyria. Cnquered Nineveh in 612 BCE Nebuchadnezzar

8 PERSIA Mst famus ruler (frm BCE), ntrius tday fr his suppressin f the Jews as recrded in the Hebrew Old Testament, but culd have been cnfused with Nabnidus Patrn f architectures- transfrmed cultural, plitical, and ecnmic hub Older eastern sectin= Prcessinal Way- religius rute. Hnrs patrn gd- Marduk Streets paved- sme up t 66 ft wide. Ran frm the Euphrates bridge thrugh the temple/palace district t the Ishtar Gate. Dark blue glazed bricks (enamel use) Frmerly nmadic Ind-Eurpeans, began t seize pwer by 6 th century BCE Trace their lineage back t Achaemenids Empire Expansin began in 559 BCE with Cyrus II (ruled BCE). By his time f death, Persian Empire included Babylnia, Media and sme f the Aegean islands. Only the Greeks std against them. Darius (ruled BCE) claimed t be King f Kings. Organized Persian lands int 20 tribute paying areas under gvernr. Allwed tlerance fr diverse native custms and religins. Develped a system f air taxatins and standardized currency Susa as his 1 st capital. Persian Cinage Decrative arts- included rnamented weapns, dmestic wares, hrse trapping and jewelry Create refined cinage- served as an ecnmic standard and prpaganda Learned t mint cinage frm the Lydians Gld daric- named fr Darius. archer Technique Gld, silver, brnze and cpper used t be weighed t determine value. Lydians established a seal prcess (Sumerian inventin) t designate value Only 1 side f the image until 525 BCE 2 faced cins- used a punch and anvil prcess. Held a die, r mld, impressed n the cin. At its height, the Persian empire extended frm Africa t India 334 BCE Alexander the Great f Macednia defeated Darius III and annihilated the Perseplis

Art of the Ancient Near East Day 1. Chapter 2

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