Mesopotamia/ Ancient Near Eastern Art Flashcards
Difference between the prehistoric world and the civilizations of the Ancient Near East
(Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Hittite, Assyrian, Persian)
Tell Asmar, c. 2700 B.C.E., limestone, alabaster, and gypsum, Iraq Museum, Baghdad.
Sumerian Art.
Use of cylinder seals:
- Authenticating or legitimizing a transaction (in a similar way to the modern-day signature)
-Preventing/ restricting access to containers, rooms or houses
Relationship between King and __________
artists
Patron and the _____________
artist
Narratives
cuneiform
Art was used in the service of ___________ and the _________.
religion ; state
Rulers’ images are emblazoned on ____________ celebrating their achievements
stelai
____________was combined with the creative image resulting in a systematic historical and artistic record of human achievement.
Writing
Art works:
- Present the union of human and ________ elements in a single figure
- Use ______________________
- Shows __________ of rulers
animal ; hierarchy of scale ; deification
Buildings
- Are made of _____________(buildings)
-Either ___________ or faced with tile or stone
mud-bricks ; painted
top element of a column
Capital
system of writing in which the strokes are formed in a wedge or arrow-head shape
Cuneiform
front of a building
Facade
system of representation that expresses a person’s importance by the size of his or her representation in a work of art.
Hierarchy of scale
empty space around an object or a person, such as the cut-out areas between a figure’s legs or arms of a sculpture.
Negative space
sculpture that projects from a flat background.
Relief structure
a stone slab used to mark a grave or a site.
Stele (stelai)
pyramid-like building made of several stories that indent as the building gets taller; has terraces at each level.
Ziggurat
city of the dead, large burial area.
Necropolis
Buildings
- ______________ are important
- Fantastic animals acted as ________________ figures
Entranceways; guardian
Buildings role:
-To protect the occupants
-To ward off the evil intentions of outsiders
Use of cylinder seals:
- A___________
- Sign of _______ identity or _________ affiliation
Amuletic; personal ; professional
