Mesopotamia & Egypt Flashcards
Define stele (steelae).
A carved stone slab used to mark graves or commemorate historical events.
Define cuneiform.
Earliest writing, Latin word for “wedged shaped” after the characters pressed into clay.
Define ziggurat.
A monumental platform for a temple (in Mesopotamian architecture). Looks like a stacked wedding cake.
Define Hierarchy of scale.
Artistic convention in which greater size = greater importance.
Define mastaba.
Arabic for “bench “; rectangular structure with sloping slides erected over a subterranean tomb and connected to the outside with a shaft.
Define composite perspective/twisted view.
Convention in which part of the figure is shown in profile and part of the same figure is shown frontally. Proportion of grid system suggest body was divided into 3 royal cubits.
Ziggurat at Ur, ca. 2100 BCE. Describe place. What era is this from?
Monumental platform. Built for a temple. Symbolic bridge between earth and gods. 100 ft tall base protected from flooding. Mud bricks with black tar substance covering it, fired bricks. Mesopotamian Era.
Victory of Stele of Naram-Sin, 2254-2218 BCE.
Limestone, carved relief. 6 ft tall. Akkadian. Naram-Sin (grandson of Sargon) is tallest figure = hierarchy of scale. Wearing helmet of horns to indicate closeness to god. Soldiers walking behind him up a mountain. Wounded/fallen enemies lie on ground, defeated by N-S. 3 suns but one broken off. Narrative scene of military victory.
Stele of Hammurabi, 7’4” tall, basalt, 1780 BCE.
Babylonian. Tiny cuneiform along bottom explains forms of law. 1 = retribution (eye for an eye). 2 = payment in kind. Seated god dictates law to Hammurabi. Early portraiture.
Palette of King Narmer, 3000-2920 BCE
Archaic. Narmer translated to “chisel-fish”; first king to unite Upper and Lower Egypt. Largest figure being bestowed power by falcon-form Horus. Bludgeoning enemy with mace. Composite view/twisted perspective. Top frieze - decapitated enemies with broken legs. Bottom frieze - Narmer charging enemy city.
Palette for make-up to apply eyeliner. Ceremonial object/larger scale (2ft compared to few inches height of others). Recessed hole framed by two elongated lions’ necks to hold make-up.
Define ba.
Soul of buried person which was free to “fly out” of tomb during the day but had to return at night.
Great Pyramids of Giza, 2551-2472 BCE
Originally covered by limestone casing stones that formed smooth surface. Now only core structure remains. Thousands of conscripted peasants labored. Huge stones from quarry dragged across rods and lifted into place.
Menkaure’s = left, smallest.
Khafre’s = limestone casing cap remaining. Built with procession path leading to Nile, protected by Sphynx at the base of pyramid.
Khufu’s = largest. Anti-theft design of blocked tunnels and false tomb chamber failed. King’s tomb was elevated instead of subterranean. Surrounded by mastaba tombs. Originally 280 Egyptian cubits tall (480.6 ft) - erosion made it now 455.4 ft tall - and each base was 440 cubis long (755.9 ft). Estimated to be built over 20 years.
Ka statue of Khafre, Giza, 2500 BCE
Gneiss/diorite stone imported from Nubia - blue glow. Blue = color of Horus connecting someone to Osiris (god of the underworld). Head of Khafre protected by falcon-form Horus holding the back of his neck. Sculptors used chisels tipped with copper or copper alloy -> copper went dull very quickly.
What monumental architecture defines this period, and wiith what materials and techniques was it achieved?
Ziggurat - monumental platforms made of mud bricks stacked on top of each other (for use as temples).
How did depictions of humans change during these two early epochs?
Mesopotamia = representations of real people but non-specific portraiture, hierarchy of scale, close to god.
Egypt = composite view/twisted perspective, chosen by gods, bestowed power and protection.
