Pre-historic to Egyptian Art Flashcards
An aesthetically pleasing and meaningful arrangement of elements, as words, sounds, colors, shapes, etc.; form of human activity whose chief character is determined by such arrangement.
Art
The science or profession of designing and constructing buildings or other structures.
Architecture
Any of the arts pertaining to or referring to the following: painting, sculpture, glass, and glassware, ceramic and pottery, metallurgy and plants.
Decorative Arts
A sub-period of Paleolithic known to use pigments for bodily ornamentation
Mousterian
A sub-period of Paleolithic known for cave paintings
Aurignacian
A sub-period of Paleolithic known for ‘the last of the hunter-gatheres, live for 6 centuries. Art found: engravings of horses, bison, ibex, stag, reindeer, bear, wildcats on bone
Magdalenian
What was the name given to figurines in Paleolithic art as they are unmistakably female of child-bearing build?
Venus
What was the name of the figurine with 4 ½” tall made of limestone found in Austria?
Venus of Willendorf
Invention of bow and awwow, pottery for food storage and domestication of small animals. Was invented during what age in pre-history?
Mesolithic Age / Middle Stone Age
What was the name of the large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with stones?
Megalith
A large, single upright standing stone
Menhir
A free standing chamber, consisting of standing stones covered by a capstone as a lid. It was used for burial and was covered by mounds.
Dolmen
An upright slab forming part of a larger structure
Orthostat
A linear arrangement of upright, parallel standing stones
Stone Row
A straight standing stone, topped with another forming a T shape
Taula
What was the other name of post and lintel construction (Neolithic)?
Trilithon
Historical period which contributed the cuneiform and ziggurat architecture
Sumerian
A system of writing typified by the use of characters formed by the arrangement of small wedge shaped elements
Cuneiform (ceneus)
What was Mesopotamian sculpture characterized by?
Large circular eyes and curly hair and beard
A divine genii; a great stone statue of a human headed winged bull that greeted visitors at the gate of Palace of Sargon II
Lamassu
The text of Hammurabi’s code comprising of 300 statues in Akkadian on 51 columns
The Law Code of Hammurabi
(raised up or high) Artificial mountains made of tiered rectangular layers which rose in number from one to seven in the course of Mesopotamian history
Ziggurat
Who introduced polychrome ornamental brickwork and also high plinths or dadoes made of great stone slabs placed on edges; usually carved with low relief sculpture
Assyrians
Gate named after the goddess of love, fertility of war, it is faced with glazed bricks with rows of bulls and dragons
Ishtar Gate
Symbol of the sun god and the pharaoh (sacred life)
Lotus
Egyptian ornamentation which symbolizes purity
Palm
Emblematic of the sun god
Sun disk
Symbol of upper Egypt; loyal protection
Vulture
Rebirth of eternal life - symbol of god khephera who was believed to cause the sun to move
Sacred bettle / Scarab
Egyptian ornamentation which symbolizes loyalty
Serpent
Symbol for life
Ankh
Relief carvings or inscriptions. Their purpose is to record history, tell a story
Hieroglyphics
Face must look straight ahead and each side must be exactly like the other, although the hands and feet are in profile; eyes, shoulders in front view
Law of Frontality
It was the symbol for protection and was a composite of a human head and a lion’s body
Sphinx
It is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone.
Sarcophagus
A system of column and lintel used by the Egyptian
Trabeated construction
The first recorded artist of western history, architect to Zoser. Enjoyed the status of a court official and was later deified
Imhotep
Funerary temples for commoners; later developed into step pyramids, on top of each other
Mastabas
City of mastabas
Necropolis
Burial place for Egyptian royalty; found in Giza, these empty weights of stone in construction
Pyramids
Square shaft of stone with a pyramidal top used as a monument
Obelisks
Post and lintel construction characterized as a forest of columns
Temples
Temple for the dead pharaoh
Mortuary temples
Temple for popular worship of the ancient gods
Cult Temples
Located on cliffs where they cut labyrinth passageways that led to ceremonial and burial chambers which were later replaced by temples
Rock hewn Tombs / temples
Entrance gate of an Egyptian temple
Pylon
Open court of an Egyptian temple
Peristyle
Vast hall filled with columns is the largest enclosed space in Egyptian architecture. Contains a double row of columns higher than the others
Hypostyle Hall
It contains a small shrine which was used as receptacle for the small statue of god in an Egyptian temple
Sanctuary
A spreading palace of stone and wood for the king, with so many chambers above and below ground
Palace of Knossos (Palace of Minos)
The Mycenaean ruins are a fortress that is entered on what kind of gate?
Lion Gate / Gate of Lions
Arranging the courses of layers of stone so that each level projects over a stone
Corbelling
What do you call the Mycenaean tombs?
Beehive Tombs / Tholos (round building)
“big room”; throne room (Mycenaean Period)
Megaron
