Unit 2 - Ancient Mediterranean Flashcards
White Temple and its ziggurat
IDENTIFICATION
- 3517-3358 BCE
- Mud and bricks
- Uruk, Iraq
FORM
- Raised platform, 4 sloping sides
- Filled with mud-brick furniture for offerings and alters
- White washed throughout
CONTEXT
- Dedicated to sky god Anu; height brings people closer to God
- Towered above a city; visual representation of the perceived might of the gods
Palette of King Narmer
IDENTIFICATION
- Hierakonpolis, Egypt
- 3000-2920 BCE
- Carved Greywacke
- Just above 2ft
FORM
- Depicts a narrative of the unification of upper and lower Egypt; balance of order and chaos under the pharaoh (Narmer)
- Symbols of the gods and the kings crest present
CONTEXT
- Often used to mix cosmetics, but this was symbolic
- Buried with people
Statues of votive figures, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna
IDENTIFICATION
- Tell Asmar, Iraq
- 2750-2600 BCE
- Black limestone and gypsum inlaid with shells
FORM
- Were once painted (now faded)
- Depict men in tufted fleece spirts
- Depict positions of attentiveness
- Wide stance/cylindrical at bottom (stance of worship)
CONTEXT
- Dedicated to god Anu
- Commissioned by elite to stand as placeholders in churches; spirit present without physical body
- Buried with people
Seated scribe
IDENTIFICATION
- 2620-2500 BCE
- Saqqara, Egypt
- Painted Limestone
FORM
- Scribe portrayed at work with papyrus and reed brush
- Sagging chest and stomach; disrespectful for a king, but endearing for a scribe, may be a reference to the comfort and relaxation of a noble person in their society
- Curvilinear lines decrease formality of piece
CONTEXT:
- Immortalize importance in culture
- Pose used to portray royal sons; enhanced importance
Standard of Ur from the Royal Tombs at Ur st
IDENTIFICATION
- Ur, Sumerian
- 2600-2400 BCE
- excavated 1922-34
- Wood inlaid with colored tiles
FORM:
- Two main panels known as “war” and “peace”
- Read as a narrative from left to right
CONTEXT:
- Earliest representation of Sumerian army and agricultural Sumerian practices
- Used as in item of war currency or an item of value; a showpiece
- Piece was reconstructed
- Portrays a cultural social hierarchy (working men/noble men)
King Menkaura and queen
IDENTIFICATION
- 2490-2472 BCE
- Egypt, pyramid Menkaure
- Carved Greywacke
FORM
- Bodies proportioned to depict the ideal body standards of the time; enhances idealized version of pharaoh
- Individualized faces
- Woman’s head same height as pharaoh; depiction of her power
- Hand on pharaoh’s body suggests a relationship between the two (mother, wife etc.)
CONTEXT
- Found in Valley Temple; used to perpetuate the cult of the deceased king, an active place of worship after kings death
The Code of Hammurabi
IDENTIFICATION
- Babylonia
- 1792-1750 BCE
- Carved/Engraved stone
FORM
- Representation of King facing the god of justice Shamash; shown by crown
- representations of mountains which are those that Shamash rises from each day
- Composite view highlights divinity
- First scribed text; predates all biblical texts
CONTEXT
- earliest form of laws and a system of justice ever recorded. On the stele there are 300 accounts of justice in their society
Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall
IDENTIFICATION
- 1550-1250 BCE
- Karnak, Egypt
FORM
CONTEXT
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
-
Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and three daughters
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Tutankhamun’s tomb, innermost coffin
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Last judgment of Hunefer
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