Vocabulary and Concepts (Prehistoric–Ancient Egyptian Art) Flashcards
Representational art
The presenting again–in different and substitute form–of something observed
Non-representational art
Forms and colours arranged without reference to the depiction of an object
Contour Line
In art, a continuous line defining the outer shape of an object. Outline which defines a particular form.
Plasticity
Three-dimensionality of an artwork
Surface Integration
An artwork’s utilization of its medium’s natural surface
Twisted Perspective/Composite Pose
Convention in which every aspect of a body or object is represented in its most characteristic or revealing viewpoint
Female Vision Theory
When viewed from above, the proportions of the sculpted female body no longer seem unnaturally large. When viewed as a pregnant woman surveys herself, the apparent anatomical distortions of the upper body of these figurines disappear.
Shamanism
Representations of other world
Corbeling
layers of flat stones without masonry that form walls, which each layer or course projecting slightly inward over the one below
Earth Sheltering
the architectural practice of using earth against building walls for external thermal mass, to reduce heat loss, and to easily maintain a steady indoor air temperature
Mesopotamia
- First place where farming appeared (domesticated grain production)
- Agriculture villages developed into city-states between 4000-3000 BCE
- Social hierarches and governments were established
- Governments financed civic and religious foundations
- Religious practices and institutions were formulized
- Written language was developed (record keeping)
The area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in modern days roughly corresponding to most of Iraq plus Kuwait, the eastern parts of Syria, Southeastern Turkey, and regions along the Turkish-Syrian and Iran–Iraq borders.
Widely considered to be one of the cradles of civilization by the Western world, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires, all native to the territory of modern-day Iraq. In the Iron Age, it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires.
The Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians and Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. It fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his death, it became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire.
Ziggurat
a temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top
Mudbrick
A brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw.
Stele
vertical stone monument or marker often inscribed with relief carving or a text inscription—used for memorials and commemoration
Hierarchy of Scale
A brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw.
Cuneiform
(“wedge-shaped”) writing. A system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia
Law Code
A type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted, by a process of codification.
Votive Figures
Commissioned statues representing the action of a donor offering libation in honor of the gods.
Lyre
A string instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later periods. Sumerian lyre with bull head
Registers
an organizational device; self-contained bands of imagery often in a vertical arrangement
(series of “easily digestible” zones or regions)
Lullubi
Group of mountain tribes in Susa defeated by Naram-Sin, memorialized in a stele
Hammurabi
The sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty; he extended Babylon’s control throughout Mesopotamia through military campaigns; Hammurabi is known for the Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest surviving codes of law in recorded history.
Lamassu
Human-Headed Winged Lion (Lamassu), from Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (Nimrud), 883-859 BCE. An Assyrian protective deity, often depicted as having a human’s head, a body of an ox or a lion, and bird’s wings.
Unification of Egypt
The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were united c. 3000 BC, but each maintained its own regalia: the hedjet or White Crown for Upper Egypt and the deshret or Red Crown for Lower Egypt. Thus, the pharaohs were known as the rulers of the Two Lands, and wore the pschent, a double crown, each half representing sovereignty of one of the kingdoms. Ancient Egyptian tradition credited Menes, now believed to be the same as Narmer, as the king who united Upper and Lower Egypt. On the Narmer Palette the king is depicted wearing the Red Crown in one scene and the White crown in another, and thereby showing his rule over both Lands
Serekh
(form surrounding king’s name) = palace façade. An ornamental vignette combining a view of a palace facade and a plan (top view) of the royal courtyard. The word “serekh” derives from the Egyptian word for “facade”. Different serekhs on different types of object display countless variations of the facade decor in its complexity and detail
Horus
- Sky god represented by falcon
- Eyes = sun and moon
- Equated with king (ruler on earth) – king is a -manifestation of Horus
- Horus is a protector of the king
Imhotep
High Priest of the Sun God Re and chief administrator of King Djoser. First recorded architect in history
Heb-sed
Court for the jubilee festivals of the king. An ancient Egyptian ceremony that celebrated the continued rule of a pharaoh
Serdab
Court for ka statue and offerings. An ancient Egyptian tomb structure that served as a chamber for the Ka statue of a deceased individual.
Ka
- Spiritual twin or double that came into existence at birth.
- Does not have a physical form – not a physical counterpart to man.
- Is a guiding force during life; it “walks” with you.
- After death, required a place to live, nourishment – could live off representations
- Functioned as a substitute for the body of the deceased.
- Represented the person in his/her prime (healthy, powerful, youthful), but still had to be recognizable to the Ka and Ba
Mastaba
(bench of mud) = a flat-topped, one-story structure with slanted walls over an Egyptian underground tomb
Papyrus
A thick type of paper made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus. Papyrus is first known to have been used in ancient Egypt (at least as far back as the First Dynasty), as the Cyperus papyrus plant was a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Sudd of Southern Sudan along with the Nile Delta of Egypt.
