Mesopotamia Notes.docx

Sumeria: First unified civilization to emerge in Fertile Crescent City-States vs centralized government Cities all have patron god or goddess Early govt: Each city had elected rulers Early Sumerians had identity linked to their cities and gods vs rulers Uruk is the first independent Sumerian city...

Sumeria: First unified civilization to emerge in Fertile Crescent City-States vs centralized government Cities all have patron god or goddess Early govt: Each city had elected rulers Early Sumerians had identity linked to their cities and gods vs rulers Uruk is the first independent Sumerian city-state Focused around major temple, city-within-city Reflects centrality of communal religion—loyalty to city and city god Temple elevated on a high, stepped platform (not a ziggurat… we’ll get to those) High places for temples are often symbols of connections between heaven and earth Scale: Note how huge and towering it would have been (platform ~70 feet) White temple: picked out via color Section: Central chamber with altar and fire Statue of the God—this is the God’s house Only priests allowed inside Statues of gods placed in Sumerian temples, this life-sized and probably Inanna goddess Patron: City itself via taxes Materials are MIXED: Typical of Ancient Sumeria Imported white marble (no local stone) Attached to life-sized wooden body “Hairpiece” of bitumen—a black stone aka asphalt—and gold leaf extended over forehead in waves Holes in brows and eyes: Inlay of lapis lazuli (from Afghanistan: TRADE) or other stones Figure Style: Ask them to describe her, what are her features, how is she handled? Frontal: Frontal, meant to be viewed from front—body positioning and level of detail Static: No implied movement in body—calm and eternal Idealized = attempt to depict physical perfection; culture-specific This is how you represent a goddess in Ancient Mesopotamia Limestone votives: Statuettes dedicated to the gods Set up images in a shrine before larger image of god Hold vessels used for pouring libations (offerings) to gods Inscriptions: “One who offers prayers” or things donor had done in god’s honor In Sumerian religion, the purpose of human beings is to worship gods Priests are only ones allowed in temples—these offerings give everyday worshippers a “way in” What conventions, or traditional ways of representing forms, can you pick out here? –theme of period/style definition Stylized faces and bodies Clothing is cylindrical Common posture of clasped hands Male vs female (Beards) Bold staring eyes: Sumerian texts advise worships to approach gods with attentive gaze Finish by comparing these two Sumerian women Convention C/C: Ideal of female beauty is consistent, differences due to Status of represented (limestone vs marble and high vs lower time investment with carving) Function (eye emphasis vs. goddess portrait) Limestone vs marble (and other prestige materials) Scale of statues Status of PATRON City itself Regular people One aspect of ritual life is worship, another is death: Category of GRAVE GOODS Comes from a group of high-status burials in Ur Unsure what this object actually was, BUT has war activities on one side and peace on the other Different kingship roles? Different “states” of the city? We are looking at the WAR side MULTI MEDIA: Wooden box inlaid with shell, lapis and red limestone—limited palette = unifying colors & multi-media Composition: Balanced and organized into REGISTERS Registers determine size for pretty much everybody—note scaling of horses, servants, etc. Movement across the registers Iconography Lower: War chariots crushing enemies Middle: Foot soldiers lead naked prisoners of war Top: Prisoners presented to central figure—how to know he’s a leader? Conventions People: Blocky shapes, fringes, wide eyes, composite pose, contour line Animals: Profile like Paleolithic and Neolithic Again, emphasis vs focal point—MOVEMENT as significant here, HIERARCHY as significant here Head of Akkadian Ruler—Perhaps Sargon I? First example we have seen of a RULER PORTRAIT: official image of the ruler Helps to foster sense of loyalty by projecting a ROYAL PERSONA: set of characteristics a ruler wishes to embody and communicate to subjects Serenity, dignity, authority How? Symmetry, stylized full beard, well-dressed hair Beautiful arching brows, little furrow between… idea of male beauty and slight emotion of concern Copper prestige material and very fine, precise workmanship—really close to mirror symmetry and precise repetition of beard creates a pattern NOTE: King is also frontal, static, idealized… just like goddess Transferring god conventions onto RULER… ruler is godlike and perfect They Answer: Statue knocked over and mutilated Deliberate damage: Eyes and head, remove ability to hear and see Why do this? Another Ruler Portrait: Different kind of ruler persona is transmitted here Naram-Sim is Sargon I’s grandson Stele: upright stone slab typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design 6 ½ feet tall (probably used to be around 9 feet tall, but broken on bottom), pinkish stone Relief Sculpture: Sculpture whose subject matter is attached to a background Have them do formal analysis Composition Space Implied line STRONG DIAGONALS IN THIS COMPOSITION – MOVEMENT Memorializes military victory over Lullubi peoples: Iconography Suns at top represents gods watching over him (Shamash): This stone was erected in a courtyard of the temple of Shamash in the city of Sippar Carved mountain echoes ziggurat shape and stele shape Naram-Sim is shown as a god—this is TOTALLY NEW Larger, well-formed Bull-helmet previously only shown when gods are depicted His army behind him, positioned similarly although smaller Native tree divides composition: Innovate inclusion of landscape setting helps to place this as an actual event Defeated soldiers smashed underfoot, speared, begging for mercy Original inscription over Naram-Sim’s head: Commemorates his victory Mountain inscription added later: Elamite conqueror of Sippar transports it back to his capital in Susa, adds inscription recounting his victory and claiming the monument as a trophy This is a reconstruction of an Assyrian citadel at Dar Sharrukin in Iraq Citadel: Fortress that protects or dominates a city This Palace Outer walls for protection Heart of the citadel is the palace: Reception halls and residences Has a façade and processional ramp leading from open square Admin and other buildings in square Religious buildings Inner courtyard is a waiting space—lined with reliefs of tribute bearers Going to look at typical Assyrian imagery from the reception halls of the palace, where the ruler would meet supplicants Really famous images of lion hunts in the ruler’s audience hall: Why? Control over nature still important Shows the ruler in a heroic mode: Note that it’s no longer a community hunting, but the RULER ONLY the king was allowed to kill lions Power to keep nature at bay Conventions for people and animals Naturalism? Stylization? Materials & Technique Alabaster is a fine-grain mineral lends itself to delicate carving Originally painted highlights to increase legibility Formally Beautiful organic shapes: Only geometric when the thing itself is geometric, like a wheel Zero depth and not a lot of neg space: Flat background pushes everything close to the picture plane Very little form: Carving is are very planar Since the carving is so shallow, Contour lines are important to show shaggy fur, muscle groups Lamassus figures: Mythological hybrid: head of man w/horned headdress of a god, body of lion/bull, wings of eagle This shit is made to impress and terrify people but also for protective purposes Was an early Mesopotamian apotropaic figure, associated with houses Later adopted by kings Texts describe it as having “turn back an evil person” Count the legs: Why do this? Like our gate, they’re taking the movement of the viewer into consideration Hammurabi: Famous for making the earliest known law code Systematic codification of people’s rights, duties and punishments for crimes Most deal with property lol Famously punitive with punishments varying in severity according to social classs Black basalt stone, around 7 ½ feet tall Cuneiform below is particularly artful Not a document for lawyers—a declaration of royal persona What is Hammurabi’s royal persona according to this image? Iconography Hammurabi standing in prayerful pose before Shamash, sun god and justice god Shamash has rays emanating from shoulders, horned cap like Naram-Sim, holds measuring rod and rope circle (tools for surveying and planning—CITY patrons) Gives rolled up law code to the king as intermediary between him and people A bit different from Naram-Sim’s godlike conqueror (tho Hammurabi likely had himself portrayed as that, too) Where are our Mesopotamian conventions? Textured, long beards for men Bull helms for gods Tiered skirts Composite pose Look at Babylon in a bit more detail Processional Way in Babylon Creates axis through the city Blue contrasts with surrounding buildings Palace also picked out in blue: Church and State Ziggurat with temple dedicated to patron god Marduk is end of blue processional way (Biblical Tower of Babel), stairway to heaven that only priests can ascend (apply this to Ziggurat of UR) Last couple of works for Ancient Mesopotamia are architectural—think a little about city layout Main entrance to city of Babylon 40 feet tall, towers rise 100 feet Deep blue glazed bricks recall lapis lazuli: Film of colored glass that cover the bricks themselves Patterns picked out in gold and turquoise bricks Bulls associated with the god Shamash Dragons associated with the god Marduk, who is also the patron of Babylon Formally? Symmetrical, massive, monumental, geometric Limited rich color palette Most visible animals move toward the center—follow the movement of processions Other animals follow movement out of the city—from Hamid’s perspective Take a look at the other city focal point of the ziggurat now Comes from a neo-Sumerian city of Ur Most impressive remaining ziggurat—rectangular stepped tower often topped by temple, term is specific to Ancient Mesopotamia Essentially made from huge, geometric shapes: trapezoids and triangles/wedges Surface relieved a little with vertical articulation Symbolic form that bridges heaven and earth LIMIALITY again—talked about thresholds but another liminal zone between earth and sky Temple is at the very top (lost to us) Construction technique Solid core made of 7 million mud-bricks: Mud mixed with reeds and laid into rectangle frames and left to dry in the sun Also used around 720,000 fired bricks: Same materials but fired for durability Holes that you see are “weeper holes:” In order to allow water out from solid core, tiny tunnels lined with fired bricks coated in waterproof bitumen Theme: Arrangement of space in this work of architecture? Outside: how do you approach the building, is there a clear façade (ie. Front of a building) and if so how is it organized, and what’s the scale? Symmetry Huge, around 100 feet tall 3 ceremonial staircases—remember, only priests are ascending How do you move through it? How much freedom of movement do you have? Axial plan Stairways converge to single shot at top Focal point and how? Axial plan—end of movement/trajectory Position at top: Can see focal point from bottom of structure