Mesopotamian Art PDF

Mesopotamian the term Mesopotamian, derived from Greek means “the land between two rivers,” referring to the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present day Iraq Agriculture, city states, development of urban infrastructure, joint political and religious power narrative art All of t...

Mesopotamian the term Mesopotamian, derived from Greek means “the land between two rivers,” referring to the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present day Iraq Agriculture, city states, development of urban infrastructure, joint political and religious power narrative art All of this is called the Ancient near east. “near” meaning to it nearer to Europe (”the West”) than east and Southeast Asia, such as Japan, China, Korea etc. The label is, plainly, Eurocentric, and dates to the 18th century and the European categorization and organization of the rich eastern trade lands. Calling it “Near east” is controversial due to how embedded it is in the colonial past. Colonized lands were left poor and politically volatile. The importance of Mesopotamian Mesopotamian is an important part of art history The ancient Near East is a part of the world where we find all the hallmarks of civilization - a collection of circumstances and practices, typically defined by urban living, craft specialization, a spectrum of wealth, from rich to poor, some form of government and laws or social organization, a written language, and monumental architecture The art of the Ancient Near East illustrates some of the earliest, grandest, and most sweeping, military conquests in world history the history is inextricably linked to the stories and characters of the Bible, as well as their visual representations. Many Europeans have linked their cultural heritage to the history of the Ancient Near East for centuries Alot of what we say about Ancient NEar Eastern art s rooted in outdated ideas or perspectives that need to be rethought and replaced with newer questions that have only begun to be explored. many of the city-states in the Ancient Near East had enormous buildings commisioned by the priestly class who controlled the agriculture surplis. This was a theocratic society - ruled by the priestly elite. together with images of gods, were powerful symbols of power over vast groups of people that made the priestly elite part of the power have a prominent(famous) representation in art Chronology and artefacts: early sumerians and Sumerians (c. 4000-2300BCE) Development of writing, cuneiform written documents on clay tablets a writing system invented by Sumerians like pictographs Cylinder seals: a unique record of individuals from this era. development of long distance trade Used by many Mesotamians A cylinder that has patterns and scripts carved into them that when rolled onto clay, it creates a unique pattern ○ used as a signature for individuals and later used as artforms ○ depicts scenes through art - a narrative quality Bullman - often depicted with a lion ○ represents the battle between order and chaos Each seal was owned by one person and was used and helf by them in particularly intimate ways, such as strung on a necklace or bracelet.  cylinder seals were carved using agate, chalcedony, lapis lazuli, steatite, limestone, marble, quartz, serpentine, etc. for most distinguished there were seals of gold and silver. each seal is liek a small time capusle of what sorts of motifs and styles were popular during the lifetime of the owner. iconography. each character, gesture, and decorative element can be “read: and reflected back on the owner of the seal, revealing their social rank and even sometimes the name of the owner. Votive objects/statuattes possibly dedicated to the god, Abu worshipers before the gods, offered as gifts to the deities simple geometric designs, wide-open eyes believed to be used as votuve offerings that represents individuals praying and their devotion to gods ○ soma scholars theorize that the eyes represent an awareness to the spiritual or even fear in presence of God ○ or as a way to ward off evil spirits ○ sense of attentiveness ○ meant to be seen by a god goofy ass eyes gonna say yippee Narrative art: mesopotamian art is very narrative - they depict scenes and stories within their art (like the cylinder seals) Akkadians (2300 - 2180BCE) the victory stele of Naram-Sin, commemorative stele (2200 BCE) Conquered most of the region - grew a lot under King Naram-Sin Naram-Sin leads his victorious army up a mountain, as vanquished Lullibi people fall before him.  referred to himself to a god like figure ○ art pieces depicted him as a figure in power shows a really important victory ○ shows people being thrown down, killed, and fleeing Neo Sumerians (2150 - 1800BCE) Ziggurat In a region like southern Mesopotamia that is flat and marshy, to erect a massive structure, reaching skyward, mountain-like, would have seemed an accomplishment only a god could ordain. An example of this is the Ziggurat This offered a new sense of geographical and human domination. Only a god and his theocratic colleagues on earth could see to the creation of something so massive and this power would have been intensely felt by those holding that high ground. Ziggurat - means rising building one of the most famous architectures of the Mesopotamians Ziggurat of Ur - most well-preserved ziggurat ○ originally has several layers Inspired many modern ziggurats the architecture of the ancient near east is among the first in the world to aim for monumental scale. Assyrians (1100 - 612BCE) a humbling power was employed in the interior spaces of Ancient Near Eastern elite architecture which can be found in the well-preserved interior relief sculptures of Neo-Assyrian palaces built for rulers. The inner rooms of these structures were decorated with richly carved and vividly painted scenes to glorify the theocratic kinds of Neo-Assyria and are intended to make visitors feel weak and vulnerable. Scenes like scenes of warfare, brutal subjugation of enemies, the extractuon of resources from vanquished lands, and the erection of monumental structures. Lamassu: In the kinds theocratic role, not only is he a intercessor between god and men, but also harness the power of mythoreligous characters such as Lamassu winged figures, hybrid creatures as guardians in city gates and entrances ○ usually have five legs and are supposed to be viewed from the front and side when looking at the front, they appear static. but to the side they are are alot more dynamic (walking) the fear and astonishment it elicited(evoke), was criticl to its function and power always seen in pairs many of these statues are taken by colonizers theyre like chimeras representation of warfare When the sites of the Ancient Near East were explored at the end of the 19th and early 20th century by English, french and German archeologists, the objects, language, and images found were new to the modern world. however a familiar theme was seen in these remains: the representation of warfare. (like the Akkadian Victoru Stele of Naram-Sin) across these examples, the representation are ritualized and presented as one of the supreme expressions of empire. only the kind, aided by the gods, could wage such violence on such a massive scale. the horrifying destruction they wrought was seen as a sort of magical terror only unleashed by holy, kingly ritual. the ritualization of war and images of violence constituted part of a magical technology of warfare that not only justified the underlying processes of war but presented a kind of control of its chaos. The kings are presented as powerful and all controlling illustrating and monumentalizing war between nation states grew in popularity in the west in the 19th and 20th century. the visualized war found in the archaelogical remains of many Ancient Eastern sites contributed to these modern images. The central focal point of these ancient images are the victorious armies and king. But, at the bottom of these scenes are shown the defeated. The scenes of the dismembered bodiees were part of teh imaging of violence but also stand witness to dominated peoples. Writing, Women, and sexuality the circumstance of women in the Ancient Near east is somewhat incongruous, out of place, revealed through art and texts Among Cuneiform tablets we can read about thousands of individual women and discover that elite women acted in all the roles men did, thought in smaller numbers. alot of cylinder seals were made and used in the Ancient Near East to minutely and intimately tell stories about men and women through images and writing understoof and valued by all who saw them. non elite women are here too for physically demanding labor the stele of Hammurabi The stele of Hammurabi/law code of Hammurabi contains laws, which, taken together, represent one of the earliest legal code. in this law code, we find that women enjoyed a surprising measure of rights. Marriage and monogamy were central to female legal frameworks and within this women were treated relatively well. crimes against women such as rape, robbery, or perjuryresults in death despite the clear evidence of the important roles women played, there are a few representations of them in Ancient Eastern art. Some elite women — mostly priestesses — are shown especially on cylinder seal. the search for the origin of things has been a preoccupation throughout human history. we strive to know and understand where things come from becasye we believe that those origins are meaningful. some sites have been known for things similarily to other sites the beginning of civilization was a phenomenon that occured at the same time very broadly, from southern Mesopotamia to the edges of the nothern levant to the northeast coat of Africa.