Term
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Definition
"Venus of Willendorf"
Willendorf, Austria
Paleolithic
Limestone
Thought to be a love goddess, now known as a votive of an ideal woman |
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Definition
"Hall of the Bulls"
Lascaux, France
Paleolithic-Neolithic
Some of the paintings (the bulls) are newer; people continued to return to the cave and add paintings |
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Term
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Definition
"Rhinocerus, Wounded Man, and Bison"
Lascaux, France
Paleolithic-Neolithic
one of our first examples of narrative in art |
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Term
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Definition
"Plastered Skull"
Jericho, Jordan
Neolithic
Tinted Plaster and Bone
Dead were kept very close; bodies were kept under house but the skull was removed, plastered in a flesh color and put on display in the house |
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Term
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Definition
"Stonehenge"
Salisbury Plain, England
Neolithic
rebuilt at least 4 times from 2750-1500 BC, moved from a series of ditches to more complex stone architectures
Sacred Ground- the ancients believed the land was sacred and built monuments out of respect |
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Term
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Definition
"White Temple, Ziggurat"
Uruk
Sumerian
Ziggurat: raised mudbrick platform for sacred buildings; most prominent structure in the city |
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Term
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Definition
"Carved Vase from Uruk" (Warka Vase)
Uruk
Sumerian
Alabaster
Most likely used to hold offerings
Depicts people within the community organizing labor and pooling resources
Hieratic Scaling
Lowest Register: crops and livestock
Middle Register: commoners carry offerings
Highest Register: grand gesture; most important person makes celestial transaction with god |
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Term
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Definition
"Head of Inanna"
Uruk
Sumerian
Limestone |
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Term
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Definition
"Votive Figures"
Abu Temple, Eshnunna
Sumerian
limestone, alabaster, gypsum, shell, bitumen
Proxies for individuals placed at temples to serve as contact with gods
Eyes are important, affirms celestial transaction
Activation Ritual: spells written out on exactly how to make an effective votive |
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Term
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Definition
"Stele of Eannatum" or "Stele of the Vultures"
Girsu
Sumerian
limestone
First visual historical narrative in history; verified by story in text as well
Ningirsu and Ninhursag support Eannatum and provide celestial and chthonic support for Lagash |
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Term
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Definition
"Standard of Ur"
Royal Cemetery, Ur
Sumerian
Wooden box decorated with gold, shell, limestone, shell, lapis lazuli
Enemies pay homage to king, foot soldiers head to battle, battle scene shows trampling of enemies; at bottom, spoils are collected
Circular story: shows that war leads to spoils and is necessary to keep lavish lifestyle, no real start or end to story |
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Term
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Definition
"Bull Lyre"
Royal Cemetery, Ur
Sumerian
Wood, gold, lapis lazuli, shell, bitumen, ivory
Gold and possession of instruments show wealth
Depicts the endless banquet to be enjoyed in the afterlife |
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Term
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Definition
"Stele of Naram-sin"
Sippar, then Susa
Akkadian
Sandstone
Hieratic Scaling
Blurring of boundaries between gods and kings in iconography
Depicts King Naram-Sin with gods' horns of power
Mountains and trees are first sign of landscaping in art
Naram-sin climbs the mountain to meet with 3 primary deities and return with authority of gods |
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Term
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Definition
"Head of an Akkadian Ruler"
Akkadian
Bronze
Possibly Naram-Sin
Destroyed when Akkadians were conquered
Symbolically damaged then displayed to show conquering of power |
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Term
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Definition
"Great Ziggurat of Ur"
Ur
Neo-Sumerian
Bigger ziggurats showed prominence and power to other city-states |
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Term
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Definition
"Stele of Hammurabi"
Babylon then Susa
Babylonian
Diorite
Shamash addresses Hammurabi and passes down his laws
Hammurabi wears crown, puts hand over mouth to show humility
Shamash wears horn of power, sits on a mountain with his feet on an altar
Guarantor: in celestial transaction, the god becomes enforcer
Hammurabi's code is listed as transactions: "If...then" |
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Term
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Definition
"Citadel of Sargon II"
Dur Sharrukin
Assyrian
First seriously walled city
Ziggurat holds temple and palace, combining government and religion
Stacked temples account for all the gods adopted from conquered peoples |
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Term
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Definition
"Lamassu"
Citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin
limestone
Assyrian
Composite creature
Placed at a gateway to guard entrance to the Citadel |
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Term
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Definition
"Ishtar Gate"
Babylon
Neo-Babylonian
glazed brick
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilds Babylon to former glory
Babylonian Dragon- composite creature with body of lion and head of a snake |
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Term
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Definition
"Palette of Narmer"
Hierkonpolis
Pre-Dynastic Egypt
Slate
Narmer wears crowns of both Lower and Upper Egypt, showing he united Egypt by conquering Upper Egypt
Horus, as a falcon, shows celestial support
Used for crushing pigment for makeup of King
Hathors stand guard on either side of Narmer's name |
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Term
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Definition
"Pyramid of Djoser"
by Imhotep
Saqqara, Egypt
Old Kingdom
Imhotep had the idea to stack mastabas to show prominence of inhabitant |
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Term
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Definition
"The Great Pyramids at Gizeh"
Gizeh, Egypt
Old Kingdom
Culmination of stacking mastabas; they become so big that the shape looks smoother from further away
Highest culmination of tomb building in Egypt
oldest of 7 ancient wonders
Grand tombs preserve hierarchy and cosmology in afterlife |
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Term
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Definition
"The Great Sphinx"
Funerary Complex of Khafre
Gizeh, Egypt
Sandstone
Old Kingdom
composite guarding and marker of boundaries between plains |
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Term
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Definition
"Khafre"
Diorite
Old Kingdom
Representations could serve as vessels to preserve the ka if the body was ruined
Built to last and preserve ka, so used best stone in tight formation
Horus sits on shoulder |
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Term
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Definition
"Temple of Hatshepsut"
Senmut: Architect
Deir el-Bahri, Egypt
New Kingdom
Carved from mountains to represent Punt, the level world of the gods
Dedicated to Amen-Ra, but served as Hatshepsut's tomb on her death |
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Term
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Definition
"Akhenaten"
Temple of Amen-Ra
Karnak, Egypt
Sandstone
New Kingdom
Akhenaten had a vision and abandoned pantheon for monotheism of Aton
Changed ways of artistically depicting people; sculptures became more detailed and realistic |
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Term
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Definition
"Queen Nefertiti"
Painted Limestone
New Kingdom
Reverts to older Egyptian style; Akhenaten's style dies with him |
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Term
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Definition
"Cycladic Lyre Player"
Marble
Cycladic
Late Neolithic
very basic; schematized
can be from inches to 3-feet tall
contrasts with their very savage architecture |
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Term
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Definition
"Frying Pan"
Terra Cotta
Cycladic
Neolithic
Boat with sea and female form at bottom; story of kidnapped princess taken overseas, maybe Helen |
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Term
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Definition
"Palace at Knossos"
Knossos, Crete
Minoan
ritualistic aspect to labyrinth palaces? |
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Term
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Definition
"Queen's Megaron"
Palace at Knossos, Crete
Fresco
Minoan
conspicuous consumption- Minoan work is simply aesthetic, serves no other purpose |
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Term
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Definition
"Bull Leapers"
Palace at Knossos, Crete
Minoan
fresco |
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Term
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Definition
"Snake Goddess"
Knossos, Crete
Faience
Minoan
Clash of cthonic and celestial
Could be Aprhodite, or Hera who borrowed Aphrodite's girdle to lure Zeus to Crete |
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Term
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Definition
"Harvester's Vase"
Hagia Triada, Crete
Steatite
Minoan
depicts harvesters joyfully singing
references to happy occasions are rare in ancient art |
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Term
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Definition
"Lion Gate"
Citadel at Mycenae, Greece
Mycenaeean
large Cyclopian stones
Lions, signs of Mycenae, astride a column, sign of Minoans |
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Term
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Definition
"Citadel at Mycenae"
Mycanae, Greece
Mycenaean
megaran at center of palace
grave circle outside of town (necropolis)
discovered by Schliemann |
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Term
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Definition
"Citadel at Tiryns"
Tiryns, Greece
Mycenaean |
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Term
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Definition
"Treasury of Atreus"
Mycenae, Greece
Mycenaean
entry to a tholos tomb
excavated hill reinforced by stone to be used as tomb
stored bodies, wealth, weapons, and chariots |
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Term
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Definition
"Death Mask of Agamemnon"
Mycenae, Greece
Mycenaean
Gold
statement toward the power of the brave
discovered by Schliemann |
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Term
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Definition
"Warrior Vase"
Mycenae, Greece
Mycenaean
ceramic
Shows soldiers marching off to war
Idealized battle; Mycenaeans didn't actually have uniforms or marching formations
Depicts a nation constantly prepared for war
more serious and efficacious than Minoan art |
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