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exam 2
n/a
29
Art History
Undergraduate 1
11/07/2010

Additional Art History Flashcards

 


 

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Term
Helladic
Definition
a modern archaeological term meant to identify a sequence of periods characterizing the culture of mainland ancient Greece during the Bronze Age
Term
Linear A and B
Definition
Linear forms of writing used by Aegean civilizations during the 2nd millennium BC. Examples of Linear A, a syllabary (a writing system in which one character represents a whole syllable) written from left to right, date from 1850 BC to 1400 BC. The language written in Linear A remains unknown. Linear B, adapted from Linear A, was borrowed from the Minoan civilization by the Mycenaean Greeks, probably c. 1600 BC, and used to write the Mycenaean Greek dialect. Examples of Linear B script have been found on clay tablets and vases from c. 1400–1200BC. These texts represent the oldest known form of Greek. Linear B was deciphered as Greek in 1952 by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick.
Term
Dressed Stone
Definition
A stone masonry unit which has been squared and shaped for precise fit with other stones. Undressed stone has naturally rough and irregular shapes.
Term
Faience
Definition
glazed earthenware decorated with opaque colors
Term
citadel
Definition
a fortress that commands a city and is used in the control ofthe inhabitants and in defense during attack or siege.
Term
labyrinth
Definition

  • maze: complex system of paths or tunnels in which it is easy to get lost
  • inner ear: a complex system of interconnecting cavities; concerned with hearing and equilibrium

Term
fresco secco
Definition
a fresco painting technique in which watercolors are applied to dry plaster that has been moistened to simulate fresh plaster.
Term
True fresco
Definition
plaster is still fresh and has not dried when the watercolors are introduced.
Term
chryselephantine
Definition

the technical term given to a type of cult statue that enjoyed high status in Ancient Greece.

Made of gold and ivory

Term
niello
Definition
a black metallic alloy of sulfur, copper, silver, and usually lead, used as an inlay on engraved metal. It can be used for filling in designs cut from metal. The Egyptians are credited with originating niello decoration, which spread throughout Europe during the late Iron age
Term
repousse
Definition
a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side.
Term
megaron
Definition
he great hall of the Mycenaean palace complexes. It was a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch, and a more or less central, open hearth vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by four columns.
Term
cyclopean masonry
Definition

a primitive style of masonry characterized by use of massive stones of irregular shape and size

a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with huge limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and no use of mortar.

Term
shaft grave
Definition
a type of burial structure formed from a deep and narrow shaft sunk into natural rock. Burials were then placed at the bottom.
Term
beehive tomb (tholos tomb)
Definition
a burial structure characterized by its false domecreated by the superposition of successively smaller rings of mudbricks or, more often, stones.
Term
corbeled arch
Definition
an arch-like construction method which uses the architectural technique of corbeling to span a space or void in a structure, such as an entranceway in a wall or as the span of a bridge.
Term
relieving triangle
Definition
Approximate triangle above a lintel where masonry courses in a wall are corbelled over each other so avoiding any loading on the lintel 
Term
ashlar masonry
Definition
Masonry construction using a square stone.
Term
Hellas
Definition
 a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula.
Term
Gigantomachy
Definition
 the symbolic struggle between the cosmic order of the Olympians led by Zeus and the nether forces of Chaos led by the giant Alcyoneus
Term
Panathenaic Festival
Definition
the most important festival for Athens and one of the grandest in the entire ancient Greek world. Except for slaves, all inhabitants of the polis could take part in the festival.
Term
Granulation
Definition

  • new connective tissue and tiny blood vessels that form on the surfaces of a wound during the healing process
  • the act of forming something into granules or grains; "the granulation of medicines"

Term
Pectoral
Definition
a form of jewellery, often represented as a brooch.
Term
Terra-cotta
Definition
a clay-based unglazed ceramic
Term
gable roof
Definition
 double sloping roof with a ridge and gables at each end
Term
tuscan order
Definition
a Roman order that resembles the Doric order but without a fluted shaft
Term
Cella
Definition
the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture, or a shop facing the street in domestic Roman architecture 
Term
Atrium
Definition
the central area in a building; open to the sky
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