C H A P T E R 2

The Rise of Civilization: Art of the Ancient Near East

Map of the Ancient Near East

Mesopotamia: the land between the two rivers; Tigris and Euphrates

Civilizations of the Near East

Sumerian 4000-2340 BCE, 2150-2000 BCE

Akkadian 2300-2150 BCE

Old-Babylon 1792-1595 BCE

Assyrian 1000-612 BCE

Neo-Bablyonian 612- 539BCE

Persian 538-331 BCE

Sumer: A Land of Innovation

First cities, which began to appear ca 3500 BC.

Inventors of writing (cuneiform), the wheel, calendars, temples, and beer.

Art used in part as a means of appeasing the gods and assuring wealth/good harvests.

First narratives in art.

White Temple and Ziggurat, Uruk (modern Iraq), 3200-3000 BCE.

Cuneiform

Babylonian deed of sale. ca. 1750 BCE

Warka Vase, 3200-3000 BCE.

Alabaster.

Illustration showing the registers of the Warka Vase

Statuettes of worshipers from Tell Asmar,

ca. 2700 BCE. Gypsum inlaid with shell

and limestone.

Royal Cemetery at Ur, ca. 2600 BCE

One of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

Tombs filled with the bodies of “kings and queens” and sacrificial victims murdered to accompany them in the afterlife.

Lavish grave goods of gold, lapis lazuli, shell, and red limestone.

Standard of Ur, (modern Iraq) ca. 2600 BCE.

War Panel from the Standard of Ur, Ur (modern Iraq) ca. 2600 BCE. Multimedia.

War Panel from the Standard of Ur, Ur (modern Iraq) ca. 2600 BCE. Multimedia.

Bull-headed lyre, ca. 2600 BCE. Multimedia.

Woolley removing the plaster of paris mold of the instrument

Detail of the Sound box.

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Banquet scene cylinder seal, ca. 2600 BCE. Lapis lazuli

Akkad: The First Empire

Under Sargon the Great, the city-states of Sumer were united under one leader.

Spoke a Semitic language (related to modern Hebrew).

First examples in history of art used to establish and reflect the monarch’s supreme power.

Detail of Naram-Sin

Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, ca. 2254-2218, Pink

sandstone.

Head of an Akkadian ruler, ca. 2250-2200

BCE. Copper.

Head of an Akkadian ruler (Sargon l?), from Nineveh, Iraq, c. 2250 B.C.E. Bronze, 12" high. Museum of Antiquities, Baghdad.

Ziggurat of Ur, Neo-Sumerian ca. 2100 BCE. Mudbrick faced with baked brick, bitumen.

Babylonian Art and Law

“If the man puts out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out”

“If someone steals property from the temple, he will be put to death”

If a man rents a boat and the boat is wrecked, the renter shall replace the boat with another”.

Stele with the Law Code of Hammurabi, Babylonian, ca. 1780 BCE, Basalt.

King Hammurabi stands before the God Shamash

Assyrian Empire: Conquest and Domination

The Assyrians were around for hundreds of years before they came to dominate Mesopotamia.

Known for their fierceness and

cruelty. Many Assyrian art images are

designed to frighten those they ruled.

Kings in battle, lion hunts, military campaigns favorite subjects.

Ashurnasirpal II with attendants and soldier, ca. 875-860 BCE, glazed brick.

Drawing of the Citadel of Sargon II, modern Iraq, ca. 720-705 BCE

The Gate of the Citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (photo taken during

excavation). 742–706 BCE.

Lamassu, Citadel of Sargon II, ca. 720-705 BCE Limestone

Lamassu. Palace of Sargon II, ca. 721-705 B.C. Oriental Institute of Chicago

Relief Panel from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, from Nimrud, Iraq. Assyrian, ca. 875-860 BCE

Lion Hunt relief, from reign of Ashurbanipal. ca. 645 BCE.

Ashurbanipal I “Hunting” Lions, Relief from his Palace at Nineveh, Iraq. Assyrian, ca. 645-640 BCE

Ishtar Gate, Neo-Babylonia, ca. 575 BCE, glazed brick.

Detail of Glazed bricks as seen at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago

The Persian Empire: Heirs to the Mesopotamian Tradition

The tiny kingdom of Persia (modern Iran) conquered the Middle East, Egypt, and Greek territories during the 6th century BCE.

The power of the king and multicultural nature of the empire is reflected in its art.

Persian architecture focused solely on creating large palaces as religious activities took place outdoors.

Bull capital, Persepolis, ca. 521–465 BCE

Ruins of the Citadel at Persepolis, Persian Empire, modern day Iran, ca. 521-465 BCE.

Processional Frieze (detail) on the terrace of the Apadana, Persepolis, ca. 521-546 BCE.

Processional Frieze (detail from staircase) on the terrace of the Apadana, Persepolis, ca. 521-546 BCE.

http://www.pbase.com/howardbanwell/persepolis

Reconstruction of the Apadana Palace, built by Darius the Great, ca. 515 BCE.

Learning Objectives for the ANE

Identify the major civilizations of the Ancient Near East and their important artistic monuments.

Discuss the formal and iconographic characteristics of ancient Near Eastern Art and Architecture.

Explain the relationship of art/architecture and religion in the ANE.

Describe early writing systems and their relationship to the visual arts.

Explain the materials and techniques of ANE art and architecture.