ART OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

C. 5000 B.C. -400 A.D.

ART OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
 WHERE IS THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST?
The ancient Near East is a term used by art
historians to refer to the area near the Tigris and
the Euphrates rivers, also called Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means “the land
between two rivers.” The ancient Near East is also
thought of as the “Cradle of Civilization,” as it is
here that urban society developed for the first time;
with it came the invention of writing and laws, the
first examples of epic poetry, the construction of
cities, and of course, monumental art and
architecture.
Physical map of fertile crescent
 WHAT IS CUNEIFORM?
Cuneiform is the first system of written language; invented by the
Sumerians around 3100 B.C.E., it was originally pictographic. This
means, for example, that a bull’s head, would represent a bull. Over
time, cuneiform evolved into a more abstract system of signs
consisting of wedge-shaped lines pressed into clay tablets with a
pointed tool called a stylus.
Cuneiform was used to keep track of business
records in cities like Uruk, in modern day Iraq.
Cuneiform tablets have withstood the test of
time and offer scholars a wonderful window into
the culture of the ancient Near East.
SUMERIAN ALPHABET
 WHAT IS ZIGGURAT?
A ziggurat is a mountain-like structure formed by a series of
steps and topped with a temple or a shrine. Placing shrines
and temples at a higher elevation served both practical and
religious purposes. Practically speaking, the higher elevation
would protect the religious structure from flooding or attack.
It also served to glorify the ruler and the gods worshipped at
the site. Ziggurats represented a place where heaven and
earth met.
The ruins of the White Temple at Uruk are
located in what is now known as Warka, Iraq.
This temple was part of a ziggurat dedicated to
the Sumerian god Anu, and housed statues of
gods, goddesses, and temple patrons. It was
oriented along the points of the compass and
had a central chamber with an altar for religious
rituals.
The White Temple and Ziggurat)of
Uruk (in Iraq)
The White Temple (and Ziggurat)
WHAT IS WARKA VASE? (also known as
Carved Vase of Uruk)
Also known as the Carved Vase of Uruk, the Warka Vase is a three-foot-
tall alabaster vase found by archaeologists near the White Temple. The
vase is decorated with stories that have been divided into registers, or
bands, almost like a comic strip that tells a story of humans making
offerings to the gods. The lowest register depicts the natural world of
water and plants while above this are domesticated animals. The
middle register features nude men holding baskets, and the top
register shows a king giving an offering to the Sumerian goddess
Inanna. The figures in the registers are shown with their heads and
legs in profile view, but with torsos and shoulders in a three-quarter
view.
 WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WARKA
VASE?
In April of 2003, the Warka Vase was stolen from the Iraq
Museum in Baghdad, during the civil unrest that followed
the U.S. invasion of the country. It was a devastating loss
for art history, and especially the people of Iraq, for
whom the vase represents an important part of their
cultural heritage. Fortunately, the vase was returned a
few months later, though it was badly damaged.
WARKA VASE (URUK VASE)
 WHAT IS THE STELE OF HAMMURABI?

Hammurabi was a Babylonian king who ruled over the lands of

Mesopotamia during the second millennium B.C.E. He is
famous for his code of laws, the earliest known legal code.
The code itself is carved into a seven-foot stele, a large slab of
black diorite, and in it Hammurabi declares that his code will
“cause justice to prevail in the land and to destroy the wicked
and the evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak nor
the weak the strong”.
The Code of Hammurabi (eighteenth century
B.C.E.) was written in cuneiform, the first
system of written language. At the top,
Hammurabi is depicted standing with the
Babylonian sun-god Shamash, also the god of
justice.
At the top of the stele, above the written code, is a carving
that depicts Hammurabi himself standing before the sun-god
Shamash. Shamash, who was also the Babylonian god of
justice, is seated in his throne and is surrounded by symbols of
power. He rests his feet on a mountain top, wears a long,
elaborate robe, and offers a rod and rope circle in his hands.
Hammurabi’s arms are crossed respectfully in front of him,
and he receives the laws as given to him by Shamash. The
stele serves as a powerful marker of Hammurabi’s high status
and represents the divine inspiration of his code.
 WHAT IS LAMASSU?
A lamassu is a monumental stone sculpture
famously part of Assyrian palace decoration, and
serves as a protector of the palace gateway. A
lamassu combines human and animal features and
includes a lion or bull body, wings, a human head
with full beard and eyebrows, and a total of five
legs.
Lamassu (N.Y, Metropolitan Museum
of Art)
When approached from the side the lamassu
appears to be walking, and from the front, it
seems to be standing firmly at attention. The
lamassu from the Fortress of Sargon in the
Assyrian city of Khorasabad was constructed
around 720 B.C.E. and stands over 4.6 meter tall.
Part sculpture and part architectural feature,
this giant creature keeps a watchful eye on any
approaching palace visitor.
Lamassu at Khorsabad Palace (today in
Louvre)
These monumental sculptures of winged bulls
with human heads were used as protective
palace decoration and are similar to the Sphinx
that guards the entrance to the pyramids at
Giza.
 WHAT IS ISHTAR GATE?
The Ishtar Gate was a Neo-Babylonian, double-
arched gateway with four towers, each featuring
notched walls known as crenellations. The Ishtar
Gate was originally over 12 meters tall, and the
towers rose to nearly 30 meters. The deep blue
brick structure was decorated with stylized lions
and palm trees—an impressive fortification indeed.
ISHTAR GATE (BERLIN PERGAMON
MUSEUM)
The monumental gate mirrored the wealth and
extravagance of other Babylonian structures
such as the Hanging Gardens, which was one of
the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. A
reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate has been
installed in a museum in Berlin, Germany.
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART
 WHAT IS ANCIENT EGYPT?
Ancient Egypt was a powerful civilization in northeastern
Africa, which developed along the Nile River around five
thousand years ago and lasted for over three thousand
years. During that long span of time, art in Egypt stayed
very consistent in terms of style, form, and subject. Egypt
was ruled by powerful dynasties lead by a pharaoh.
These dynasties are organized by scholars into three
distinct kingtoms: the Old, Middle, and New
Kingdoms, as well as Intermediate Periods and a
Late Period, which lasted until 332 B.C.E., when
Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great. In 30
B.C.E., Egypt became part of the Roman Empire.
Polytheistic religion was an important part of daily
life in Ancient Egypt, and the pharaohs were
considered divine rulers.
The art and culture of Ancient Egypt
greatly influenced other cultures
throughout history, and we continue
to be fascinated by the culture’s richly
decorated tombs, pyramids, and other
art objects.
 WHAT IS THE NARMER PALETTE?

The Narmer Palette (c. 2950–2775 B.C.E.) is one of

the most important examples of Egyptian art. The
shield-like palette was made from a material called
greenschist, and depicts a king identified as Narmer,
but is possibly the ruler Menes, who was celebrated
for uniting the lands of Egypt under his rule.
The story is told through a combination of hieroglyphic writing
and imagery. On one side of the palette, Narmer is the largest
figure depicted, an example of Egyptian art’s use of the
hieratic scale; the pharaoh’s large size indicates his
importance. His hand is raised above his head, about to strike
an enemy with a club. The opposite side features the headless
bodies of Narmer’s enemies, watched over by Horus, the
falcon god of the sky. In a lower register, the cat-like animals
have their necks intertwined.
All in all, the imagery of the palette serves to proclaim the
strength of Narmer, and represents the unification of the lands
of Egypt.
 WHAT IS HIERATIC SCALE?
The hieratic scale is a system used to visually
communicate power in Egyptian, as well as the
art of other cultures, including the ancient Near
East and in medieval European art, for example.
Significant or important individuals, such as
pharaohs, were depicted as being much larger
than any figures in a scene. In the Narmer
Palette, the hieratic scale helps to identify
Narmer in a busy scene filled with many
individuals.
 WHAT IS HIEROGLYPHS?

Hieroglyphs were used by the ancient Egyptians

as a formal writing system made up of a
combination of pictures and alphabetic letters.
The term comes from the Greek word hieros,
which means “sacred” and glyph, which means
“writing” or “drawing.”
“The meaning of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs was
mostly unknown until the eighteenth century
discovery of the Rosetta Stone, an ancient stele
made of diorite upon which the same text was
written in three languages: ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphs, another Egyptian script called the
Demotic script, as well as ancient Greek. This
allowed scholars to finally understand many
previously untranslatable hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs are found on papyrus
scrolls, wall paintings, and carved into stone. They
often accompany images and are used to identify
scenes and figures.
ROSETTA STONE (BRITISH MUSEUM)
 WHY DID EGYPTIANS BUILD
PYRAMIDS?
A pyramid is an example of monumental
funerary architecture with a square base and
sloping, triangular sides. These massive,
mountain-like buildings are the burial places of
Egyptian pharaohs and serve an important
religious and political function: to protect the
pharaoh’s soul, or ka, and to aid in the transition
of the ka to the afterlife.
One of the most famous of all pyramid sites is
the Great Pyramids of Giza. The Great Pyramids
of Giza, the tallest of which is 450 feet high,
were built during the Old Kingdom, c. 2575–
2150 B.C.E., and were intended for the rulers of
the Fourth Dynasty: Menkaure, Khafre, and
Khufu. They were built of granite and limestone
and memorialize these rulers as divine beings.
 WHAT IS SPHINX?
The Great Sphinx at Giza (c. 2520–2494 B.C.E.) is a
monumental human-headed lion sculpture carved
from a natural limestone hill. This 240-foot colossus
is thought to represent the Old Kingdom pharaoh
Khafre. Like the Assyrian lamassu, Egyptians
protected gateways with depictions of lions. It was
thought that lions never slept and they were
associated with the sun. In Egypt, as in much of the
ancient world, human-animal hybrids were
considered divine and this promoted Khafre’s status
as a divine ruler.
 THE GREAT SPHINX AT GIZA

The Sphinx, a monumental human-

headed lion, guards the entrance to
the pyramid complex at Giza. The
Sphinx is approximately 240 feet tall
and likely represents the Egyptian
pharaoh Khafre.
 WHY IS EGYPTIAN PORTRAIT
SCULPTURE SO STIFF?
Egyptian portrait sculpture, especially sculptures of
the pharaohs, were designed to last for eternity and
were made according to strict guidelines. Pharaohs
needed to be clearly identifiable by their elaborate
headdresses and false beards. Pharaonic sculptures
show the ruler either standing erect, or sitting
enthroned with hands resting on the knees, one
first clenched and one lying flat. These dignified
sculptures command respect, and are also very
durable.
Portrait statue of Egyptian Seti II (from
Turin Egyptian Art Museum, Italy)
Portrait of Pharaoh Ramesses II (from
Turin Egyptian Art Museum, Italy)
Menkaura and Queen (Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston)
Carved from the same piece of gray sandstone,
the double-portrait of Menkaure and a Queen,
from Giza, depicts the pharaoh with his wife.
Each figure stands with a rigid, upright posture.
Menkaure’s body is youthful and strong; his
hands are at his sides, fists clenched, and his left
leg takes a stern step forward. The queen’s
arms, however, wrap delicately around the
pharaoh’s waist, joining the couple in a
supportive embrace. This piece follows strict
Egyptian conventions of portraiture, clearly
indicating the ruler’s power and the queen’s
status at his side.
WHAT IS THE NEFERTITI BUST?
Nefertiti was the queen of the Pharaoh Akhenaten
who ruled during the Amarna period, c. 1349–1336
B.C.E. When the bust was discovered in 1912, by
German archeologist Ludwig Borchardt, it
immediately captivated both scholars and the
public. The painted limestone bust emphasizes the
grace and elegance of Nefertiti’s face and neck. She
appears to be wearing makeup, particularly around
the eyes and lips. Her unique blue crown is
decorated with a geometric pattern. “The sculpture
is a testament to “the fact that Nefertiti is often
considered to be one of the most beautiful women
of the ancient world.
 WHY DO EGYPTIAN FIGURES HAVE TWO LEFT
FEET?
Egyptian figures, “especially depictions of pharaohs and other
important individuals, tended to be done in profile, but in a
twisted perspective. Egyptian artists were concerned with
depicting everything they knew to exist, not necessarily what
they could see at any given moment. In order to make the
image as clear as possible, the artists depicted everything
from its most characteristic angle. A human head, for
example, is most clearly understood when seen in profile,
while one eye is usually depicted frontally, as are both
shoulders. Like the head, each foot was depicted in profile,
which results in each foot appearing as if it were the left. This
lack of naturalism is part of Egyptian artistic convention and
relates to the fact that Egyptians created their art from
memory rather than natural observation.