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Mesopotamian Art
Mesopotamian Art
Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu
The cuneiform script underwent considerable changes over a period of more than two
millennia. The image below shows the development of the sign SAG "head" (Borger nr. 184,
U+12295)
Stage 1 shows the pictogram as it was drawn around 3000 BC. Stage 2 shows the rotated
pictogram as written around 2800 BC. Stage 3 shows the abstracted glyph in archaic
monumental inscriptions, from ca. 2600 BC, and stage 4 is the sign as written in clay,
contemporary to stage 3. Stage 5 represents the late 3rd millennium, and stage 6 represents
Old Assyrian ductus of the early 2nd millennium, as adopted into Hittite. Stage 7 is the
simplified sign as written by Assyrian scribes in the early 1st millennium, and until the script's
extinction.
Art of the ancient civilizations that grew up in the area around the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, now in Iraq. Mesopotamian art was largely used to glorify
powerful dynasties, and often reflected the belief that kingship and the divine
were closely interlocked.
Sumerian (35002300 BC) The first of the powerful Mesopotamian
civilizations, Sumer was concentrated in the cities of Ur, Eridu, and Uruk in
southern Mesopotamia. The Sumerians built temples on top of vast ziggurats
(stepped towers) and also vast, elaborately decorated palaces. Sculptures
include erect, stylized figures carved in marble and characterized by clasped
hands and huge eyes; those found in the Abu Temple, Tell Asmar, date from
2700 BC. Earlier sculptures in alabaster, such as the Female Head (3000
BC; Iraq Museum, Baghdad), show a greater naturalism and sensitivity. Inlay
work is seen in the Standard of Ur (2500 BC), a box decorated with pictures
in lapis lazuli, shell, and red sandstone. The Sumerians, who are thought to
have invented writing about 3000 BC, produced many small, finely carved
cylindrical seals made of marble, alabaster, carnelian, lapis lazuli, and stone.
The Sumerians, like the ancient Egyptians who were more or less their
contemporaries, believed in an afterlife, and so their tombs were well
furnished with art, furniture, and other items to prepare them for the next
world.
The statues found at the Abu Temple in Tell Asmar from c. 2700 BCE
Faces are dominated by very large eyes; but, for reasons we might take for
granted, artists of many cultures have placed emphasis on eyes.
Victory of Naram-Sin
(2200 BC; Louvre, Paris),
carved in relief