1. Art and design The human form Power and Devotion

2. Why do we create objects in human form?
We want to give a form to a god or spiritual being
We want to represent ourselves
We want to commemorate an ancestor
We want to define our own identity
We want to experiment with our bodies
Why do we create objects in human form?
We want to entertain
We want to portray emotions and feelings
We are interested in ourselves
We want to communicate the power of an individual
We try to understand and record unfamiliar or new peoples
We wish to celebrate and remember a person
We want to depict the people we admire – heroes, heroines, idols
We want to give our children something to play with
We strive to create a perfect human 2

3. Art and design: the human form
Power

4. Power and the human form
Who might use images of the human form to assert power? Why?
How could these images be spread amongst a wider audience both in the past and nowadays?
If an object or statue is an a public place, how can the effect of the object be enhanced?

5. This is a plaque which used to decorate the palace of the oba or king of Benin. It probably dates from the 16th century.
How do you know which is the powerful figure on the plaque? What does his pose suggest?
What is he wearing or holding that might denote power or status?
What material do you think the plaque is made from?
Why do you think it was placed where it was?

6. This statue is of Ashurnasirpal II, the King of Assyria in the 9th century BC.
What does his pose suggest about him?
What is he wearing or holding that might denote power?
What material do you think the statue is made from?
What do the following facts add to your view of this statue?
The statue used to stand in the temple of a goddess.
The stone it’s made from was brought back from a military campaign abroad.
The writing on the statue’s chest lists the king’s titles and family.

7. Compare what you have found:
Material:
both are made of imported or expensive materials – brass and magnesite
Pose:
both stand tall and still, looking out at the viewer
Clothing and regalia:
both hold symbolic objects and wear important robes of office
Location:
both were located in prominent places for many people to see: the plaque was one of many which would have created a powerful effect; the statue was raised up on a base
emphatic, unassailable authority through both stance and symbols of office.
Carved magnesite statue of Ashurnasirpal II on reddish stone standThese unusual stones were probably brought back from a foreign campaign. Kings often boasted of the exotic things they acquired from abroad, not only raw materials and finished goods but also plants and animals.
the king stand bare-headed, without the royal crown. His hair is long, but his long and magnificent curled beard is more imposing that that which a courtier would have worn. The king's hair and beard are shown worn long in the fashion of the Assyrian court at this time.
The king's dress consists of a short-sleeved tunic on top of which a long fringed shawl has been fastened, covering most of his body below the waist; the shawl is drawn over the left arm, round the back, and then forwards over the right shoulder, to be secured to the belt in front.
In his right hand he carries a ceremonial sickle of a kind which gods sometimes use for fighting monsters; the mace in his left hand symbolises the authority vested in him as vice-regent of the supreme god. An inscription is carved on his chest. Ashurnasirpal holds a sickle in his right hand, of a kind which gods are sometimes depicted using to fight monsters. The mace in his left hand shows his authority as vice-regent of the supreme god Ashur.
“At that time I fashioned a heroic image of my royal self, my power and my glory I inscribed thereon, in the midst of his palace I set it up. I fashioned memorial steles and inscribed thereon my glory and my prowess and I set them up by his city gate.”
9th c BC Nimrud – shown as Statue of Ashurnasirpal II
Neo-Assyrian, BC
From Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), northern Iraq
placed in the Temple of Ishtar Sharrat-niphi.
It was designed to remind the goddess Ishtar of the king's piety.
The carved cuneiform inscription across his chest proclaims the king's titles and genealogy, and mentions his expedition westward to the Mediterranean Sea.
PORTRAITS OF LEADERS
Would have been placed in the home
Cult of Mao began in 1960s, propaganda objects produced to promote the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
From 1990s – 61cm, revival of Mao memorabilia

8. Art and design: the human form
Devotion

9. The human form is frequently used when creating images intended for devotion or worship – why might this be?
Who might such images be of?
What sorts of places are such images placed in?
If the image is of a god or a deity, where might inspiration for the image come from?
Think of examples of religious symbols being used on devotional images alongside the human form.

10. This is a statue of A’a, a Polynesian god which dates from the 18th century.
How has the human form been used in this case – how many images of it can you find?
What might this represent?

11. Did you see that all the features are created with small figures
Did you see that all the features are created with small figures? There are 30 on the front and back.
In the back is a cavity in which 24 other figures were kept.
We believe this represents the god A’a in the process of creating other gods and men.
Picasso had a cast of this figure in his studio and was greatly inspired by these multiple images of the human form.

12. Where do you think these figures come from?
Where might they have been displayed?
There are holes in the bases of the figures. What does this suggest about how the figures could have been used originally?
What ideal elements of the human form are suggested for the male and female figures?

13. These are bronze figures from Tamil Nadu in India and date from around AD 1000.
They were placed in a temple as the focus of worship and devotion.
During festivals, they were decorated with flowers and attached to a wooden structure through the hole at the bottom. The figures were then carried through the streets by male devotees.
What impact would this change of colour and location make?

14. These figures show Vishnu, the Hindu god and his consorts, Bhu, the Earth goddess, and Shri, the goddess of prosperity.
There are many symbolic details.
On the Vishnu figure try to find:
a tall crown
elaborate jewellery
a conch shell
a flaming discus in his upper hands
his lower right hand facing out
This hand position is known as abhayamudra ('do not fear'). Find out what the other symbols mean and find other examples on Hindu sculptures.

15. The human form: art and design Additional images

16. The auspicious marks on the feet of the Buddha
From the stupa at Amaravati, southern India
2nd century AD

17. Ivory statuette of the Virgin and Child
Paris, France
About 1310–1330

18. Roman silver coin
Emperor Hadrian and Victory seated holding wreath and palm AD

19. Granite head of statue of Amenhotep III wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt
From Thebes, Egypt
About 1370 BC
Height: 2.9 metres

20. Visit the main Museum website www.britishmuseum.org20