1. Ancient Near East
3500 BC- 500 BC
The Artist as Magician

3. Developed at the same time as Egypt
Physical region had few natural defenses- many different cultures dominated
Discouraged uniting under single ruler
No defining culture, but art thrived
Sumerians were the first to settle- language was unrelated to any other
Sumerians had own developed writing- Cuneiform
Not a lot of archeological evidence of the culture
Used brick and mud which leaves very little remains
Most information found on inscribed clay tablets

4. White Temple, Uruk, 3000 BC
Temples were dominent form of architecture-
religion was city-state-based. Each had its own god who was regarded as king. Human ruler was seen as the god’s steward on earth who governed people to worship the God. In return, the God was expected to plead the case of the city-state among the other deities who controlled fertility, the weather, water, etc.
Administrative and religious center was the temple

5. Ziggurat of King Urnammu, Ur, 2500 BC
The temple was in the center of the city on a raised platform- called Ziggurat- most famous was the Tower of Babel. Height of 40 Ft- mountain tops are the dwelling place of the gods, stairs and ramps lead up to the sanctuary. Main room is called the cella, where sacrifices were made. The entrance faces away from the stairs- the worshipper must work to be able to worship- an angular spiral path

6. Sculpture was found in Cella- used as cult statue- eyes and eyebrows were originally inlaid with colored materials and the hair was covered with gold/copper wig- the rest of the figure was probably made up of wood- severe style
Female Head, Uruk, BC

7. Geometric
No real likeness
Important gods are taller
Simplified faces and bodies
No distraction from the eyes
Forms based on cone and cylinder
Statues from Abu Temple, c BC

8. Close up of worshipper

9. Made of bronze
More flexible and fluid style
Made with addition rather than subtraction
Much more expressive
Ram associated with the god Tammuz, male god of nature- animals were often associated with deities- in Egypt also
Ram and Tree, c.2600 BC

10. Akkadians- after the decay of the Sumerian society (due to ambitious rulers trying to conquer each other)- nomadic people moved in
Sargon of Akkad and successors ( BC) proclaimed ambition to rule the earth
New task for art- personal glorification of rulers
Steele- immortalizing military victory
Both soldier and leader are active
Only celestial bodies are above him in importance
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin c BC

11. Persuasive likeness
Very detailed and elegant
Surface texture
Cast in bronze, a complex technique
Head of Akkadian Ruler c.2200 BC

12. One of the Sumerian city states remained independent- Gudea was the ruler- still retained ruler- god idea, but he did have many statues of himself in shrines
Carved of diorite, extremely hard stone
Not very individualized features
More realistic human characteristics
Head of Gudea, c.2150 BC

13. Babylon- 1760-1600 BC- power was controlled by the Babylonians
Hammurabi was its founder
Main goal was to provide justice to the people
Hammurabi’s Code- earliest form of written law
Top of code shows Hammurabi confronting the sun god- announcing code
Related to the Gudea sculpture in style and technique
Very high relief
Eyes are in the round- establishes the relationship between god and man
Stele ofHammurabi c.1760 BC

14. Assyrians- Controlled all of Mesopotamia and surrounding areas
Drew on Sumerian achievements and reinterpreted them
Sack of city-has foreground and middle ground and background
The Sack of the City of Hamanu by Ashurbanipal, c. 650 BC

15. Ashurnasirpal II Killing Lions, c. 850 BC
Subject used for personal glorification of king
not real hunts- ceremonial- lions were already caged and then released
Energy and emotion are obvious

16. Dying Lioness c. 650 BC
Great sense of volume and mass despite shallow carving

17. Neo-Babylonians Assyrians fell in 612 BC
Babylon had a final era of artistic growth BC
Used glazed bricks rather than stone slabs- used for surface ornamentation
Ishtar Gate has been completely rebuilt and restored
Continuation of the theme of animals in Mesopotamian art
Ishtar Gate, C.575 BC

18. Persia--
Area which is now called Iran- always a nomadic land- art is a collection of objects known as the “Animal Style”
Decorative use of animal motif in an abstract manner
Painted Beaker, BC

19. Pole Top Ornament from Luristan, 9th-7th c. BC
Animal Style reappears in bronzes used by nomadic tribes
Symmetrical and elongated, distorted for design
Stag is far less abstracted
Scythians were from Southern Russia, but spent time in Iran learning bronzework
Stag, Scythian, 7th-6th c.

20. Babylon became huge empire-included Egypt and Asia Minor- only toppled by Alexander the Great (331 BC)
Religion was Zoroastrianism- altars were in open air so no religious architecture was created
Secular palaces instead
Palace of Darius and Xerxes
Persepolis, Iran c. 500 BC
Columns were used on a grand scale- Egyptian influence
Use of the motif of animals everywhere

21. Darius and Xerxes Giving Audience c. 490 BC
Relief within the palace is formal and stiff, solemn, repetitive and ceremonial
Subservient to the architecture
Assyrian’s energy and expression has been rejected
Overlapping garments are completely new
Body parts can be seen underneath the fabric (probably taken from the Greeks)