Woman of Willendorf (c25,000 BCE)

Prehistoric Period

Location: Austria (c25,000 BCE)

• Essence of fecundity (fertility charm)
• Composed of 2 triangles base to base. Hidden geometry. Exaggerated naturalism. Repeating round, organic shapes make it pleasing to eye
• Believed that navel inspired sculpture due to natural patina
• Contrast of textures from hat to head. Hat remains rough while everything else worn down to signify flesh. Hat covers head to remove specificity of sculpture. Focus is drawn to parts of body that are important to fertility/childbearing.
• Pelvic bone causes V-shape to draw emphasis toward genital.  Arms create V-shape to draw focus toward breasts.

Cave Paintings at Lascaux, France (c15,000 BCE)

Prehistoric Period

Location: Lascaux, France

• First cave paintings found. Paintings were huge. Feature aurochs, reindeer, and horse. Paints made from vegetable juices, mineral pigments, animal fat, animal blood.
• Animals drawn w/ frontal horns to create clarity. Different techniques of painting shows people revisiting the site at different times.
• Paintings were made possibly as hunting practice. Possibly to honor hunted animals to appease spirits. Theory states paintings made as magical images to ensure animal came back. Marks on aurochs align w/ major arteries.
• Painting of man w/ broken spear & bore possibly warning of dangers or hunt or tale of hunting. Shamanism?

Stonehenge (c2000 BCE)

Neolithic Cultures

Location: Salisbury, England (c2000 BCE)

• Pre-Beaker people began Stonehenge, Beaker people finished it. Built over a span of 1300 years.Began using it as sacred site through 2800 BCE finally finished in 1500 BCE. 
• Connected to passageway to Domain of Living. Very elaborate cemetery. Connected to Woodhenge in Domain of Living. Pathway leading to SH marked by giant rocks. Giant ditch around SH 360 ft diameter.
• Made out of sarsen stone nearby, but bluestone quarried from Wales (illustrated importance of structure).
• Summer Solstice followed sacred pathway. Believed to be a cosmogram, but more accepted as elaborate cemetery.
• Mortise and tenon joint: hollow on lentil, nub on post to lock things into place.

[image]

Worship Figures From Temple (c2700 BCE)

Ancient Near East

Sumerian

Location: Eshnunna - present day Tel Asmar, Iraq (c2700 BCE)

• Established canon of ANE Art
• Thought to be votives for living figures (stand-ins for eternal prayer)
• Hands held in prayer, sometimes holding little cups to signify offerings
• Unibrow & large eyes part of design canon in ANE.Giant eyes to signify wakeful vigilance for gods.
• Hierarchical scale can be observed in the figures.

Bronze Head of Ruler (c2200 BCE)

Ancient Near East

Akkadian

Location: Discovered in midden (ancient trash heap)

• Possibly sculpture of Sargon, founder of Akkadian Dynasty.
• One of first hollow cast sculptures in region. General form was cast from copper, but detail was chased by metal tools.
• Sargon reigned for almost 50 yrs. Intentional dmg (no ears/eyes) signifies ritualistic killing of Sargon.
• Very idealized sculpture. Story goes he was born by illegitimate birth. Mother put in him basket and floated him down river. Found by man named Akki who raised him as own.
• Minituristic Aesthetic

Stele of Naram-sin (c2200 BCE)

Ancient Near East

Akkadian

Location: Iran

• Earliest example of proposed might (propaganda)
• Features one of the first landscapes depicted in ANE art
• Breaks away from Sumerian style by removing tiers
• Inscribed w/ cuneiform by both Akkadians and Elamites
• Horned helmets symbolized divinity by being related to bulls.

Nanna Ziggurat (c2100 BCE)

Ancient Near East

Neo-Sumerian

Location: Ur (city-state, home to Biblical Abraham)

• Honored Nanna, goddess of fertility, moon, water.
• Solid, low-bearing structure of mud & adobe bricks. Covers 30000 sq. ft.
• Isolated from commoners w/ a wall. Surrounded by complexes. Was only accessible by priests/high-ranking officials
• Majority of gods worshipped by ziggurats were sky gods. 
• Height of ziggurat protected from floods & thieves. 

Palace Gateway Figure (c700 BCE)

Ancient Near East

Assyrian

Location: Dur Sharrukin - present Khorsabad, Iraq

• Found in the Assyrian capital of the time of Sargon II of Assyria. Made over a course of 200 yrs. Also known as "lamassu."
• Polymorph of man, bull, and eagle. Relief sculpture. Considered genies. 
• Very anatomically detailed, but also covered in minimalistic details
• Done in bas-relief.
• From the front, appears to be standing. From the side, appears to be walking. Done to make it look more powerful.

Ceremonial Complex With Audience Hall of Darius

(c500 BCE)

Ancient Near East

Persian

Location: Persepolis - present day Iran

• King Xerxes built the original mount of Persepolis, continued by Darius.
• Much of destruction of city caused by Alexander the Great.
• Columns of palace had bulls on them. Not thought to represent a deity. Thought to be symbol of power and virility.
• Meaning/Message: animal combats emphasize the ferocity of the leaders and their men. The warriors covering the walls show that they are ready to defend the palace. Elegance and balanced composition reflect knowledge of greek art and maybe the use of Greek artists.
• Subject: walls display reliefs of animal combat, royal guards, lions attacking bulls at each side of the Persian generals.

Palette of Narmer (c3000 BCE)

Early Dynasty Period

Egyptian

Location: Hierankopolis

• Carved in low relief in mudstone.
• Oldest example of EG art. Establishes canon of EG art. Also some of earliest hieroglyphic writing ever found.
• Depicts him defeating king of lower EG in north. Marks unification of upper & lower EG.
• Palettes were usually used to grind cosmetics on, but size and weight of palette suggest it as a ceremonial or votive offering. Possibly used to ground cosmetics of votive statues.
• Priest to side of Narmer  is holding oil & sandals of Narm bc where Narm was walking was holy ground. To the right of Narm is Horus tethering human figure & on back of human is papyrus plants. Papyrus symbol of lower EG. Symbolizes Narm's defeat of lower EG. 

Djoser's Step Pyramid by Imhotep

(c2600 BCE/3^rd Dynasty)

Old Kingdom

Egyptian

Location: Saqqara, west of Nile.

• Part of Necropolis. 6 mastabas stacked on top of one another. 
• Part of huge complex made of recreated palace rooms
• First monumental stone structure built in history of EG
• Hieroglyph read "Built by Imhotep, First After the King." Signified importance of Imhotep's role.
• Imhotep became god of learning/astronomy afterwards. Oldest architect's name recorded in the world. Post & lentil system of construction. 200 ft. tall.

Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, & Menkaure 

(c2500 BCE/4^th dyn)

Old Kingdom

Egyptian

• Made for 3 very powerful kings. Pyramids face the cardinal directions.
• Middle has different texture due to veneer of limestone that was polished w/ gold tips on top.
• In older tomb of Khafre & Menkaure, tombs are buried beneath. Khufu's inside actual pyramid. 
• Passageways lined w/ granite. Material tied in w/ eternal life & Osiris.
• Estimated 2 mil stone rocks used for Khufu's pyramid. 

Khafre's Ka Statue (2500 BCE)

Old Kingdom

Egyptian

Location: Giza

• Found inside chapel of tomb. Made out of diorite imported from Nubia. Stone hard to carve, but associated w/ eternity. Expensive stone also represents Khafre's importance
• Not full-standing sculpture. High relief. Wanted timeless & eternal figure, carved close to stone to avoid dmg.
• Idealized. No sign of age in face & perfect fit figure
• Filled in negative space on throne w/ imgs of papyrus & lotus to show rule of upper/lower EG
• Falcon of Horus protectively wraps wings around head of Khafre. Falcon also represents divinity of figure. Symbols of kingship: headdress, fake beard. Scroll in hand represented book of the dead.

Seated Scribe (c2400 BCE/5^th dyn)

Old Kingdom

Egyptian

Location: Saqqara

• Represented scribe named Kay. Was important enough to have his own tomb bc kings wanted to take all of their earthly experiences w/ them to the afterlife.
• Portrayed almost lifelike, rather than usual idealized style scene in higher ranking officials.
• Potrayal of "action of time" pose and expression illustrated lower status of individual. Pharoahs were portrayed in "eternal" pose.
• Negative space is portrayed in space between arms & torso. 
• The semicircular base of the sculpture suggests that it originally fitted in a larger piece of rock which presumably carried its name and title.

Tomb of Ti (c2400 BCE)

Old Kingdom

Egyptian

Location: Saqqara

• Court official who practiced mostly in Thied, but chose to be buried in Necropolis. Ti is shown on papyrus boats being rowed by small servants
• Ti is out hunting hippos. Hippos were seen as major problem due to eating crops/stomping on crops.
• Hippos seen as Seth, who is a dark underworld god who killed Osiris. Scene can be interpreted as battle of good vs. evil. 
• Hierachical scale can be seen between size of Ti versus size of his servants.
• Carved in low relief.

Funerary Temple of Queen Hapshetsut

(c1500 BCE/11^th dyn)

New Kingdom

Egyptian

Location: Dier-el-Bahri

• Temple built to honor patron god of her, Amon-Ra (god of the sun).
• Meant to be her funerary temple after she was buried in Valley of the Kings
• Sculpture of queen shown idealized w/ long hair. Holding jar w/ img of Isis. Shown as queen before becoming pharaoh
• 2nd documented queen becoming pharaoh. Wife of Thutmose II. Img of her shown w/ headdress, naturalism, & crook & flail. 
• The relief sculpture within Hatshepsut’s temple recites the tale of the divine birth of a female pharaoh – the first of its kind.

Akhenaten and Family (c1350 BCE/18^th dyn)

New Kingdom

Egyptian

Location: Tell el-Amarna

• Akhenaten pictured w/ Nefertiti and 3 daughters.
• Elongated heads & proportions. Padded hips & bellies. Shows deviation away from typical Egyptian art canon.
• Sun disk represents Aten, the sun god. Was a revolutionary religion worshipped by the family due to it being monotheistic.
• Aten and Nefertiti playing w/ their kids is very different bc it does not capture eternal stillness, but rather a moment in time.
• Sunken relief.

Funerary Mask of Tutankhamun (c1300 BCE)

New Kingdom

Egyptian

Location: Valley of the Kings

• Illustrates the return of Old Kingdom canons. Idealized features show ageless king.
• Tomb of King Tut began Egyptomania back in 1920s. People began copying colors, styles, and aesthetic of objects found in King Tut's tomb.
• Vulture on coffin & next to cobra on crown represents Maat, goddess of truth & justice
• Eyes are white quartz with pupils of black obsidian, the corners tinted with red pigment. Gold & lapis lazuli signify importance of Tut.
• Had elongated face of Akhenaten canon of art, but idealized features of Old Kingdom canon.