Assyrian art is usually recognizable in its proliferation on carved stone that adorn imperial monuments. On this particular fragment, it’s clear that human figures are unique stylistically detailed, usually in triumphal scenes of conquests and battles. This artifact depicts the stone head of an Assyrian man, and there are still visible traces of the pigments that typically covered all Assyrian reliefs. It is clearly a very delicate artifact with slightly visible traces of faded red (on the man’s head). The texture of the man’s features embedded in the stone is also quite evident, especially the spherical bumps that enhance his hair. The traditional physical characteristics of the Assyrian man is evidenced in the shape of the long beard, and …show more content…
As the founder of the Akkadian Empire, Sargon’s story is found in the Legend of Sargon, which is composed of two cuneiform clay tablets that illuminate his character as a legendary individual born to an anonymous father, and a mother who set him adrift in a basket down the Euphrates River (parallel to the story of Moses in the Hebrew Bible). Eventually he grew up and conquered cities, starting with Kish. He rose to wield power throughout all of Mesopotamia and established the first universally cultured empire in history. His great courage was even showcased when he defeated Lugalzegesi, the first Sumerian king to successfully subjugate city-states throughout Sumer and the final Sumerian king preceding the formation of Akkad. Taking the throne-name Sharru-ki, “the king is legitimate”, Sargon founded the Akkadian empire whose foundation was attained through military sieges carried out by a tenacious, organized army at Sargon’s disposal. Maintaining Akkad was another challenge in itself, and Sargon managed to establish a period of stability wherein his empire thrived—he created an efficient postal system involving clay tablets written in cuneiform Akkadian style. In addition, he promoted expansion of trade and development of road networks. He even endowed his daughter Enheduanna to be High Priestess of Inanna at
Information from the textbook and Hays’s article help illuminate the events depicted and their significance in culture and art of the New Kingdom, and how the style ties into the art of the time.
Although fluctuations in power had been present in Mesopotamian culture for thousands of years, it was during the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2350 B.C.) that the greatest competition emerged between the major Sumerian city-states such as Uruk and Ur. As the city-states warred against each other, an Akkadian, who named himself Sargon or
The Ancient Egyptian sculpture, “Statue of Nykara and His Family”, was sculpted during the late fifth dynasty. The sculpture is a depiction of Nykara, his wife, Nubkau, and son, Ankhma-Re. The statue is in poor condition with pieces of limestone missing and chips on the three subject’s faces and bodies. The painted limestone shows the conventional colors for the male and female subjects. There is a clear discoloration among Nykara and his son’s bodies. The brownish red color they once were has eroded to a light yellowish color, which resembles the purposeful color of Nykara’s wife. The hieroglyphs on Nykara’s seat insinuate that the sculpture is meant to be viewed from the front view. This is also evident by the way the three subjects are facing forward in frontal view. There are hieroglyphs on both the chair and base of the statue near Nykara’s wife and son’s feet.
A piece of art can leave distinct impressions with the viewer. The Assyrian Winged Protective Deity provides a plethora of stimulants for the eye. The relief emulates brute strength and power through the overall stature of the figure. The cuneiform writing above the relief greatly influenced the impression a viewer can receive through its narration about the figure. Other than Gilgamesh and the Assyrian Winged Protective Deity both being from Mesopotamia, they have numerous similarities.
The debate was how such a barbaric society could produce such sophisticated artwork. The quality of the Benin bronzes, based on...
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 B.C.). N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
For my final project I chose to compare two works of art from ancient Mesopotamia. A visual work of art and a literary one. The visual work of art I chose was the Statuettes of Worshipers which were created around 2900 to 2350 BCE at the Square Temple at Eshnunna, a city in ancient Mesopotamia. The literary artwork I have chosen is the Epic of Gilgamesh written roughly around 2800 BCE by author or authors unknown. It was set in Uruk, another city in ancient Mesopotamia. Both of these works of art share a common theme; the theme of immortality. It is my hopes that within this paper I can accurately show how each of these works of art express this theme, and how it relates to modern society.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘Egyptian Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Art. New Series, Vol. 41, No. 3, Egyptian Art (Winter, 1983-1984): pp. 1+3-56
In Sophocles' most famous Theban play consisting of two parts, "Oedipus the King" and "Antigone", both parts are necessary in understanding some of the things that happened around them, and what type of man had raised Antigone. She is the main character in the play of “Antigone”.
In the story of Antigone, Oedipus has already died, his two sons. Polyneices and Eteocles, left to contend for the throne of Thebes. In their contention for the throne, the two brothers slay one another, leaving Creon once again to be the acting regent of Thebes. With this power, Creon declares that Polyneices must be left to rot on the battlefield, the highest disgrace to any Greek. Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, is left torn between state of family, and in the end, chooses family over state. Disregarding Creon 's edict with grave danger to herself, Antigone ventures to bury the body of Polyneices, and thus begins her adventure. Antigone is truly a tragic hero, marked by her station as son of Oedipus, and her proud and perhaps arrogant
The pieces of sculpture are both carved using the subtractive method of sculpting from stone. However, the types of stone used were very different. The sculpture of Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II was carved from a stone called greywacke, a dark colored, very hard stone the Egyptians prized for sculpture despite the fact t...
Soon after the Akkadians came the Amorites. They were also known as the old Babylonians. They built the city of Babylon and made it one of the biggest trade centers in the Middle East. Hammurabi was the King of the Amorites and was famous for the code of Hammurabi.
Antigone is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles that has two tragic heroes, Antigone herself and Creon. A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that makes an error in his or her actions that leads to his or her downfall. Creon is the tragic hero in Antigone because he reveals all the characteristics of a tragic hero. Creon’s tragic flaw is his pride. Creon’s stubbornness, his abuse of power, and his actions that resulted in his downfall in the play are three of the ways in which Creon can be the tragic hero.
Richardson, Seth. "An Assyrian Garden of Ancestors: Room I, Northwest Palace, Kalhu." State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 13 (1999): 145-216.
In modern society, Greek pottery is considered an art which is regarded as much for its aesthetic splendor as its historical significance. However, the role of pottery in ancient Greek culture was far more functional as its primary use was for the transportation and storage of such liquids as water and wine (Encyclopedia Britannica). Due to the durability of the fired clay material, Greek pottery is the only remaining art form that allows us to explore the evolution of this ancient culture. Through that examination, three distinct stylistic periods have been unveiled: Geometric, Orientalizing and Archaic. This analysis will detail these distinct periods as well as three design techniques prevalently used: black figure, red figure and white ground