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Ancient Near Eastern (Mesopotamian) and Ancient Egyptian art comparison
Comparing Mesopotamia and Egyptian art
Sumerian and Egyptian art comparison
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In this paper we compare and contrast two sculptures considering the effect the intended purpose or function has on the appearance of the sculptures.
The first sculptures is the statue of Memi and Sabu dated 2476 – 2465 B.C., which belonged to the fourth dynasty of the ancient Egypt and the second sculpture is statue of Gudea belonged to the neo Sumerian culture dated 2090 B.C. from the ancient Mesopotamia.
BODY
Briefly describing the statue of Memi and Sabu we can say that the media was limestone which is a sedimentary rock composed mainly by calcium carbonate or dolomite used for sculpture material in the ancient work and still used in buildings today. On the other hand the sculpture media of Gudea was Diorite, which is an igneous rock composed
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This statue is well known as The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu, though.
According to the readings it is not common the way they are posing, that is, Memi is returning
Sabu´s embrace by putting his arms around her shoulders. They could have posed like that because he is stood with his feet together.(The Metropolitan Museum of Art webpage, 2016).
Other similar sculptures show the man with fists clenched and not returning his wife’s embrace like that in Menakure and a Queen (Alkhalifa, 2014).
Another interesting fact on the appearance of this statue is that even Memi show a close intimacy with Sabu, she shows distant because we can appreciate her oblique gaze. In my culture this oblique gaze could indicate a conflictive or distant relationship in a marriage. We could do a deeper research to know how Egyptian related with each other to give more light about this pose. It is interesting to note the clothes and the styling of the hair.
The statue of Gudea shows a local king of the city - state of Lagash. This place is known by a meaningful numbers of statues of their kings. Particularly this statue is part of a number of sculptures authorized by the king Gudea who made his best effort to rebuilt
The durability of clay has brought forth an immense abundance of Greek pottery, a craft mastered by Athenian artists. Archeologists have found hundreds of varieties in creation, shape, function, style, and artwork in Archaic vases. The museum has been blessed with one of these priceless artifacts; it is the duty of this establishment to accumulate as much data as possible surrounding the vase. In first identifying technique, dimensions, and condition, as well as describing shape, ornament, and figural scenery, one may then begin to analyze the vase. This serves the general purpose of understanding where the artifact stands in Greek culture and history. Through the examination and research of figural scenes, it is then possible to compare these to other scenes and styles of the same and other painters. Finally, one can then hypothesize where, why, and how this piece was used.
The difference between an archaic statue such as Kroisos (fig. 5-11) and a classical statue such as Doryphoros (fig. 5-42) may not seem very great in a single glance. In fact, you may not notice any differences in that one glance. Yet, if you were to look at them closely, you can see that these two statues actually have very little in common.
We find that, in conclusion, that these pieces are very similar in many ways. They are both originally created in the same style and time period. They are Hellenistic and dramatic, although in their own, individualistic way. Each sculpture was created in different mediums and have different stories. These are both very individualistic pieces of Greco/Roman sculpture that has influenced many artists throughout time and will
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.
First, the portrait of Menkaure and a Queen was made in the Old Kingdom Egypt. The two figures are locked in place together in the frontal poses. They can be viewed from the front and the sides, but the back is flat and has no carved details. Although they do not stand in composite pose, their proportions are following the Egyptian canon. Thus, they have athletic bodies which are idealized from the shoulders to the waist to the hips. They were made to be the perfect symbol of human beings at that time to Egyptians’ belief. For this sculpture portray a royal family in a formal state, the two figures do not have face
The Statue of a kouros depicts a Greek man in the nude. Although he looks like a man, the large scale, and the miss proportioned features makes it unnaturalistic. The toes are too long, the genetalia is unrealistically small, and the joint lines are exaggerated.
These two statues are famous to the Egyptian art era. They represent the woman’s position and the man’s position at that day and age. Traditionally, the rulers of Egypt were male. So, when Hatshepsut, Dynasty 18, ca. 1473-1458 B.C., assumed the titles and functions of king she was portrayed in royal male costumes. Such representations were more for a political statement, rather than a reflection of the way she actually looked. In this sculpture, she sits upon a throne and wears the royal kilt and the striped nemes (NEM-iss) headdress with the uraeus (cobra) and is bare chested like a man. However, she does not wear the royal beard, and the proportions of her body are delicate and feminine.
The pharaoh named Khafre was an ancient Egyptian king of the 4th dynasty during the old kingdom. Khafre enthroned shows the pharaoh is shown in a seated potion on a throne with a look of deep serenity in his face. The king is sitting rigidly upright with one of his hands on his knee and the other one making a fist on his thigh. Khafre is also wearing a headdress as well as a strapped on beard. Khafres’ face and body are both idealized with the help of bilateral symmetry. Khafre is perfectly symmetrical on both sides; his pose is also both frontal and ridged. The Sculptor shows all movement, however, still showing eternal stillness (Kleiner, 2013). The statue of Khafre is an image of unbridled power. This work, life-sized and carved from diorite (an extremely hard and difficult-to-work stone) portrays the Pharaoh Khafre, sitting immobile. This piece of art uses the Egyptian canon of proportions, creating a very idealized figure (Kleiner,
The Votive Statue of Gudea and the Augustus of Primaporta have similar formal elements through their subjects and differ through their styles and size. The Votive Statue of Gudea is a statue of Gudea, a ruler in the Ancient Near East. The work was constructed in 2090 BC. It was made from diorite and stands two and
Ca.630 BCE. Limestone. This is a women freestanding statue in Greek art. Both of these two statues are youth sculpture and freestanding which are the naturalistically and not stocky. They do not have muscles and a strong body, I can only see they are being the lean body types. As the female statue, her feet are standing on the same level, but the male one is not. She is putting her right hand on her chest and wearing clothes to wrap her slim body. Thus, the Greek art only has little bit impact by Egyptians. Portraying nude men can be accepted, but for women it is not.
Egyptian art is infamous across the world - classified by the monumental pyramids, and the Sphinx. Although these are both valid forms of Egyptian art, they do not make up the entire artistic history of the country. On the contrary, perhaps the most replicated example of classic Egyptian art, from the Old Kingdom, can be found in their rendering of the human form. An interest in portraiture developed early in Egypt. (Gardner, 75) Whether painted on pottery, or cut into rock, the figures all had notably Egyptian characteristics. "The seated statue is one of only a very small number of basic formulaic types employed by the sculptors of the Old Kingdom." (Gardner, 75)
Many humans have been interested in different forms of art throughout all of history. Countless people have spent endless hours researching, studying, and learning about different pieces of art. Although each piece of art is unique to in own appearance, time, and meaning, many similarities can be found. Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid are two historical works of art that can be studied via comparison. Looking at the two pieces, many differences and similarities can be observed.
Let’s begin with what was going on during the time period for each sculpture. During the 2458-2446 BCE. Userkaf was thriving over his brother Sahure, and he became the new ruler of Egypt. In the start of 2446 BCE, Neferirkare beings his dominant over Egypt. King Sahure and Nome God is a high relief it is still attached to a surface of a stone. The Pharaoh sitting on his thorn wearing a Nemes headdress (it is usually blue and gold striped), fake beard. The king has an emotionless facial expression. It was made for a decoration for the king pyramid complex. The symbol behind this statue could be the gathering of the Nome gods form Upper and Lower Egypt around t...
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...
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