Art of the Ancient Near East: Protoliterate Sumerian to Neo-Babylonian

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Art of the Ancient Near East Reading: Stokstad, pp. 26-‐47 Range: 5500-‐1500 BCE Sumerian, Akkadian, Old Babylonian Terms/Concepts: Mesopotamia, Cuneiform, Cylinder Seals, Register, Bas Relief, HieraGc Scale, VoGve, Axial, Bent Axis, Ziggurat, Axis Mundi, Stele, Lapis Lazuli, Monument List   2-‐2, Anu Ziggurat, Protoliterate Sumerian, 3400-‐3200 BCE   2-‐4, Warka Vase, Protoliterate Sumerian, 3300-‐3000 BCE   2-‐7, The Great Lyre, Early DynasGc Sumerian, 2600-‐2500 BCE.   2-‐1, Stele of Naram-‐Sin, Akkadian, 2254-‐2218 BCE   2-‐15, Stele of Hammurabi, Old Babylonian, 1792-‐1750 BCE

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Major Powers in the Near East  Protoliterate Mesopotamia: 5500-‐3000 BCE  Early DynasGc Sumerian: 3000-‐2340 BCE  Akkadian: 2340-‐2180 BCE  Old Babylonian: 2025-‐1594 BCE  Assyrian: 1350-‐612 BCE  Neo-‐Babylonian: 612-‐539 BCE  Achaemenid Persian: 539-‐331 BCE

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Plan of the Anu Ziggurat and White Temple. Uruk, Iraq. c.3300-3000 BCE Bent-‐Axis

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Goddess receiving oﬀerings—probably Inanna

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Goddess receiving oﬀerings—probably Inanna

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Gilgamesh: the king who was 2/3 god “Gilgamesh” (Assyrian Hero) The Epic of Gilgamesh in Akkadian

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The Great Lyre with Bull`s Head, from Tomb 789. Royal Cemetery, Ur, Early Dynastic Sumerian, c.2600-2500 BCE (See B on pg. 35).

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Sar-e-Sang, Afghanistan, is site of lapis lazuli mines.

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lapis lazuli

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2-‐1, Stele of Naram Sin, Sippar, Iraq, Akkadian, 2254-‐2218 BCE

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“When Shamash with radiant face had joyfully looked upon me – me his favorite shepherd, Hammurabi…to cause jusGce to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and evil that the strong might not oppress the weak.”

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•  “If a man puts out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.” •  “If he kills a man’s slave, he shall pay one-‐ third of a mina.” •  “If someone steals property from a temple, he will be put to death as will the person who receives the stolen goods.” •  “If a married woman dies before bearing any sons, her dowry shall be repaid to her father, but if she gave birth to sons, the dowry belongs to them.” •  If a man strikes a freeborn woman so that she loses her unborn child, he shall bay ten shekels for her loss. If the woman dies his daughter shall be put to death.” •  “If a man is guilty of incest with his daughter, he shall be exiled.”

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CriGcal Thinking QuesGons 1.  How is religious and poliGcal power connected in the cultures of the ancient Near East? How do these connecGons manifest in their art? 2.  What is hieraGc scale? How is it used in ancient Near Eastern art? 3.  How is the bent axis used in Near Eastern architecture? What is its signiﬁcance? 4.  What is the importance of materials like lapis lazuli and gold? What social insGtuGons and acGviGes do they indicate? 5.  What are cylinder seals? What funcGon do they serve? What cultural insGtuGons do they indicate?