Ancient Civilizations

The Bronze Age (3300-1200BC)

and The Iron Age (1200-586BC)The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural

development when the most advanced metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use) consists of techniques for

smelting copper and tin from naturally occurring outcroppings of ore, and then alloying those metals in order to cast bronze

Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway. "Prehistoric Cypriot Art and Culture". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pcyp/hd_pcyp.htm (October 2004)

Group of four vases, ca. 2300–2000 B.C.; Early Bronze Age

The Beginnings of the Bronze Age

“…people began making small tools and decorative ornaments from the native copper (chalkos); thus the phase is termed Chalcolithic, referring to the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age.”

Bowl with handles terminating in lotuses, ca. 850–750 B.C

Standard with two long-horned bulls, 2400–2000 B.C.; Early Bronze Age

This pair of long-horned bullsprobably served as a finialfor a religious or ceremonialstandard.

"Standard with two long-horned bulls [North central Anatolia] (55.137.5)". In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/02/waa/hod_55.137.5.htm (October 2006)

                                                                                                       

                                

Statuette of a female, Iron Age; 1st millennium B.C., earlyIran, Caspian region

Sword, mid-1st century B.C.; Late Iron Age, CelticIron blade, L. 19 3/4 in.

Mesopotamian Art

Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu

The Peoples of Mesopotamia

The SumeriansThe AkkadiansThe BaybloniansThe AssyriansThe Neo- Babylonians

See the site for detailed information:http://www.eyeconart.net/history/ancient/mesopotamian.htm

21st - 17th c BCE Mesopotamian Babylonian Sculpture

The cuneiform script underwent considerable changes over a period of more than two millennia. The image below shows the development of the sign SAG "head" (Borger nr. 184, U+12295)   

                                                                                        Stage 1 shows the pictogram as it was drawn around 3000 BC. Stage 2 shows the rotated pictogram as written around 2800 BC. Stage 3 shows the abstracted glyph in archaic monumental inscriptions, from ca. 2600 BC, and stage 4 is the sign as written in clay, contemporary to stage 3. Stage 5 represents the late 3rd millennium, and stage 6 represents Old Assyrian ductus of the early 2nd millennium, as adopted into Hittite. Stage 7 is the simplified sign as written by Assyrian scribes in the early 1st millennium, and until the script's extinction.

The Epic of GilgameshThe Epic of Gilgamesh is, perhaps, the oldest written story on Earth. It

comes to us from Ancient Sumeria, and was originally written on 12 clay tablets in cunieform script. It is about the adventures of the historical King

of Uruk (somewhere between 2750 and 2500 BCE).

Faces are dominated by very large eyes; but, for reasons we might take for granted, artists of many cultures have placed emphasis on eyes.

The statues found at the Abu Temple in Tell Asmar from c. 2700 BCE

Helmet of King Meskalamdug, c. 2400 BCE

Sumerian Votive Figures

Akkadian (2300–2150 BC) The Akkadian invaders quickly assimilated Sumerian styles. The stele (decorated upright slab) Victory of Naram-Sin (2200 BC; Louvre, Paris), carved in relief, depicts a military campaign of the warlike Akkadians. The technical and artistic sophistication of bronze sculpture is illustrated by the Head of an Akkadian King (2200 BC; Iraq Museum, Baghdad).

Assyrian (1400–600 BC) The characteristic Assyrian art form was narrative relief sculpture. Unlike the other southern Mesopotamian peoples, the Assyrians had access to large quantities of stone, and their many carved reliefs have consequently survived well. These shallow carvings were used to decorate palaces, for example, the Palace of Ashurbanipal (7th century BC). Its finely carved reliefs include dramatic scenes of a lion hunt, now in the British Museum, London. Winged bulls with human faces, carved partially in the round, stood as sentinels at the royal gateways (Louvre, Paris).

Human-headed winged lion (lamassu), Assyrian 883–859 B.C

Mesopotamia, Nimrud, Head of a Woman, late 8th century BCE, ivory plaque, originally part of furniture. This piece is listed on the Oriental

Institute's database of treasures that have been lost or stolen from Iraq

.  

A Babylonian relief sculpture of a bull made of brightly glazed tiles on the restored Ishtar Gate. The original sculpture dates from around 575 BC and stood on the gate of the Temple of Bel, the biblical Tower of Babel in Babylon.

Persia, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, sixth century BCE. Accounts indicate that the garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled the city for 43 years starting in 605 BCE, and that he built them to cheer up his homesick wife, Amyitis. Medes, the land she came from was green, rugged and mountainous, and she found the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia depressing, so the king decided to recreate her homeland by building an artificial mountain with rooftop gardens. The Hanging Gardens weren't actually "hanging", but instead were "overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony.

Persia, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, sixth century BCE. Accounts indicate that the garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled the city for 43 years starting in 605 BCE, and that he built them to cheer up his homesick wife, Amyitis. Medes, the land she came from was green, rugged and mountainous, and she found the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia depressing, so the king decided to recreate her homeland by building an artificial mountain with rooftop gardens. The Hanging Gardens weren't actually "hanging", but instead were "overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony.

Egyptian Art

Bowl with Human Feet, ca. 3750–3550 B.C.E.; possibly late Naqada I–early Naqada II; Predynastic period

Statue of Demedji and Hennutsen, ca. 2465–26 B.C.E.;

early Dynasty 5; Old Kingdom

Egyptian

Relief of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep, ca. 2040–2010 B.C.E.;

reign of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep; Middle Kingdom Egyptian;

Upper Egypt, Western Thebes

Scarab of Wah, ca. 1990–1985 B.C.E.;

early Dynasty 12; Middle Kingdom

Egyptian;Western Thebes

Statue of an Offering Bearer, ca. 1985 B.C.E.; Dynasty 12, early reign of Amenemhat I; Middle KingdomEgyptian; Western Thebes

Coffin of Khnum-nakht, ca. 1900–1800 B.C.E.; Dynasty 12; Middle KingdomEgyptian; Possibly from Asyut

Pectoral with the Name of Senwosret II, ca. 1897–1878 B.C.E.; Dynasty 12, reigns of Senwosret II–Amenemhat III; Middle KingdomEgyptian; Lahun

Statuette of a Hippopotamus, ca. 1981-1885 B.C.E.; Dynasty 12; Middle KingdomEgyptian; Middle Egypt, Meir

Outer Coffin of Henettawy, ca. 1040–991 B.C.E.; Dynasty 21; Third Intermediate periodEgyptian; Thebes

Cat, 330–30 B.C.E.; Ptolemaic periodEgyptian

The Temple of Dendur, ca. 15 B.C.E.; Roman periodEgyptian; Nubia, Dendur

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pyramids.html

Kinds of Pyramids     Pyramid: a special type of polyhedron (a polyhedron is a solid figure with flat faces that are polygons)in which all of the faces, except possibly the base, are triangles that meet in a common point called the vertex. The base is

always a polygon (a polygon is a closed figure with 3 or more sides) but not always a triangle.

There are three main kinds of pyramids: the Step Pyramid, which has six steps;

the Bent Pyramid (only one was made, and that was for Pharaoh Sneferu),

and the Straight-sided Pyramid (also known as the True Pyramid, which is also the most common).

The Great Sphinx of Giza with Khafre's pyramid in the background.

Fourth dynasty, Old Kingdom