Art is an expression of the human condition since the time when men and women dwelled in caves. Creativity is not proprietary to what we consider modern times. This essay will look at two sculptures from the third millennium B.C. Each of these statues tells us something about the motivations of people of that particular era.
The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu is a painted limestone sculpture most probably from Giza in Egypt. It dates with some certainty from the period 2575 – 2465 B.C. [1] The statue depicts a man and woman in embrace, indicating a relationship, most likely as husband and wife. This type statue was used in burial tombs. The sculpture was thought to provide a vessel through which the dead could benefit from food and offerings brought to the chamber. …show more content…
[2] It is the likeness of Gudea, ruler of Lagash. Lagash was one of the great city-states of that time period. The Metropolitan Museum site dates the statue at about 2090 B.C. By my reckoning this cannot be correct. There is some despite about the exact years of Gudea's rule, but the most generous estimate puts the end of his reign at 2120 B.C. Part of the inscription on the statue states “Gudea, the man who built the temple; may his life be long.". This puts the statue pre-2120. This was one of many works commissioned by Gudea to be installed in the great temples of Lagash that were rebuilt by order of the
The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu is a painted limestone sculpture most probably from Giza in Egypt. It dates with some certainty from the period 2575 – 2465 B.C. [1] The statue depicts a man and woman in embrace, indicating a relationship, most likely as husband and wife. This type statue was used in burial tombs. The sculpture was thought to provide a vessel through which the dead could benefit from food and offerings brought to the chamber. …show more content…
[2] It is the likeness of Gudea, ruler of Lagash. Lagash was one of the great city-states of that time period. The Metropolitan Museum site dates the statue at about 2090 B.C. By my reckoning this cannot be correct. There is some despite about the exact years of Gudea's rule, but the most generous estimate puts the end of his reign at 2120 B.C. Part of the inscription on the statue states “Gudea, the man who built the temple; may his life be long.". This puts the statue pre-2120. This was one of many works commissioned by Gudea to be installed in the great temples of Lagash that were rebuilt by order of the