Art History Quiz 1

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Animal facing left; charcoal on stone. Paleolithic. Found on Apollo 11 Cave in Namibia. 5' x 4.24". Strict profile so that head, body, tail, and all four legs are visible. Very long time before artists were creative in their subject choice or representation.

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Bison, detail of a painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain. Paleolithic. Standing bison 5'2.5" long. (Larger painting is 60' long.) c.a. 13,000- 11,000 B.C.E. All profile bison, some standing, some curled on the ground (possibly dead or giving birth). The several bison don't stand on a common ground line or share a common orientation. Resemble clouds floating. No setting, background, indication of place. No relation to one another-separate images, possibly painted at different times.

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Hall of the Bulls in the cave at Lascaux, France.Paleolithic. These animals aren't typically consumed as food, so meaning remains a mystery. Animals are inconsistent in size and move in different directions. Some silhouettes, some outline drawings; could have been painted at different times by different artists. Twisted perspective/composite view: animals in profile, but shows both horns for bulls, to truly convey the concept of a bull.

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Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France. Paleolithic. Bison 3'4.5" long. If these paintings depict a hunting scene, they constitute the earliest form of narrative art ever discovered. Left is a rhino, with two rows of three dots w/ uncertain significance. Right is bison, also facing left but w/ less realistic proportions, probably the work of someone else. Raging bison. Bird faced (masked?) man w/ outstretched arms and 4 fingers. Man has less detail, but gender is very clear. Is man wounded or tilted back unharmed? If he is on the ground, which animal knocked him down? We can't be sure.

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Spotted horses and negative handprints, wall painting in the cave at Peche-Merle, France. Paleolithic. 11'2" long. Handprints: Most painted hands are negative-painter placed one hand on wall then brushed, blew, or spat pigment around it. Some painters dipped a hand in the pigment and left a positive handprint. These are sometimes interpreted as signatures. Horse: Spots that surround horse could be stones or signs rather than spots. May have been inspired by a natural rock formation that formed the horse's head and neck.

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Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses, wall painting in the Chauvet Cave, Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France. Paleolithic. Scientists used radiocarbon dating to find year that painting was made, and it was discovered to be thousands of years older than anything previously discovered. Controversy-if they are truly this old, they exhibit advanced features, such as overlapping of animal horns. Rhinos at lower right appear to attack each other, showing that the painter intended a narrative.

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Venus of Willendorf, Austria. Limestone, 4.25" high. Paleolithic. Stone age artists often portrayed humans nude, so when archaeologists first encountered these female statuettes, they dubbed them "venuses" after the Greco-Roman goddess of beauty and love who was usually depicted nude. Anatomical exaggeration suggests fertility, womanhood, bringing life, ensuring the survival of species. Did not aim for naturalism-no facial features as well. Sculpture in the round.

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Woman holding a bison horn from Laussel, France. Paleolithic. Relief sculpture. Sculpture used a stone chisel to cut into rock to create an image projecting from the background. Initially was part of a huge stone rock. Left arm draws attention to her belly, but meaning of gesture is unknown. Similar exaggeration of Willendorf. No facial features.

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Bison licking its flank, from La Madeleine, France. Paleolithic. 4.125" long, this is what remains of a spear thrower carved from a reindeer antler. Sculptor used a sharp burin to carve details. The small and limited size of the antler may have caused the carver to decide to have the bison licking its flank. The head is turned 180 degrees to maintain strict profile for the sake of clarity and completeness.

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Clay relief of Two Bison, Le Tuc d'Audoubert, France. Paleolithic. A master sculptor modeled these bison out of clay against a large, irregular freestanding rock. Bison in strict profile, each about two feet long, among the largest paleolithic sculptures known. First, sculptor brought clay from elsewhere, then molded overall shape with hands, then smoothed surface with spatula-like tool, then used fingers to create detailing. Cracks are from drying process.

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Human with feline head, from Hohenstein-Stadel, Germany. Paleolithic. One of the oldest sculptures ever discovered is this ivory statuette. Carved from the tusk of a wooly mammoth, almost a foot tall which is large for its era. Figure is not something the artist could see and copy, but instead something from the imagination. Human with feline head-human bodies with animal heads were common depictions in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, but we can only speculate the purpose.

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Çatal Höyük, Neolithic town in central Turkey. Neolithic. The site of a flourishing Neolithic culture on the central Anatolian plain between 6500 and 5700 bce. Although animal husbandry was well established, hunting continued to play an important part in the early Neolithic economy of Çatal Höyük. The importance of hunting as a food source is reflected in the wall paintings of the site’s older decorated rooms, where hunting scenes predominate.

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Landscape with volcanic eruption (?), wall painting in situ (top) and watercolor (bottom) from Çatal Höyük, Turkey. Neolithic. Art Historians generally have acclaimed this mural as the world’s first landscape (a picture of a natural setting in its own right, without any narrative content). Scholars interpret the foreground as a town with rectangular houses neatly laid out in rows, probably representing Çatal Höyük itself. Behind the town appears a mountain with two peaks. Many archaeologists think the dots and lines issuing from the higher of the two cones represent a volcanic eruption, and have suggested that the mountain is the 10,600-foot-high Hasan Dag, the only twin-peaked volcano in central Anatolia, which is within view of Çatal Höyük. The conjectured volcanic eruption shown in the mural does not necessarily depict a specific historical event. Rather, the landscape may represent a recurring phenomenon. In either case, it is the earliest preserved representation of nature without either humans or animals.

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Deer Hunt, detail of a wall painting from Çatal Höyük, Turkey. Neolithic. This piece of art is worlds apart from those of the Paleolithic period. What is most striking is the regular appearance of the human figure—not only singly but also in large, coherent groups with a wide variety of poses, subjects, and settings. Humans rarely figured in Paleolithic cave paintings, and pictorial narratives are almost unknown, but these themes and scenes of humans dominating animals are very common in Neolithic period.

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Human skull with restored features, from Jericho, Jordan. Neolithic. With features modeled in plaster, painted, and inlaid with seashells, these heads are strikingly lifelike. It is also life-size. Its painted mustache distinguishes it from others. The Jericho skulls constitute the world’s earliest known “portrait gallery." The plastered skulls must have served a ritualistic purpose. The community of several hundred Neolithic farmers who occupied Jericho at this time honored and perhaps worshiped their ancestors as intercessors between the living and the world beyond. They may have believed that the dead could exert power over the living and that they had to offer sacrifices to their ancestors to receive favorable treatment. These skulls were probably the focus of rites in honor of those ancestors.

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Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan. Neolithic. Plaster, painted and inlaid with bitumen. The sculptures, which appear to have been ritually buried, are white plaster built up over a core of reeds and twine, with black bitumen, a tarlike substance, for the pupils of the eyes. Some of the figures have painted clothing. Only rarely did the sculptors indicate the gender of the figures. These mark the beginning of the long history of large-scale sculpture in Mesopotamia.

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Aerial view of the ruins of Hagar Qim, Malta. Neolithic. The megalithic temple (Fig. 1-18) of Hagar Qim is one of many constructed on Malta. The Maltese builders erected their temples by piling carefully cut stone blocks in courses (stacked horizontal rows). To construct the doorways at Hagar Qim, the builders employed the post-and-lintel system (Fig. 1-19) in which two upright stones (posts) support a horizontal block (lintel or beam ). Inside the Hagar Qim temple, archaeologists found altars and several stone statues of headless nude women.

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Aerial view of Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England. Neolithic. A henge is an arrangement of megalithic stones in a circle, often surrounded by a ditch. The type is almost exclusively limited to Britain. Stonehenge is a complex of rough-cut sarsen (a form of sandstone) stones and smaller “bluestones” (various volcanic rocks) built in several stages over hundreds of years. The final henge consists of concentric post-and-lintel circles. Huge sarsen megaliths form the outer ring, which is almost 100 feet in diameter. Inside is a ring of bluestones, and this ring, in turn, encircles a horseshoe (open end facing east) of trilithons (three-stone constructions)—five lintel-topped pairs of the largest sarsens. Standing apart and to the east (not pictured) is the “heel stone,” which, for a person looking outward from the center of the complex, would have marked the point where the sun rose at the summer solstice. Stonehenge, perhaps originally a funerary site where Neolithic peoples cremated their dead, seems in its latest phase to have been a kind of astronomical observatory and a remarkably accurate solar calendar. According to a recent theory, it also served as a center of healing that attracted the sick and dying from throughout the region.

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Tomb painting from Hierakonopolis. New Kingdom. Judgment of Hunefer, detail of an illustrated Book of the Dead, from the tomb of Hunefer, Thebes, Egypt. Painted papyrus scroll. Anubis, the Egyptian god of embalming, shown with a man’s body and a jackal’s head, grasps the deceased Hunefer’s left hand and leads him into the hall of judgment.

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Front of Palette of King Narmer, from Hierakonpolis, Egypt. Egyptian Old Kingdom. It is one of the earliest historical artworks preserved, and probably depicts the unification of the two kingdoms. The unification most likely occurred over several centuries, but the palette depicts it as a single event. Formalized version of an object commonly used to prepare eye makeup which Egyptians used to protect their eyes against irritation and the sun. Serves as an early blueprint for figure representation that characterized Egyptian art. Two heads of cows with a the face of the goddess Hathor. Hieroglyph of Narmer's name, making it the earliest extant labeled work of art. Unique to front: intertwined necks of animals represents Egypt's unification. Narmer wears Lower Egypt's red crown, dead people viewed from above. Status symbol: king performs his task alone, towering above everyone else. Great bull below symbolizes king's superhuman strength.

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Back of Palette of King Narmer. Narmer wears the high, white crown of Upper Egypt. The slaying motif became the standard pictorial formula signifying the inevitable triumph of the Egyptian god-kings over their foes. King appears as "Living Horus”—here as a falcon with one human arm. Papyrus plant growing from that stands for the land of Lower Egypt.

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Section (top), plan (center), and restored view (bottom) of typical Egyptian mastaba tombs. Old Kingdom. Mastaba: rectangular brick or stone structure with sloping sides erected over underground chambers, which housed the mummified body. Also found are portrait statues, and offerings to the deceased. Scenes of daily life often decorated the interior walls. Mastabas initially only housed single burials, but grew to accommodate members of several families. The main feature of these tombs, other than the burial chamber itself, was the chapel, which had a false door through which the ka could join the world of the living and partake in the meals placed on an offering table. Some mastabas also had a serdab, a small room housing a statue of the deceased.

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Stepped Pyramid a funerary precinct of King Djoser, Saqqara. Old Kingdom. One of the most renowned figures in Egyptian history was Imhotep, master builder for King Djoser. Imhotep: first recorded name of artist in the world. Djoser’s pyramid is one of the oldest stone structures in Egypt and, in its final form, the first truly grandiose royal tomb. The tomb was enlarged at least twice before assuming its ultimate shape. About 200 feet high, the stepped pyramid seems to be composed of a series of mastabas of diminishing size, stacked one atop another to form a structure. its dual function was to protect the mummified king and his possessions and to symbolize, by its gigantic presence, his absolute and godlike power. Djoser’s pyramid was the centerpiece of an immense funerary complex that included several buildings connected with his funerary cult. A network of underground galleries resembled a palace. The columns end in capitals (“heads”) that take the form of the papyrus blossoms of Lower Egypt. The column shafts (engaged columns) resemble papyrus stalks.

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Pyramids of Gizeh, Egypt. Old Kingdom. Menkaure: smallest. Khafre: middle. Khufu: biggest and oldest (base of one side about 775 feet.) Serve as the tombs of kings Menkaure and Khafre. The three pyramids of Gizeh took the shape of the ben-ben, the emblem of the sun god, Re. The sun’s rays were the ramp the Egyptian kings used to ascend to the heavens after their death and rebirth. Built these stone block by block, annual labor. Not in isolation.

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The Great Sphinx, Gizeh, Egypt. Old Kingdom. Sandstone, 65' high. It has the body of a lion and the head of a king (probably Khafre) and is associated with the sun god. The form suggests that the Egyptian king combines human intelligence with the fearsome strength and authority of the king of beasts.

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Khafre, from Gizeh, Egypt. Egyptian Old Kingdom. Made of diorite, a hard dark stone. This portrait from his pyramid complex depicts Khafre as an enthroned divine ruler with a perfect body. The formality of the pose creates an aura of eternal stillness, appropriate for the timeless afterlife. Absolutely frontal, perfectly calm, utterly immobile. Bilaterally symmetrical (except hands). Throne is formed of two stylized lions’ bodies. Intertwined lotus and papyrus plants—symbolic of the united Egypt—appear between the throne’s legs. Behind his head is the falcon: identifies the king as the “Living Horus.”

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Menkaure and his wife, Khamerernebty from Gizeh, Egypt. Old Kingdom. (Could be Hathor, unsure). High relief statue displays the conventional postures used for Old Kingdom royal statues. The formalized embrace denotes the close association of the two figures: marital status or shared divinity. Typical Egyptian form.

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Seated Scribe, from Saqqara, Egypt. Old Kingdom. Painted limestone: coloration creates a more lifelike image. The idealism that characterizes the portraiture of the Egyptian god-kings did not extend to the portrayal of non-elite individuals. The sculptor portrayed this seated scribe with clear signs of aging. Conveys detailed emotion: sharply intelligent and sympathy seldom achieved at this early date. More relaxed, imperfect.

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Ti watching a hippopotamus hunt, relief in the mastaba of Ti, Saqqara, Egypt. Old Kingdom. Painted limestone. A successful hunt was a metaphor for triumph over evil. In this painted tomb relief, the deceased stands aloof from the hunters busily spearing hippopotami. Ti’s size reflects his high rank. Wavy lines=water. Top=papyrus. Men busy with spears, Ti aloof. Ti: staff in hand, Egyptian posture. Nile river.

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Goats treading seed and cattle fording a canal, painted limestone reliefs in the mastaba of Ti, Saqqara, Egypt. Old Kingdom. The fording of the Nile was a metaphor for the passage to the afterlife. These reliefs combine stereotypical poses for humans and animals with unconventional postures and anecdotal details. Two registers. Top: all men and animals are active. Bottom: youth carries calf on shoulders b/c not big enough to cross river, looks back for reassurance from mother.

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Fragmentary head of Senusret III. Red quartzite. Middle Kingdom. One of Middle Kingdom rulers. More realistic, shows emotion that was absent in the faces of the Old Kingdom pharaohs: heavy eyelids, somber mouth. Pessimism reflects mood of the time period. Also shows a determined ruler sunk in meditation. Intimate, shows what anxiety leaves on a king.

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Tomb of Khnumhotep II, Beni Hasan, Egypt. Middle Kingdom. Hollowed out of a cliff, made of rock. Post and lintel. Bares resemblance to Greek columns. Shallow columnar porch, which leads into a columned hall and then into a burial chamber filled with paintings, reliefs, and statues.

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Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt. New Kingdom. Hatshepsut was the first great female monarch whose name is recorded. As pharaoh for two decades, Hatshepsut ruled what was then the most powerful and prosperous empire in the world. Her immense funerary temple incorporated shrines to Amen, whom she claimed was her father, and to Hathor and Anubis. Possible architect: Senmut/Senenmut. Multi-level temple, post and lintel.

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King and queen of Punt and attendants, relief from the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt. New Kingdom. Painted limestone. These celebrated her reign, her divine birth, and her successful expedition to the kingdom of Punt on the Red Sea. The Egyptian sculptor depicted the queen as an obese and misshapen woman, and scholars wonder if this is accurate.

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Hatshepsut with offering jars, from the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt. New Kingdom. Red granite. Vandals smashed this, but conservators have skillfully reassembled it. This depicts the queen as a male pharaoh, consistent with inscriptions calling her “His Majesty.”

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Temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt. New Kingdom. Honors gods. Largely the work of pharaohs. Contains a pylon temple with a bilaterally symmetrical axial plan and an artificial lake associated with the primeval waters of the Egyptian creation myth.

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Columns and clerestory of the hypostyle hall (a hall with a roof resting on columns) of the temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt. New Kingdom. Support a roof of stone slabs carried on lintels.

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Model of the hypostyle hall, temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt. New Kingdom. The Egyptians, who used no mortar, depended on precise cutting of the joints and the weight of the huge stone blocks to hold the columns in place. The two central rows of columns are taller than those at the sides. The purpose of raising the roof’s central section was to create a clerestory, an elevated additional story with openings enabling sunlight to filter into the interior.

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Senenmut with Princess Nefrura, from Thebes, Egypt. New Kingdom. Granite. Block statues-popular in New Kingdom. Expressed the idea that the ka could find an eternal home in the cubic stone image of the deceased in an even simpler form than Old Kingdom. Depicts Senenmut, Hatshepsut’s chancellor and possible lover, with her daughter, Nefrura. Serves as a reflection of the power of Egypt’s queen.

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Fowling scene, from the tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, Egypt. New Kingdom. Fresco secco. Depicts Nebamun standing in his boat, flushing birds from a papyrus swamp. The hieroglyphics read that that Nebamun is enjoying recreation in his eternal afterlife. He hunts. His wife and daughter accompany him on this hunt and hold the lotuses, symbols of rebirth. Hierarchy of scale.

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Musicians and dancers, detail of a mural from the tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, Egypt. New Kingdom. Fresco secco. Two nude girls dance at a banquet. Represents one of these funerary feasts, with an ample supply of wine jars at the right. The dancers aren't in Egyptian form, demonstrating their lower social class, and their positions create an intertwined motif. The sensual women at the banquet are a reference to fertility, rebirth, and regeneration. Four seated women, two sit cross-legged, the loose arrangement of hair suggests movement and relaxation.

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Bust of Nefertiti, from Amarna, Egypt. New Kingdom. Painted limestone. (Akhenaton’s queen) Bust was discovered in the Amarna workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. People question authenticity, but some believe he deliberately left it unfinished. he left eye socket still lacks the inlaid eye, making the face a kind of before-and-after demonstration piece. Exaggerated neck, possibly to meet the era's standard of beauty. Elegant beauty with thoughtful expression.

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Portrait of Tiye, from Ghurab, Egypt. New Kingdom. Yew wood, gold, silver, alabaster, faience, and lapis lazuli. This portrait of Akhenaton’s mother is carved of dark yew wood, possibly to match the queen’s complexion. During her son’s reign, the tall gold crown with Aton's sun disk and cow horns was added. This type of crown is only worn by goddesses in Egyptian art, indicating that Tiye is diving. Mother of Akhenaton, representation of old age. Dark yew wood to match her complexion? Age lines, slanting eyes. Luxurious materials.

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Akhenaton and Nefertiti with their three daughters, from Amarna, Egypt. New Kingdom. Limestone. In this sunken relief, the Amarna artist provided a rare intimate look at the royal family in a domestic setting. Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three of their daughters bask in the life-giving rays of Aton, the sun disk, which end in hands holding the ankh, the sign of life. Mood is informal, anecdotal, intimate. Sunken relief: sculptor chisels deep outlines below the stone’s surface instead of cutting back the stone around the figures to make them project from the surface.

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Innermost coffin of Tutankhamen, from his tomb at Thebes, Egypt. New Kingdom. Gold with inlay of enamel and semiprecious stones. It is a sensitive portrayal of the serene adolescent king dressed in his official regalia, including the nemes headdress and false beard. Grandeur and richness, shows Egyptian power, pride, and limitless wealth.

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Death mask of Tutankhamen, from the innermost coffin in his tomb at Thebes, Egypt. New Kingdom. Gold with inlay of semiprecious stones. The treasures in Tutankhamen’s tomb include this mummy mask portraying the teenaged pharaoh with idealized features and wearing the traditional false beard and uraeus cobra headdress.

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Painted chest, from the tomb of Tutankhamen, Thebes, Egypt. New Kingdom. Wood. His position as king required that artists represent him as a conqueror, and he appears as a victorious general on a painted wood chest deposited in his tomb. Side panels: in chariot, much larger than other figures. On back, he draws a bow in front of enemies, who all fall before him.

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Portrait statue of Mentuemhet, from Karnak, Egypt. New Kingdom. Granite. Mentuemhet was responsible for restoring the temples the Assyrians had razed. Mentuemhet’s portrait combines a realistic face with an idealized body. The costume and pose, however, differ only slightly from Old Kingdom statuary, a testimony to the longevity of stylistic modes in Egypt.

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"White Temple" on ziggurat. Proliterate. Uruk, Iraq. Built on ziggurat: man made hill. Used mud bricks. Most likely dedicated to Anu, the sky god. Religious temple, fact that they built it with mud bricks says a great deal about their dedication to the worship of their deities. Bent-axis plan. White washed from age.

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Female Head (Inanna?). Proliterate. Uruk, Iraq. Marble, but flat in the back to be cost efficient. Originally had inlaid colored shell or stone eyes and brows, and a wig.

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Warka Vase. Proliterate. Uruk, Iraq. Alabaster. First great work of narrative relief sculpture known. Religious ceremony honoring Inanna, presentation of offerings. Three registers, common ground line. Figures in composite view, more rounded than Egyptian.

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Statuettes from Square temple at Eshnunna. Early Dynastic Period. Asmar, Iraq. Worshippers holding small beakers that Sumerians used for libations (ritual pouring of liquid). Oversized eyes symbolize wakefulness and alertness. Women wore robes, men wore belts and fringed skirts. Flat faces, inlaid eyebrows, wedge noses, carved lips.

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Stele of the Vultures/Victory Stele of Eannatum. Early Dynastic Period. Girsu, Iraq. Limestone. Stele: carved stone slab. Narrative shows Eannatum’s victory over Umma with the aid of the god Ningirsu (who was the real winner and fought for Lagash). Top: leading into battle on foot. Bottom: attacking from a war chariot. Eannatum is the biggest, showing he's the winner and most important, but the backside shows Ningirsu, who's even bigger.

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Bull-headed harp and detail. Early Dynastic Period. from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Iraq. A bearded bull’s head fashioned of gold leaf and lapis lazuli over a wood core. 4 panels on sound box of harp with uncertain significance.

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War Side of Standard of Ur. Early Dynastic Period. from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Iraq. Reads bottom to top. 1. Four war chariots crush enemies, asses in profile. 2. Foot soldiers in composite view bring away captures enemies 3. to a kinglike figure in the center who's larger.

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Peace Side of Standard of Ur. Early Dynastic Period. from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Iraq. Reads bottom to top. 1. Men carry provisions/war items on backs. 2. People transport animals to great banquet. 3. People seated at banquet/feast with harp player.

These could be one narrative, or two separate ones.

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Stele of King Naram-Sin. Akkadian Period. Susa, Iran. Pink sandstone. Naram-Sin=Akkadian ruler, defeats Lullabi. Naram-Sin is biggest and leads army up the mountain. All organized and in profile, but enemies are fallen and disorganized. Shows divinity of Naram-Sin because he is close to the heavens.

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Head of an Akkadian Ruler. Akkadian Period. Nineveh, Iraq. Copper. Embodies concept of absolute monarchy. Shows serenity, dignity, authority. Sculptor balanced naturalism and abstract patterns with accurate portrayal of face as well as interesting textures and patterns with facial hair. Deliberate damage to make a political statement.

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Gudea of Lagash (seated). Neo-Sumer and Babylon. Girsu, Iraq. Diorite. Diorite is costly and hard to carve. He is seated holding a plan of a temple for Ningirsu with his hands clasped. Dressed in long garment covered in inscriptions.

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Gudea of Lagash (standing). Neo-Sumer and Babylon. Girsu, Iraq. Calcite. Holds an overflowing water jar that symbolized the prosperity he brings to Lagash. (gods and goddesses are usually the sources of life-giving water).

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Stele with Code of Hammurabi. Neo-Sumer and Babylon. Found at Susa, Iran. Hammurabi lays down set of nearly 300 laws, and this stele records his laws. Sun god gives Hammurabi symbols of his authority to govern and judge (ex. the two make eye contact, status). Figures in profile. Sun god wearing horn crown.

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Ziggurat at Ur. Neo-Sumer and Babylon. Ur, Iraq. Mud brick. Largest in Mesopotamia. Ramp-like stairways.

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Lamassu from the Citadel of Sargon II. Assyrian Period. Our Sharrukin, Iraq. Limestone. Man headed winged bull. Ancient sculptors insisted on complete views of animals, so Lamassu has 5 legs-two seen from the front, and four seen in profile. Guarded the palace.

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Assyrian Archers pursuing Enemy, Relief from the Palace of King Ashurnasipal II. Assyrian Period. Kalhu, Iraq. Archers force them into the Euphrates. Transition between life and death.

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Ashurbanipal hunting lions, relief from the north palace of Ashurbanipal. Assyrian Period. Nineveh, Iraq. Hunting was a common subject for art of this time period. Assyrians viewed hunting and killing lions as many royal virtues on par with victory in warfare. Not in scale. Lion shot multiple times.

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Ashurnasirpal II with attendants and soldier, Glazed Brick from the Palace of King Ashurnasipal II. Assyrian Period. Ashurnasirpal II pays homage to gods, is larger than his attendants. Parasol because of heat, attendant carrying it isn't dressed well.

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Ishtar Gate at Babylon. Neo-Babylonian. Babylon, Iraq. Glazed brick. Lions, horses, etc.

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Persians and Medes, detail of the processional frieze. Persia. Palace of Darius and Xerxes, Persepolis, Iran. Royal buildings and high plateau. Relief depicted nations bringing tribute to Persian King.

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Figurine of a woman. Cycladic. Syros, Greece. Marble. Was most likely laying down, may have come from a grave. Stomach could suggest fertility. Series of triangles.

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Male Harp Player. Cycladic. Keros, Greece. Marble. Head thrown back as if responding to the music. Conveys a sense of openness-chair doesn't take up much space. May be playing for the deceased in the afterlife. Geometric shapes and flat planes.

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Kamares Ware jar. Minoan. Crete, Greece. Light figures on dark background. Marine theme: Crete is an island and used the sea for resources. Wavy lines represent the sea and waves. Shows fish and a net. Marine plants hanging down from the top. Spiral form decoration, repetition of motif. Tension: two different directions.

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Octopus Flask. Minoan. Crete, Greece. Marine style vase, dark figure on light background. 8 tentacles create a swirly motif. Tension between axis of the octopus and axis of the vessel.

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Palace of Minos at Knossos. Minoan. Knossos, Greece. Home of King Minos. Large central courtyard surrounded by other units of various purpose. Maze like, Greek myth that it's inhabited by minotaur (half man, half bull). Complex elevation and plan. Red columns, ashlar blocks used on inside.

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La Parisienne. Minoan. from the palace of Minos, Knossos, Greece. Fragment of fresco. Woman or goddess. Profile head with frontal eye, long hair.

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Snake Goddess. Minoan. from the palace of Minos, Knossos, Greece. Could be a priestess or a bare-breasted goddess. Pinched waist. Snakes in hands and feline on head symbolizes power over animal world. Snakes shed skin-->rebirth?

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Bull Leaping Fresco. Minoan. From the palace of Minos at Knossos. Shows gymnastic activity. Female have light skin, male have dark skin. Dark parts are original, rest is restored. Powerful charge of bull by elongating animals shape, sweeping lines funnel energy. Humans have pinched waists and long hair.

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Harvester Vase. Minoan. Hagia Triada (Crete), Greece. Shows a harvest celebration, everyone is bursting with energy and singing. Carrying winnowing fans. Leader is bigger than his followers. One of the earliest depictions of muscular and skeletal structure of human body. Relief.

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Hagia Triada Sarcophagus. Minoan. from Hagia Triada, Greece. Painted limestone. Illustrates Minoan ritual. Ox tied on table to be sacrificed. Motif of bull horns. Priestesses, flute player. Lots of patterns.

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Spring Fresco. Minoan. Thera, Greece. Painted in wet fresco with vivid colors. Essence of nature, swallows, lilies. Largest and most complete prehistoric pure landscape. Opposite of Paleolithic murals.

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Crocus Gatherers. Minoan. Thera, Greece. Fresco. Theme=puberty rites. Young girls pick crocuses i a rocky landscape and bring them to a goddess. Crocus flowers produce saffron which helps with menstrual cramps.

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Citadel at Tiryns, Greece. Mycenaean. Corbel-vaulted gallery in the circuit wall: horizontal courses that built up and met on top. Cyclopean blocks: not arranged perfectly.

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Citadel at Tiryns, Greece. Mycenaean. Most important place was megaron (reception hall and throne room). Approach ramp, long route.

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Lion Gate at Citadel of Mycenae. Mycenaean. Mycenae, Greece. Limestone. Represented with no humans shows protection and power of these lions. Two monoliths and huge lintel (post and lintel system)

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Funerary Mask from Grave Circle A. Mycenaean. Mycenae, Greece. Beaten gold. Closely set, squinted or closed eyes. Mycenaeans were "rich in gold." Bearded man with round face and large ears. Repoussé.

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Inlaid dagger blade with lion hunt, from Grave Circle A. Mycenaean. Mycenae, Greece. Bronze inland with gold, silver, and niello. Four hunter attacking a lion that struck down the fifth hunter. Costly weapon.

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Two Goddesses and a Child. Mycenaean. Mycenae, Greece. Ivory. Intimate and tender theme; hunting is usually the subject.

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Female Head (sphinx?). Mycenaean. Mycenae, Greece. Painted plaster. Light flesh=female. Staring eyes.

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Treasury of Atreus. Mycenaean. Mycenae, Greece. Earth mound covers burial chamber. Beehive shaped tholos consists of corbeled courses of stone blocks laid on a circular base.

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Warrior Vase. Mycenaean. Mycenae, Greece. Mixing bowl. Woman bidding farewell to a bunch of heavily armed Mycenaean warriors. Silhouette outline and combination of frontal and profile view.

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Hunter capturing a bull, Vapheio Cup. Mycenaean. Greece. Not much info. Gold.