Aegean Art

The first unidentified piece of artwork, of the fisherman, in my opinion would fall under the Minoan category. I chose the Minoans as the producers of this fisherman for several reasons. One very important reason being that the body style is much more naturalistic than we generally see in Cycladic and Mycenean artwork. The Cycladic people produced very stylized human depictions and the Mycenaens seemed to have more cartoon like depictions. However, this man’s waist is only slightly pinched, which is a main characterization of Minoan artwork. Yet, we are seeing him in profile view similar to what we saw from the Egyptians without the frontward facing shoulders. The Minoans were influenced by the Egyptians and were known to trade with them. That leads me to believe that this is in face a Minoan piece due to its Egyptian like stance. Another point that leads me to believe that this piece of art is Minoan is because the depiction of fish. The Minoans were very in touch with nature specifically marine life. The “Flottlla” fresco seen in this weeks lecture depicts many boats, which shows us the Minoan people were in fact fishers. In the same fresco we also see dolphins, which show us their interest in marine life. One thing however that gives me a slight hesitation in identifying this artwork as a Minoan piece is that the human is in fact painted. As touched on in the lecture Minoans were known for carving their depictions of humans rather than painting as the Mycenaens did.

The second unidentified piece of artwork of the vase appears to be from the Mycenean people. One major thing that leads me to believe this artwork is Mycenean is because the paintings on it appear to be quite cartoon like. It is hard to identify whether or not these figures are humans or animals. Their proportions are far from naturalistic and they do not have a pinched waist, which was often seen in the Minoan culture. The Cycladic people had very stylized work with the a very long almost sharp nose and elegant body. Therefore, I am led to believe that this vase does in face come from the Mycenean people. The Mycenean people were also very war oriented people. That fact helps me to categorize this as Mycenean because it looks as if the figures are riding in a chariot or some type of horse drawn carriage that could have possibly been used in warfare. The figures that are shown on the vase seem to all have a nose that is quite pointed. In this weeks lecture we saw a warrior vase that had warriors with a somewhat similar nose structure. In the same warrior vase we see that none of the figures are overlapping. That is common in the Mycenean artwork. In this unidentified vase we see no figures overlapping each other. I feel that this couldn’t be Minoan artwork because it has no sense of nature and the figures are far from naturalistic. The figures also don’t remind of the Cycladic stylized figures. Thus, I come to the conclusion that this may have come from the Mycenean people. 

Egyptian Art

The ziggurats of the ancient near east and the pyramids of Giza are both without a doubt monumental structures. They share many physical similarities while at the same time they greatly differ in their purpose and functions. When looking at the structures it is quite obvious that the pyramids and ziggurats alike share a striking similarity in form. Both are pyramidal in shape. A ziggurat of the ancient near east is basically a stepped pyramid, which can be seen as the blue print or precursor to the pyramidal shape. The ziggurats were at one time in history white washed to enhance their appearance. Similarly the pyramids at one time had a white limestone casing that would beautifully reflect the light. Both share a great importance to their cultures as well as to their religious beliefs. Another thing they both have in common is that they were both built for one person or god that has great power.

However, there are many things that differ between both ziggurats and the pyramids of Giza. The pyramids are far larger than the average ziggurat. The pyramids of Giza standing at a colossal 450 feet make an average ziggurat of the ancient near east at 170 feet tall seem almost insignificant. Ziggurats were made out of sun-dried brick held together with a tar like substance, while the pyramids are made of stone. With each stone weighing in at a mind blowing 2.5 tons. The pyramids were built as a tomb or resting place for the pharohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. Due to them being the burial site of a pharoh the pyramids were not completely solid. There has to be a place for the pharoh to rest, which is the burial chamber located at the center of the pyramid. Ziggurats on the other hand were used as a way to become closer to the gods. It is considered a meeting place or shrine that is between heaven and earth. Ziggurats are built up on terraced earth so they can be as close to the gods as possible and are completely solid. Each ziggurat would function as a place to worship and individual god or goddess. A very important difference between a ziggurat and the pyramids is that pyramids are meant for a person of importance to be laid to rest inside it, while a ziggurat was meant to have a person worship on top of it. While the shapes of both are almost identical the purposes for the shape greatly differ. It is believed that the reason pyramids are shaped in such a way is because slanted angles are suggested to represent the slanting rays of the sun. However, the slanting sides of the ziggurat were made for rain run off. Both the pyramids and the ziggurats are large scale structures that have left many baffled by their immense size and the people's great devotion to the pharohs or gods that they built these great monuments for.

The Ancient Near East

The Sumerian culture put a great emphasis on the importance of gods and deities. The roles the gods played were in fact so important in their society that much of the artwork found from the Sumerians were religiously based. Amongst those religiously driven pieces of artwork are votive figures. Dated back to 2900-2600 BCE and founded in 1932-1933 in the Square Temple in Eshnunna.

The medium used in order to create these figures was limestone. Though at the time the Sumerian artists were also using other mediums such as an array of of precious metals. These limestone figures were believed to have a much more practical purpose than what meets the eye. The votive figures are fairly small, with the largest figure standing at thirty inches. Though many are small in size the scale does not seem to take away from their powerful presence. While each figure slightly differs from the next there are several distinct attributes that each obtain. All stand with hands folded in a prayerful way. When looking at these votive figures it is nearly impossible to overlook the wide and attentive stares looking off into the distance. These gazes, at first glance, are somewhat overwhelming seeing as the eyes are intensely exaggerated  in order to put emphasis on them. The creator of these votive figures  clearly wanted the eyes to be out of proportion with the rest of the figure in order to emphasize their watchfulness and openness to the gods. It is as if they are constantly locked in eye contact with the image of the god they are set in front of. The votive figures are represented in a very stylized manner. The eyes and beards are heavily stylized, making them very recognizable to the Ancient Near East time period. We see the same stylized beard on many other pieces of artwork from the time such as Head of a Man (Known as Akkadian Ruler) and the same beard is even seen on The Great Lyre with Bull's Head. It is believed that at one point the eyebrows were inlaid with things such as stone and shell in order to put even more emphasis on the large eyes. All the figures, men and women alike, have large legs and feet. The men wear nothing on their upper half while wearing sheepskin skirts on the bottom. The women are covered in sheepskin as well. They are all cylindrical in shape with fairly broad shoulders. All the bodies appear to have a smooth texture, while the men's beards are heavily textured.

These pieces are in fact devotional figures that represent individual worshipers. Their function is to be a stand-in put in an actual shrine in front of an image of a god for an individual. Thus, it is as if they are constantly in worship even if the individual is physically not in the shrine. These votive figures are depicted as both men and women posed in a very respectful posture.

Something that I find to be very interesting about these devotional figures is that there are inscriptions identifying each sculpture. It was the Sumerians who invented writing. The words were represented as pictographs called cuneiform. It was indeed cuneiform that was used to identify each votive figure. However, it is not the individual's name that is detailed onto the figure, but rather what that individual has done in honor of the god. So some figures could be inscribed with very little showing that individual has yet to accomplish many things in the honor of the god, while others could have large amounts of inscriptions.

When looking at these figures the first reaction I have to them is that their look is somewhat frightening. Frightening because the eyes are so out of proportion with the rest of their bodies; it is unlike anything I have ever seen. However, after taking time to really examine these votive figures their prayerful stature is what I focus in on more so than the eyes. These devotional figures are very interesting and unconventionally beautiful to me.