Flashcards

Art History Study Guide

Sarah Maher Arts English 45 cards

Acheulean Hand Axe knapped from a nodule of flint with a centrally situated embedded fossil shell. Recovered from Tofts…

Cards in this deck (45)

1—Acheulean Hand Axe knapped from a nodule of flint with a centrally situated embedded fossil shell. Recovered from Tofts, Norfolk, England
2—“The Lion Panel,” Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave (Ardèche, France), c. 32-30,000 years old
3—Spotted horses from Pech Merle Cave (Occitania, France), c. 25,000 years old.
Note the head of the right horse conforms to a head-shaped protrusion from the wall.
Also note the negative handprints, which were stenciled using a technique where pigment was blown from the mouth. The horses were also made with this technique, which was common in the Upper Paleolithic period
4—Panel of the Wounded Man, Lascaux, c. 16–13,000 years old
5—Woman of Willendorf (Austria), figurine carved from limestone and highlighted with red ochre, c. 30,000 years old
6—Woman of Dolní Věstonice (Moravia, Czech Republic),
c. 31–27,000 years old
This Upper Paleolithic figure made from clay fired at a low temperature is the earliest known use of ceramics in the world
7—Reconstruction drawing of an enclosure at Göbekli Tepe
8—Examples of a relief carved on a pillar at Göbekli Tepe
9—Room at Çatal Höyük showing the inclusion of bucrania into a platform
10—Reconstruction drawing of Çatal Höyük
11—Marble sculpture of a woman from Çatal Höyük, c. 6300–6100 BCE. It was found carefully buried beneath the floor of a domestic room along with a piece of obsidian.
12—Anthropomorphic statues from ‘Ain Ghazal (Jordan) made of lime plaster modeled around a core of reeds bound with twine. c. 7150–6650 BCE
13—Photo and diagram of Stonehenge (Wiltshire, England), consisting of a 33 m (108-ft.) diameter circle of 30 upright sarsen (local sandstone) stones, each around 4.1 m (13 ft.) high and weighing around 25 tons, spanned by a further 30 lintel sarsens. A horseshoe of five triliths (two upright stones supporting a lintel) was arranged in the center with its open end facing east. Smaller bluestones from 125 miles away were also arranged within the circle. c. 2600–2400 BCE. The stone circle at Stonehenge was built within an earlier earthwork, constructed c. 3000 BCE, consisting of a circular ditch of around 100 m (328 ft.) diameter with an inner and outer bank and a series of 56 holes that indicate a circle of upright timbers or stones. The so-called Heel Stone to the northeast is aligned with an entrance in the earthwork and the later horseshoe of triliths and marks the solstices.
14—Sumerian Proto-Cuneiform Tablet, likely from Uruk (modern-day Warka, Iraq), clay, c. 3100–2900 BCE
15—Calcite cylinder seal (left) with roll-out impression (right), Uruk IV period, c. 3300–2900 BCE
16—The Uruk Vase (The Warka Vase), c. 3200–3000 BCE, alabaster
17—Sumerian votive statues excavated from the Abu Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar, Iraq), Early Dynastic Period (c. 2900–2550 BCE), gypsum, limestone, and alabastar, with inlaid shell, limestone, and lapis lazuli eyes
18—The Standard of Ur, excavated from the Royal Cemetery of Ur (modern-day Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq), c. 2600–2550 BCE, mosaic of shell, limestone, and lapis lazuli
Represented the conditions of war and peace
The scenes are sequential as well as shown side by side, the scenes are the battle and the feast that follows, could be seen as a war panel and a peace panel or seen as a timeline
19—Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
c. 2250 BCE
This monument was found in Susa (Iran), where it was taken in the 12th century BCE by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte after a military victory over the city of Sippar (modern-day Tell Abu Habbah, Iraq).
This monument commemorates the Akkadian king’s victory over the Lullubi people of the Zagros mountains.
This monument uses hieratic scale, in which the importance of figures is indicated by their relative sizes.
20—Head of an Akkadian Ruler (probably Manishtushu), found in the Northern Palace at Nineveh (modern-day Mosul, Iraq), c. 2300–2200 BCE, copper alloy
Ahead of its time, many people thought this piece was made later when they had the technology but it was actually made around 2300-2200 BCE
21—Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu, Ur
Made in the Bronze Age, Came from Babylonian time 2000 BCE
Building was restored, The inside is made of mudbrick but the outside is reinforced with fired stone bricks so the building is standing well
The building is the administrative center, the community center, used to store food after the harvest
22—Stele of the Law Code of Hammurabi, Babylonian, c. 1754 BCE, basalt, height = 2.25 m (7.4 ft.)
Originally erected in Sippar (modern-day Tell Abu Habbah, Iraq), this monument was found in Susa (Iran), where it was taken in the 12th century BCE by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte after a military victory over the city.
The stele is inscribed with 282 rules prescribing punishments for crimes, establishing terms of contract such as wages and liabilities, and addressing family issues such as patrimony, divorce, and inheritance.
Such a codification of laws suggests a desire for justice, preventing arbitrary judgments or punishments. However, there is a strong bias in the degree of punishments meted out based on the social status of the victims of crimes.
23—A pair of lamassu from Ashurnasirpal II’s palace at
Kalhu (modern-day Nimrud, Iraq), c. 883–859 BCE, alabaster
24—Relief from the palace of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh (modern-day Mosul, Iraq) showing the king relaxing in his garden, c. 645–635 BCE, alabaster,
(Details of reliefs depicting lion hunts from the palace
of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh)
25—Striding lion formed from modeled and glazed bricks, from the Processional Way leading to the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, c. 604–562 BCE
26—Portion of the Ishtar Gate as it has been reconstructed in Berlin Babylon, c. 604–562 BCE
27—Reliefs from the East Stairs of the Apadana at Persepolis depicting people from the various regions under Persian rule bringing tribute to the capital.
28—Predynastic Egyptian knife from Gebel el-Arak, flint
blade in hippopotamus ivory handle carved with relief imagery, Naqada II Period, c. 3300–3200 BCE
29—The Palette of Narmer, Protodynastic Egyptian slate palette carved with reliefs on both sides, found in the temple of Horus at Nekhen (Hierakonpolis), c. 3100– 2950 BCE
Palette was used to grind kohl
Ritual Palettes are the large decorated palettes
Found in temples
Upper side of palette is marked by a circular well used to grind the kohl in
Narmar is the pharaoh who is depicted larger than the other people on the slate
30—Stepped Pyramid of King Djoser (also called Netjerikhet) at Saqqara, designed by Imhotep, Third Dynasty, c. 2630–2575 BCE, limestone
Many were built with mud brick so they haven’t lasted very long
Imhotep was the first “architect” in the time to make the mastaba out of stone
Helped make them more permanent
31—Reconstruction drawing of the Pyramids of Giza.
Fourth Dynasty, c. 2550– 2470 BCE.
From right to left, the pyramids belonged to
Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, and they were built in that order.
The pyramids contain the burial chambers, funerary temples abut them, and long covered causeways connect these to valley temples at the edge of the floodplain.
32—The Pyramid of Khafre, Giza, Fourth Dynasty, c. 2520–2494 BCE.
The pyramid is entirely made from limestone blocks weighing around 2 tons each. It measures 215.5 m (706 ft.) per side and rises 136.4 m (448 ft.). It was originally covered with a casing of polished white limestone, part of which remains at the top.
33—Two views of a statue of King Menkaure and his Queen, from the Valley Temple of the pharaoh at Giza, Fourth Dynasty, c. 2490–2472 BCE, greywacke,
34—Two views of the “Seated Scribe” statue, Saqqara, Fourth or Fifth Dynasty, c. 2600–2350 BCE, plastered and painted limestone with inlaid eyes of quartz crystal
35—Painted limestone wall relief from the mastaba of Ti, a high-ranking official in the Fifth Dynasty, c. 2450–2350 BCE, Saqqara, height = 114.3 cm (45 in.)
Ti is shown in a boat witnessing a hippopotamus hunt. The tall reeds of the marsh form a background of parallel lines, with some being bent at the top where animals are stalking birds. Note the contrast between Ti and the other figures, both in terms of their relative sizes and their postures.
36—Opening of the Mouth Ceremony from the Book of the Dead of Hunefer, 19th Dynasty, c. 1300–1275 BCE, pigments on papyrus
37—Alabaster shrine containing four canopic jars from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, 18th Dynasty, c. 1327 BCE, Valley of the Kings, near Thebes. One of the jar lids is seen frontally in the image at left.
Canopic jars held the organs removed from the body of the deceased. Each of the four jars held a different organ: stomach, intestines, lungs, and liver. The heart, as the seat of the soul, was left in the body.
38—Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahari, 18th Dynasty,
c. 1473–1458 BCE.
The platform of the Mortuary Temple of Mentuhotep II, dating to over 500 years prior, can be seen directly behind (next to) Hatshepsut’s temple.
39—The Amarna Period, 18th Dynasty
Limestone relief panel from a domestic altar, Akhetaten
Many Gods existed but Amenhotep said there was actually only one God, one sun God- Aten
Amenhotep moves the capital to a new capital, which he built
As a semi- god-figure he had the power to make this switch
There was also a switch in style
Amenhotep made the style switch to more androgynous-looking statues, less formulaic depiction of the human body
40—Two views of the model bust of Nefertiti, excavated from
the workshop of the royal sculptor Thutmose in Akhetaten (Amarna), 18th Dynasty, c. 1353–1335 BCE, plastered and painted limestone with inlaid quartz eye
41—Luxor Temple, 18th–19th Dynasties, c. 1400–1225 BCE
View across the Court of Ramesses to the Colonnade. Note the papyrus bud columns
around the court and the taller papyrus columns with open umbels forming the colonnade at back. Colossal statue of Ramesses II from the Court of Ramses.
42—Fangjia (wine vessel)
Fu Hao’s Tomb, Anyang, Shang Dynasty, c. 1300 BCE, bronze
Clay molding, skilled process
Petina is the oxidation process that causes bronze to turn green
43—Cycladic Islands
Early Cycladic II female figure, c. 2600–2400 BCE,
figure to the right showing traces of (now faded) paint on the face and the geometric proportions of the body
44—Minoan Bull-Leaping Fresco from the Palace of Knossos (Crete), c. 1550–1450 BCE, width = approx. 104.5 cm (41.1 in.).
Discovered in fragments as part of the fill of a renovation to the Court of the Stone Spout, located at the east side of the Central Court, this fresco has been significantly reconstructed.
45—Minoan bull-head rhyton (pouring vessel) from the Little Palace near Knossos (Crete), c. 1600–1450 BCE, steatite, jasper, rock crystal, and mother of pearl