APAH 250

Apollo 11 Stones

Nambia. c. 25000-25300 B.C.E. Charcoal on stone

The earliest history of rock painting and engraving arts in Africa. The oldest known of any kind from the African continent.

Great Hall of Bulls

Lascaux, France. Paleolithic Europe. 15000-13000 B.C.E. Rock Painting

represents the earliest surviving examples of the artistic expression of early people. Shows a twisted perspective.

Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine

Tequixquiac, central Mexico. 14000-7000 B.C.E. Bone.

The shape was created by using subtractive techniques and utilizing already apparent features in the bone, like the holes for eyes. It was a first look at how people began manipulating their environment to created what they wanted.

Running horned women

Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria. 6000-4000 B.C.E. Pigment on rock.

The painting shows great contrast between the dark and light mediums used. There is also great detail put into the decorations of the woman. Most interestingly, though, there is a transparency to the larger woman and the figures behind her show through.

Beaker with ibex motifs

Susan, Iran. 4200-3500 B.C.E. Painted terra cotta.

One of the first ceramic pieces, made from clay and intricately designed with mineral and plant paint in painstaking detail. The vessel portrays a Ibex, a type of goat native to the area, and also canine figures along the rim. At the time, dogs were used to hunt animals like Ibexes. The painting might have been done with small brushes made from plant material or human or animal hair

Anthropomorphic stele

Arabian Peninsula. Fourth millennium B.C.E. Sandstone.

Very stylized representation of a human figure, carved from stone. Has a make image and carries knives in sheaths across the chest and a knife tucked into a belt.

Jade cong

Liangzhu, China. 3300-2200 B.C.E. Carved jade.

Like one of many, this was a jade piece with decorative carvings, unique shape, and symbolic purpose. The stone might have held spiritual or symbolic meanings to the early cultures of China.

Stonehenge

Wiltshire, U.K. Neolithic Europe. c. 2500-1600 B.C.E. Sandstone

Stonehenge is a famous site know for its large circles of massive stones in a seemingly random location as well as the mystery surrounding how and why it was built. The stones are believed to be from local quarries and farther off mountains. There is also evidence of mud, wood, and ropes assisting in the construction of the site.

The Ambum Stone

Ambum Valley, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. c. 1500 B.C.E. Greywacke

This is a sculpture of some sort of anteater-like creature made from a very rounded stone. With intense use of subtractive sculpting, this piece achieves a freestanding neck and head while still maintaining much of the original shape of the stone. It still uses natural materials and depicts a natural animal.

Tlatilco female figurine

Central Mexico, site of Tlatico. 1200-900 B.C.E. Ceramic

The piece also stands as foreshadowing of the great civilizations that develop in south and meso-america and the art that is produced.

Terra Cotta Fragment

Lapita. Solomon Islands, Reef Islands. 1000 B.C.E. Terra cotta (incised)

One of the first examples of the Lapita potter's art, this fragment depicts a human face incorporated into the intricate geometric designs characteristics of the Lapita ceramic tradition.

White Temple and its Zuggurat

Uruk (modern Warka, Iraq). Sumerian. c. 35000-3000 B.C.E. Mud Brick.

Rooms for different functions. Cella (highest room) for high class priests and nobles.

Very geometric (4 corners of structure facing in cardinal directions) Platform stair stepped up

Palette of King Narmer

Pre-dynastic Egypt. c. 3000-2920 B.C.E Greywacke

Egyptian archelogical find, dating from about the 31st century B.C, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscription ever found.

Statue of Votive figures from the Square Temple at Eshnunna

Sumerian. c. 2700 B.C.E. Gypsum inland with shell and black limestone

Surrogate for donor and offers constant prayer to deities. Placed in the Temple facing altar of the state gods

Seated Scribe

Saqqara, Egypt. Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynastic. c. 2620-2500 B.C.E. Painted limestone. the sculpture of the seated scribe is one of them most important examples of ancient Egyptian art because it was one of the rare examples of Egyptian naturalism, as most Egyptian art is highly idealized and very rigid.

Standard of Ur from the royal tombs

Summerian. c. 26000-24000 B.C.E. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis, lazuli, and red limestone.

Found in one of the largest graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, lying in the corner of a chamber above a soldier who is believed to have carried it on a long pole as a standard, the royal emblem of a king.

Great Pyramids (Menkaura, Khafre, Khufu) and Great Sphinx

Giza, Egypt. Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynasty. c. 2550-2490 B.C.E. Cut limestone.

The Great Sphinx is believed to be the most immense stone sculpture ever made by man.

(stone, tombs, statues, animal symbolism)

The code of Hammurabi

Babylon (modern Iran). Susain. c. 1792-1750 B.C.E. Basalt.

In this stone is carved with around 300 laws, the first know set of ruler enforced laws.

(Stone, carved, laws, inscriptions)

Temple of Amun-re and Hypostyle Hall

Karnark, near Luxor, Egypt. New Kingdom, 18th and 19th Dynasties. Temple: c. 1550 B.C.E.; hall: c. 1250 B.C.E. Cut sandstone and mud brick.

The Hypostyle Hall is also the largest and most elaborately decorated of all such buildings in Egypt and the patchwork of artistic styles and different royal names seen in these inscriptions and relief sculptures reflect the different stages at which they were carved over the centuries. As the temple of Amun-re is the largest religious complex in the world.

Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters

New Kingdom (Amarna), 18th Dynasty. c. 1353-1335 B.C.E. Limestone.

This small stele, probably used as a home altar, gives an seldom opportunity to view a scene from the private live of the king and queen.

King Menkaura and Queen

Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynasty. c. 2490-2472 B.C.E. Greywacke

Representational, proportional, frontal viewpoint, hierarchical structure.

They were perfectly preserved and nearly life-size. This was the modern world's first glimpse of one of humankind's artistic masterworks, the statue of Menkaura and queen.

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

Near Luxor, Egypt. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty. c. 1473-1458 B.C.E. Sandstone, partially carved into a rock cliff, and red granite.

It sits directly against the rock which forms a natural amphitheater around it so that the temple itself seems to grow from the living rock. Most beautiful of all of the temples of Ancient Egypt.

Tutankhamun's Tomb, intermost coffin. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty. c. 1,323 B.C.E. Gold with inlay of enamel and semiprecious stones.

The kings gold inner coffin, shown above, displays a quality of workmanship and an attention to detail which is unsurpassed. It is a stunning example of the Ancient goldsmith's art

Last judgement of Hu-Nefer, from his tomb

New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty. c. 1,275 B.C.E. Painted papyrus scroll

In Hu-Nefer's scroll, the figures have all the formality of stance,shape, and attitude of traditional egyptian art. Abstract figures and hieroglyphs alike are aligned rigidly. Nothing here was painted in the flexible, curvilinear style suggestive of movement that was evident in the art of Amarna and Tutankhamen. The return to conservatism is unmistakable.

Lamassu from the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin

Neo-Assyrian. c. 720-705 B.C.E. Alabaster

The Assyrian lamassu sculptures are partly in the round, but the sculptor nonetheless conceived them as high reliefs on adjacent sides of a corner. The combine the front view of the animal at rest with the side view of it in motion. Seeking to present a complete picture of the lamas from both the front and the side, the sculptor gave the monster five legs- two seen from the front, four seen from the side.

Athenian agora

Archiac through Hellenistic Greek. 600 B.C.E.-150 C.E. Plan

It is the most richly adorned and quality of its sculptural decoration it is surpassed only by the Parthenon. the sculptural decoration and certain sections of the roof were made up of Parian marble.

Anavysos Kouros

Archaic Greek. c. 530 B.C.E. Marble with remnants of paint

Geometric almost abstract forms predominate, and complex anatomical details, such as the chest muscles and pelvic arch, are rendered in beautiful analogous patterns. It exemplifies two important aspects of Archaic Greek art—an interest in lifelike vitality and a concern with design.

Peplos Kore from the Acropolis

Archiac Greek. c. 530 B.C.E. Marble, painted details

Greeks painted their sculptures in bright colors and adorned them with metal jewelry

Sarcophagus of the Spouses

Etruscan. c. 520 B.C.E. Terra cotta

The Sarcophagus of the Spouses as an object conveys a great deal of information about Etruscan culture and its customs. The convivial theme of the sarcophagus reflects the funeral customs of Etruscan society and the elite nature of the object itself provides important information about the ways in which funerary custom could reinforce the identity and standing of aristocrats among the community of the living.

Audience Hall of Darius and Xerxes

Persepolis, Iran. Persian. c. 520-465 B.C.E. Limestone

It was the largest building of the complex, supported by numerous columns and lined on three sides with open porches. The palace had a grand hall in the shape of a square, each side 60m long with seventy-two columns, thirteen of which still stand on the enormous platform. Relief artwork, originally painted and sometimes gilded, covered the walls of the Apadana depicting warriors defending the palace complex.

Temple of Minerva and sculpture of Apollo

Master sculptor Vulca. c. 510-500 B.C.E. Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa; terra cotta sculpture

The Temple of Minerva was a colorful and ornate structure, typically had stone foundations but its wood, mud-brick and terracotta superstructure suffered far more from exposure to the elements.

Apollo Master sculpture was a completely Etruscan innovation to use sculpture in this way, placed at the peak of the temple roof—creating what must have been an impressive tableau against the backdrop of the sky.

Tomb of the Triclinium

Tarquinia, Italy. Etruscan. c. 480-470 B.C.E. Tufa and fresco

He considers the artistic quality оf the tomb's frescoes tо be superior tо those оf mоst оther Etruscan tombs. The tomb іs named after the triclinium, the formal dining room whіch appears іn the frescoes оf the tomb.

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