The Lamassu is a mythological winged human-headed bull that guards the Assyrian palace of Sargon II in Khorsabad, Iraq around 721 to 705 BCE. There are theories that they were sculpted at the palace gates to ward off evil and fend off invasions. Archaeologists theorized that the Lamassu had influenced other winged animal and human hybrids throughout the ages from Ancient Mesopotamia to Ancient Greece and to the Romanesque and Asia Minor. One, for example, is the Chimera of Arezzo, Italy from the Etruscans Late Classical period of the 4th century BCE. There were some debates about the origins of the Lamassu - where and what period the statuette was made and how much influence did it impacted other mythological winged hybrids.
Emeline Richardson researched and learned that many Etruscan sculptures and artifacts, like the Chimera from Arezzo, were made of bronze and other materials and artifacts imported from the Eastern regions – Northern Syria or Anatolia, Phoenicia, and Egypt. These imported materials “supplied the motifs that characterize the Orientalizing styles” in Ancient Greece, including winged monster hybrid figures. For example, the Ivory Sphinx from Cerveteri has it’s
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art style traced back from Syria, figures like the sphinx and other hybrids, possibly the Winged-Bull Lamassu from Mesopotamia, were shared and passed down to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The style evolved with winged hybrids as the style is passed down to Etruscan civilizations. An example of that is the magnificent head of a bronze siren, a bird with a human head and arms, found on the rim of a cauldron in the Bernardini Tomb at Palestrina, Italy. These are theorized by Richardson to be keys for sculptors and artists to form the new art styles in the Etruscan civilization. The result of one of those Etruscan art is the bronze sculpture of Chimera from Arezzo. Joseph Campbell and M. J. Abadie researched that the Lamassu, a winged lion-bull with a human head, is comprised in one body of four signs of the earliest period of Mesopotamian zodiac and astronomy. They marked the solstices and equinoxes: the Bull for the spring equinox and eastern quarter, the Lion for the summer solstice and southern quarter, the Eagle (later changed to the Scorpio) for the autumn equinox and western quarter, and the Water Carrier for the winter solstice and northern quarter. In Henri Frankfort’s study about the Lamassu, during the Late Assyrian period, they are known to be “Assyrian Winged Genii(s) protecting the palace of royalty.” A relief at the entrance to Sargon’s throne room shows Lamassus doing a variety of activities and chores. One is seen carrying timber from the mountains to be transported by sea. Another is seen escorting transport ships. The sculpture Lamassu statuettes serve as entrance guards that protect the king’s palace, and more painted on the walls of the hallway to the throne room “producing an overwhelming impression of power.” Jona Lendering researched that the Lamassu, in the Sumerian myth, the word ‘lama’ refers to a female protective deity or servant, and is often represented as a standing figure to introduce guests to other superior gods. While the Akkadians counterpart is male using the word ‘alad’ or ‘šêdu.’ However, during his survey about the Lamassu’s background and history, he discovered that there were conflicting varieties of the Lamassu in the Sumerian and Akkadian mythology during the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 883-612 BCE. They were depicted to have wings and human heads, an placed as guardians at the gateway entrance to the royal palace like Khorsabad and Nineveh, to ward off evil. Later defined by the Egyptians as ‘sphinxes.’ However, they were portrayed to have five legs. Though many believed that the fifth leg is carved on purpose to show movement. They were named as either Aladlammû for the male version and the Apsasû for the female. In Persepolis, the Lamassu still stand at the Gate of all Nations, the entrance of the Palace of Xerxes. They also served as capitals of the palace columns in one of the buildings identified as either the Council Hall or the Tripylon (“triple gate”). Modern interpretations evaluated that the Lamassu is the combining mythological and protective deity of a Bull representing Strength, an Eagle for Freedom, and a Human for Intelligence. The Chimera of Arezzo, sculpted around 400 BCE, represents the battle between Bellerophon and Chimera and was marked with inscriptions as an opulent offering to Tinscvil, Tinia, the chief god of Etruscan pantheon. Getty Villa looked into the Arezzo Chimera’s history and found multiple sources that the sculpture was commissioned by an aristocratic clan or a prosperous community and placed in a religious sanctuary near the ancient Etruscan town of Arezzo. For Getty Villa’s research, the Arezzo Chimera is considered an “outstanding example of the Etruscans’ skill in metalwork of bronze sculpting.” The Chimera’s posture of defense suggests that the sculpture was originally part of a set of sculptures that included two other hybrids: Bellerophon and Pegasus. The set, along with small votive bronzes, serve as religious dedication and worship to Tinia, the Etruscan god of the sky. The bronze “Wounded” Chimera from Arezzo, sculpted during the second quarter of the 4th century, is considered as a rare surviving sculpture of a “once famous but nearly extinct class of ancient sculpture.” In comparison to other sculpted art pieces that attain equivalent perfection while dealing with domestic themes, Otto Brendel researched and contrasted that “the Chimera renders Greek beast of fable in Greek iconic scheme.
Outstanding works of noticeably Greek bent, when found in Etruria, always raise questions about if they were, in fact, not of Greek origin.” However, the Chimera from Arezzo has classification with Greek art that was invited into the Etruscan civilization and art, and Brendel researched that Etruria had very limited supply of bronze or of similar material worth to
show. The sculpture’s zoology of the Chimera was traced to its counterparts among Greek lions, but the manner of representing lions became a recipe for Classical art style by the end of 5th century. But Chimera symbolizes the pseudo-naturalism of anatomy in contrast with ornamental styling and artificial order of the hair and mane features. It was detailed with near realistic patterns on the head to make the sculpture appear alive. The raised muscles above the eyes has its Etruscan art descent, but modernized in form yet still symbolizes physiognomical danger and denotes anger and fierceness of the wounded beast.
Throughout the history of Ancient Greece thousands of great works of art were produced. Works were created in many different media, ranging from life-size statues to larger than life architectural structures. One type of art that can sometimes be overlooked, though, is pottery. There are many examples of great Greek pottery, but the two that will be used as a sample are Artemis Slaying Actaeon and Woman and Maid. By considering the backgrounds of these works, and comparing them directly we are able get a taste not only of the artistic styles of the time, but also a taste of ancient Greek culture.
The difference between an archaic statue such as Kroisos (fig. 5-11) and a classical statue such as Doryphoros (fig. 5-42) may not seem very great in a single glance. In fact, you may not notice any differences in that one glance. Yet, if you were to look at them closely, you can see that these two statues actually have very little in common.
In conclusion, although Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II and Augustus of Primaporta, do appear very different, come from entirely different geographic regions and were separated by thousands of years, they do have many things in common. When we consider subject, style, and function; perhaps other works of art have more in common than they appear to have.
The development of an empire is a change strongly emphasized in the Archeology as a radical departure from the Hellenic tradition, and consequently a major source of conflict among the Greeks. Prior to the adven...
Burckhardt, Jacob, The Greeks and Greek Civilization, St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10010, 1998.
I visited the Oriental Institute of Chicago Museum, which contains various artifacts, I choose a Model Hippopotamus from Egypt. The hippopotamus is dated to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, circa 1878 BC. According to wall text at the Oriental Institute of Chicago, hippopotamuses in Egyptian culture represented the enemies of the ruler. I was attracted to the Model Hippopotamus based on its size/shape, lines, texture, and the color.
...r. "Ancient Greece." Gardner's art through the ages the western perspective. 13th ed., Backpack ed. Boston, Mass.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 101, 123,129. Print.
...ity in Classical Athens. New York, NY: Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) in Collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, 2008. Print.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘Egyptian Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Art. New Series, Vol. 41, No. 3, Egyptian Art (Winter, 1983-1984): pp. 1+3-56
The trip to the metropolitan museum was a great trip to learn and to study art. What is art you may ask, well art is an expression you use to show a visual picture. It can be through painting or through sculptures. Some other example of art is music, literature and dancing. For today 's paper we will be talking about art as a sculpture. The two sculptures in this photo are King Sahure and a Nome God and Marble Statue of Dionysos leaning on archaistic female figure (Hope Dionysos). You can find these statues in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. King Sahure and a Nome God is an Egyptian art that was made in 2458-2446 BCE. The artist is unknown. It was during the 5th dynasty and it also belong to the old kingdom. The Marble statue of Dionysos Leaning in the archaistic female figure is a Greco-Roman art. Belonging to the Roman imperial period of the late first century A.D. Augustan or Julio-Claudian period 27 B.C., to 68 AD. It is classified as a stone sculpture and it is made out of marble. The height of the statues is 82 ¾ inches. There is no evidence who was the original artist.
The human-headed winged bull, or lamassu, of Khorsabad, a northern city of Iraq, is a colossal sculpture. The sculpture guarded the entrance to king Sargon II throne room.
In modern society, Greek pottery is considered an art which is regarded as much for its aesthetic splendor as its historical significance. However, the role of pottery in ancient Greek culture was far more functional as its primary use was for the transportation and storage of such liquids as water and wine (Encyclopedia Britannica). Due to the durability of the fired clay material, Greek pottery is the only remaining art form that allows us to explore the evolution of this ancient culture. Through that examination, three distinct stylistic periods have been unveiled: Geometric, Orientalizing and Archaic. This analysis will detail these distinct periods as well as three design techniques prevalently used: black figure, red figure and white ground
Honour, Hugh, and John Fleming. "Hellenistic and Roman Art." A World History of Art. London: Laurence King, 1999. 179-213. Print.
The “Sacred Tree,” (fig. 1) was originally positioned behind the king’s throne. The scene shows two genii, sometimes with birds’ heads and sometimes with men’s heads and the horned hats of gods. Each of the winged figures holds a bucket and reaches out with an oval object toward a stylized “tree.” The composition has been read as being based on bilateral symmetry, with the vertical stalk-like structure crowned by a palmette. A meticulous examination reveals that although balanced, it has many discrepancies on both sides that deviate from perfect mirror symmetry. Ashurnasirpal appears twice, shown from two sides, dressed in ceremonial robes and holding a mace connoting his authority. The figure of the king on the right makes an invocative gesture a god in a winged disk in the top center of the relief. Ashur, the national god or Shamash, the god of the sun and justice, may be identified as the god who confers the king divine right. On the left, the king holds a ring, an ancient Mesopotamian symbol of divine kingship, in one...
Even the few sculptor’s names known to us, usually by chance, from the imperial period are Greek names and seem to confirm the assumption that these artists’ work should be regarded simply as a late phase of Greek art” (Hanfmann, 12). The Greeks were the first western culture to figure out how to accurately depict the human form which they did through the use of geometric ratios. It is also widely accepted that it was even Greek artists who first made marble portraits for the Romans as the Romans originally had no skill with the stone. “It was certainly at first Greek artists who were entrusted by eminent Romans with the execution of portraits of themselves and of important personalities in the Roman state, just as it was Greeks who depicted Aemilius Paulus victory at Pydna and later were largely responsible for the portraits of the emperors” (Kahler 16). The Romans mainly used terracotta for their sculptures and it was only when Augustus reigned that the marble quarries at Carrara were opened and marble was used on a large scale. The Romans inherited the use of realistic proportions, the sense of movement (contrapposto), and the overall beauty of Greek sculptures. A great example of Roman sculpture that was clearly carved by a Greek artist who was familiar with the Hellenistic styles of Greece, is the Relief of the Wedding of Amphitrite and Neptune. It “shows a mythological