Discovery of Statues in Lagash
Lagash was one of the oldest cities in Sumer and
Babylonia. Today it is represented by a long line of ruin mounds, which are rather low, now known as Tello al-Hiba in Iraq. Located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and east of the ancient city of Uruk, it is positioned on the dry bed of an ancient canal, approximately 10 miles north of the modern town of Shatra.#
The ruins of Lagash were discovered in 1877 by Ernest de Sarzec, a Frenchman, who was allowed by the
Montefich chief, Nasir Pasha, to excavate the site at his pleasure in the territories under the governing of
Nasir Pasha. Ernest de Sarzec continued excavations at this site with various interludes, at first on his own
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From the objects and inscriptions uncovered at Tello it seems that Lagash, the city ruled by Gudea, was one of great importance during the Sumerian period. During this time independent kings (Ur-Nina and his successors) ruled Sumer, but with the Semitic conquest its rulers became dependant, forced to listen to
Sargon of Akkad and his successors. However, the city remained Sumerian and continued to be of great importance because the city was the center of commerce and art.
Trade during this period developed far-reaching commercial communication with distant territories.
Gudea imported cedar from mountainous regions of
Syria, gold and copper from areas in Arabia and Sinai, and diorite from eastern Arabia. These new imports helped make this era one prominent for artistic development and it was in this era that art reached its peak stages. A lion-headed eagle with outspread wings grasping two more lions in its talons, a great vase with what is considered the coat of arms of
Lagash, and of course statues of Gudea made from diorite are some of the artifacts recovered from this period. However, after the reign of Gudea, Lagash loses its importance to the region as a center for art and economic trade, and is lost for centuries.#
Statues of Gudea
Most timetables agree that Gudea ruled Lagash sometime between the period of 2150-2100 B.C., bringing peace and prosperity to his people during that time, and inaugurating a Sumerian renaissance, marked by literary blossoming,
The twelve statues known collectively as the Tell Asmar Hoard (Early Dynastic I-II, ca. 2900-2550 B.C.) were unearthed in 1933 at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar) in the Diyala Region of Iraq. Despite subsequent finds at this site and others throughout the Greater Mesopotamian area they remain the definitive example of the abstract style of Early Dynastic temple sculpture (2900 BC-2350 BC).In the late 1920s antique dealers in Baghdad were acquiring large quantities of unusual, high quality artifacts from the desert east of the Diyala River, just north of its confluence with the Tigris.[1] In 1929 the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago obtained a concession to excavate the area.[1] James Henry Breasted (1865–1935), the founder of the
Many don't know the importance of the New York Statue of Liberty. It represents the Promise of America for those who enter America for a new life. The promise of america is opening opportunities for newcomers that are willing to start a new beginning and having peace.
The Assyrians were an unquestionably dominant empire in the Mesopotamian region during 934-609 BC. Responsible for the breathtaking sculptures known as Lamassu, Assyrian sculptors drew my interest, most notably because of the attention to detail and history behind their composition. All together, Assyrian art is very masterful, however, this piece in particular stands out from the others, and the fact that I had never seen or heard of it before left me in disbelief. A large portion of the world is familiar with the Great Sphinx of Giza, yet I have taken it upon myself to shed light on a lesser known human headed creature who in my opinion is exceedingly impressive despite it being significantly smaller. The point of view(s) in which the Lamassu
This essay shall compare and contrast the Egyptian Statue of Memi and Sabu with the Mesopotamian Seated Statue of Gudea, giving consideration of their respective purpose and function. The Statue of Memi and Sabu is dated ca. 2575–2465 B.C. during the Old Kingdom period. The Seated Statue of Gudea is dated ca. 2090 B.C. during the Neo-Sumerian period. The Statue of Memi and Sabu was sculpted from painted limestone. Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineral calcite. It is usually an organic sedimentary rock that forms from the accumulation of shell, coral, algal, and fecal debris. The Statue of Gudea was sculpted from Diorite. Diorite is the name used for a group of coarse-grained
(883-859 B.C.). This statue is about ten feet tall with a lion body and a human body followed by some wings. The statue is rather large and though the whole picture is not there for one to see all the palace, it seems to be at a foyer of some sort. What is known is that during this time most of the building were built from a type of mud rock which could have made this lamassu. The Human Headed Winged lion is made from things like mud, rock, and limestone. Mesopotamians did believe that this statue scared away dark forces and brought peace and safety to people’s homes, something that people have been doing for many years. This statue is from the Nimrud which is modern day Iraq, the ruler at the time was Assurnasirpal the second. From the book, it had said that Assyrians rose to dominance in Mesopotamian and they extended their most of their influences into Egypt. Even though it was after The Great sphinx it does give us an idea about how much culture and religion spread throughout
The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two sculptures. The Statue of Memi and Sabu, dated back to ca. 2575–2465 B.C., Egyptian; and the Seated Statue of Gudea dated back to 2150–2100 B.C., Neo–Sumerian period.
In this opera, there are seven characters. They are all interesting characters: Gualtiero, Griselda, Ottone, Costanza, Corrado, Roberto, and Everardo. Gualtiero is a king of Sicily. Griselda is Gualtiero’s wife. Ottone is a noble of the court. Costanza is Gualtiero and Griselda’s daughter. Corrado is a prince of Puglia. Lastly, Everardo is another child of Griselda.
Prehistoric • Paintings in caves at Lascaux and Peche Merle, France • Venus of Willendorf • dwellings at Catal Huyuk • Stonehenge • Ancient Near Eastern Sumerian: • Ziggurat at Ur • Votive statuettes from Tell Asmar
The ‘Seated statue of Gudea’ created in the Neo–Sumerian period of Lagash, which resides in modern day Iraq, is homage to the rebuilder of the temples of Lagash (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015). Gudea is said to have reigned over the Kingdom of Lagash from 2080 BC – 2060 BC in short chronology or 2144 BC – 2124 BC in proposed middle chronology. The statue was created in celebration of the restoration of Lagash and
This statue was made between 2150-2100 B.C, representing one of the Neo-Sumerian culture’s heroes, Lagash (The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2013)). This statue was looked at very highly the citizens. It was put on a level that placed it as one between themselves and God. The level of power and royalty can be seen from his royal clothes to the way he sits and has his hands positioned to address his subjects who approach him for assistance. In the modern era of Iraq, quite a few temples in the statue of Gudea have been built by Gudea of Lagash. The staue represents the desire for their ruler to have a long life and be placed in the temples that Gudea has built.
Statue I draws from Greek and Roman influences to create a piece that elucidates the impossible conflicts—between age and youth, wisdom and athleticism—that are formed by the discordance of the piece as a unit.
Evidence suggests that Mesopotamian elites and centralized institutions went to great lengths to manage those who were specialized in the production of high statues or high value commodities such as textiles, semi-precious stones and metals. During the later part of the Early Dynastic period, the inhabitants of Ur devoted much effort in constructing tombs for their deceased elites. Excavated in the Royal Cemetery at Ur were vessels, seals and jewels of gold, carnelian, copper, and lapis lazuli\. One artifact excavated at the Royal Cemetery at Ur was a headdress with leaf-shaped ornaments. This intricate headdress was made of gold leaves, lapis lazuli and carnelian beads and would have been worn by a female attendant in the King’s grave. Because gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and carnelian were not found in Mesopotamia, the existence of these rich luxuries in the royal tomb can speak for the wealth of the Early Dynastic kings as well as to the thriving, complex system of trade that reached far past the Mesopotamian plain. The wealth in the tombs also spoke for the power and ability of the
Guernica is another perfect example of Picasso exhibiting history in his work. The mural-sized oil painting on canvas was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1937. It is painted in a palette of grey, black and white and is regarded by many as “modern art’s most powerful antiwar statement”. The mural exhibits suffering people and animals wrenched by violence and chaos. A gored horse, a bull and flames are prominent features of the artwork. Guernica displays the tragedies of war and the suffering it imposes on individuals, specifically innocent civilians. The lack of colour intensifies the chaos and the tragedy. Guernica is a town in the province of Biscay in Basque Country. On Monday 26th April 1937, warplanes of the German Condor Legion bombed Guernica for two hours. At the time. Picasso was working on a mural for the Paris Exhibition that was to be held in the summer of 1937. On May 1st, news of the bombing of Guernica reached Paris. Picasso was appalled and enraged by
News of the catastrophic looting of Baghdad museums coincide, in the most heartrending way, with the countdown to a long-planned exhibition, opening on May 8th at the Metropolitan Museum, of Early Bronze Age art from the region that now includes Iraq. Called “Art of the First Cities,” the exhibition covers a wide area, all the way from the Eastern Mediterranean to Pakistan, but its focal point is Mesopotamia, the “land between the rivers” (the Tigris and the Euphrates), where, by the third millennium B.C., the Sumerian people had invented cities, writing, irrigation farming, monumental architecture, government by law, and countless other benefactions of what we call civilization…Much of the material in “First Cities” come from Western museums.
The old Kingdom was a time of political and social stability in Egypt, the ancient Egyptian architecture extant today is made of stone. Many kinds of stone were abundantly available, and this availability must in part explain the giant proportions of these surviving buildings. Although tradition long held that slaves built those giant funerary monuments to the kings, it now seems clear that an entire class of artisans, sculptors, and builders were responsible for them. That a culture could organize such mammoth undertaking and accomplish them with what appear to be the willing cooperation of it people emphasizes the unity of the social as a whole. Because the pharaoh was considered divine and would consequently return to the gods when he died, The Great Pyramids were designed to soar to heaven. It was built in the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom at Giza on the west bank of the Nile. “There were three pyramids were built by the pharaohs CHEOPS, ca. 2530 B.C.E.; CHEFREN, ca. 2500 B.C.E.; and MYCERINUS, ca. 2470 B.C.E.”