SANDWICH
ART HISTORY
GRADE FIVE Lesson 2 November
Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Art
This lesson contains images from the Mesopotamian Valley, with an emphasis on Jewish art and the stories that accompany them. Sumerian, Babylonian (Ishtar Gate) and some Assyrian art is included.
Art from the ancient Near East tends to be religious in nature, designed for rituals and to honor the gods. That said, politicians and leaders are also commonly depicted to showcase their power. Technique is emphasized over creativity. Relief carvings are the most important form.
SHIBUM, CHIEF OF LAND REGISTRY c. 2600-2350 B.C., Mari, Ninni-Zaza Temple.
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The Sumerians of early Mesopotamia believed that their principal function in life was to serve the gods. When they were not actually praying in person, they left stone statuettes of themselves before their altars to pray on their behalf. The huge eyes symbolize awed adoration (windows to the soul), and the hands are clasped in endless worship. The carving is shown wearing the typical scalloped sheepskin skirt of that time. Each Sumerian city had a temple to honor its own patron god.
Houses and ingenious boats were woven from reed and goods were transported by the first merchants.
Detail from the BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANSER III 858-824 B.C. detail, photograph by Erich Lessing, The British Museum, London, Reproduction photograph
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Shalmanser was the King of Assyria.
The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, dated 841 BC and discovered in the palace at Nimrod, the capital of Assyria, shows detailed carvings of Jehu (842-815 B.C.) bowing before the Assyrian king. It's the only contemporary representation of an Israelite king. In 841 BC many kings brought great tribute to Shalmaneser to show their submissiveness, including the kings of Tyre, Sidon, and Jehu, the king of Israel. The first to pay tribute were the kings of Israel and Judah. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser shows king Jehu groveling in the dust before King Shalmaneser. From 839-828 BC Shalmaneser wreaked havoc in northwest Syria and in 835 BC he carved his name and image into a giant cliff beside a river called the Dog River, north of Beirut, Lebanon. He also records some of his mighty exploits during this time on the Balawat Gates.
Jehu is robed and wearing the cloth cap of royalty. Behind him a Jewish official is holding part of a huge tribute paid by Jehu in gold and silver.
The inscription reads "Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri, silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden beaker, golden goblets, pitchers of gold, lead, staves for the bed of the king, javelins, I received from him."
EXILE FROM JUDAH 8th century B.C. stone relief detail, palace of the Assyrian King - Sennacherib Ninevah, The Louvre, Paris, Reproduction photograph
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Jews are shown being deported from Judah, after the Assyrian capture of the city of Lachish in 701 B.C. They were forced to walk hundreds of miles. Assyrian king Sennacherib set out to conquer Judah. He conquered more than 40 towns, drove out more than 200,000 Judeans, and laid siege to Jerusalem, their capital. The city was saved when the Assyrian besiegers were struck by Plague, but Sennacherib extorted massive tribute from King Hezekiah of Judah before he withdrew.
DRAGON OF BEL-MARDUK 604-564 B.C. detail from the Ishtar Gate, Babylon. Reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, glazed wall tile, 45 1/2" x 65 3/4", The Detroit Museum of Arts, Gift of the Founders Soc., Reproduction print
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Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia from 605-562 B.C. was a tireless builder who made Babylon the most splendid city of its time. Of eight gateways in the massive walls, each sacred to a different god, the most imposing was the huge Ishtar gate, built in honour of the Babylonian Goddess of love and battle, and rising 50 feet above a sacred, processional way into Babylon. The walls of flanking towers were clad in glazed blue bricks, which were decorated with yellow and white reliefs of dragons, symbol of the Babylonians' chief god Marduk., and bulls, symbols of the lightning god, Adad. Baked bricks cemented into bitumen formed a solid core for the wall, and the foundations went down as deep as the wall was high. Overlooking the Ishtar gate rose the famous Hanging Gardens (one of the "Wonders of the Ancient World"), underground chambers found this century probably housed the mechanism for raising water to the gardens.
AHERSUERUS (XERXES) OF DARIUS THE GREAT (King of Persia) 521-485 B.C. Persian, carved marble portrait, The Louvre, Paris, Reproduction print
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The story of Esther tells that among hundreds of beautiful women whom Ahasuerus (Xerxes) called to his palace, she, "found grace and favor in his sight more than all" (Esther 2:17). Esther is the heroine of an ancient chronicle set in the splendors of the Persian Empire at its height, in the fifth century BC. Esther was a beautiful Jewish maiden who married King Ahasuerus. Esther succeeded in averting a massacre of Jews.
JEWISH ART ON OIL LAMP, replica lamp, terra cotta
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Clay lamps, to light the interior of homes were fueled with olive oil. The larger opening is to fill the lamp with oil, the smaller for a fiber wick. The lamps were both formed by hand and in molds. The motifs here include palm branches, grapes and a basket, and lamps.
TREE OF LIFE late 6th century, mosaic Caesarea, Israel, Reproduction print
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A stunning mosaic floor referred to now as the “Bird Mosaic” was uncovered by accident in 1955 on the outskirts of Caeserea in Israel, outside the walls of the ancient settlement. With no budget available for its preservation, it was covered over again until the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Director of the Caesarea Antiquities Preservation project decided in 2005 to preserve the unique find and to reveal it to the public.
During the excavations of 2005 archaeologists determined that the ‘Bird Mosaic’ was part of a Byzantine palace complex dating from the 6th century AD. During the Byzantine period, the harbor city of Caesarea flourished and expanded. This palace complex, covering an area of nearly 1 acre was probably owned by a reputable and wealthy family. The “Bird Mosaic” adorned the floor of a large open courtyard, the atrium, with a portico along the western and southern sides.
The wide border of the mosaic pavement portrays wild and tame animals separated by fruit trees, bordering 120 round medallions arranged in 12 rows and 10 columns. Each of the 120 medallion contains a bird, hence the name given to the mosaic. Eleven different species are represented, appearing several times, in an unusual arrangement of diagonal lines descending from right to left. Each diagonal line depicts the same bird. The birds include, flamingo, duck, peacock, partridge, guineafowl, ibis, goose, pheasant and pelican. Some other birds appear to be fanciful.
ISAIAH SCROLL c. 100 B.C., Israel Museum, Jerusalem
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The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran (archaeological site on West Bank of Israel) in 1947. It is the largest (734 cm) and best preserved of all the biblical scrolls, and the only one that is almost complete. The 54 columns contain all 66 chapters of the Hebrew version of the biblical Book of Isaiah. Dating from ca. 125 BCE, it is also one of the oldest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some one thousand years older than the oldest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible.
Architecture in the Hanukkah Lamp. Copper and brass, Morocco, circa 18th C.
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The design and decoration of Hanukkah lamps are much diversified. The Hanukkah lamp has absorbed more than any other Jewish ceremonial object, art concepts from its immediate environment. The back piece of the lamp is arched, or domed indicating an Islamic influence.
HANUKKAH MENORAH early 18th century, Joann Adam Boller (1639-1732), Frankfurt, Germany, Silver with enamel medallions, 17" H x 14 1/2" W, Jewish Museum, NY, Gift of Mrs. Felix M Warburg, Reproduction photograph
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The depiction of biblical heroes and heroines was a favorite decorative element in European Hanukkah lamps. Judith, a Jewish heroine during the Assyrian invasion was a popular figure, depicted with a sword in one hand and the head of Holofernes in the other.
Judith and her Maidservant, painting by Artemesia Gentileschi 1618-1619.
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Judith, the Jewish widow who slew the enemy general Holofernes during the Assyrian invasion of ancient Israel, was a particularly popular figure incorporated in German and Italian lamps beginning in the sixteenth century. She is frequently depicted on lamps with sword in one hand and the head of Holofernes in the other.
Judith is described as a pious young widow from the Jewish city of Bethulia, a city that was battling the Assyrian army. Judith decided to try to seduce and deceive the Assyrians. She styled her hair and dressed up in her finest garments and entered the enemy camp under the pretense of bringing Holofernes, the Assyrian general, information to help his side. The biblical text recounts, “Holofernes was so enchanted with her that he drank far more wine than he had drunk on any other day in his life” (Judith 12:20). Judith seized her opportunity and slit the throat of Holofernes; she saved her people from destruction.
The story of Judith and Holofernes is recounted in the Book of Judith. It was a popular subject of art in the Baroque period.
PINCH OF SNUFF 1923-26, Marc Chagall, Russian (1887-1985), Kunstmuseum, Basle, Switzerland, Reproduction print
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Chagall here depicts a Rabbi with many of the symbols of his office: Star of David, a portion of a Hanukkah lamp (upper left); scripture on the table; cap; beard and uncut sideburns. The human quality of this portrait is achieved by a clever juxtaposition: the official nature of the respected Rabbi and the recreational use of tobacco in the form of snuff.
Marc Chagall is a highly popular and influential contemporary artist. Born in Russia, the son of a Jewish merchant, he spent most of his life in Paris. The influence of his Jewish heritage wove a spiritual, mystical pattern through his art that, along with his fanciful juxtapositions, has led some critics to call him a fore-runner of the Surrealists.