In previous posts, we saw that Mesopotamia (from the Greek, "between two rivers") was an ancient region located in the eastern Mediterranean, limited to the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and to the southeast by the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to present-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers originate in the Taurus Mountains of Armenia. The land was known as Al-Jazirah (The Island) by the Arabs as fertile land surrounded by water.
Map of the Middle East during the last centuries of the 4th millennium BC: archaeological
sites of the “Urukean expansion”; Middle_East_topographic_map-blank.svg:
Sémhur (talk)derivative work: Zunkir, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The art and architectural works of Mesopotamia are among the oldest in the world, dating back more than 7,000 years. The works first appear in northern Mesopotamia, before the Ubaid Period (c. 5,000 - 4,100 B.C.) and then developed in the South, during the Uruk Period (4,100 - 2,900 B.C.) in Sumeria, which established the world's first civilization.
According to some scholars, the works of the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 7,000 B.C. - c. 600 B.C.) predate those of Mesopotamia, but the developments of the Indus Valley did not appear until the beginning of the Harappan Period (c. 5,500 B.C. - 2,800 B.C.), a time when Mesopotamian works were already established. The earliest forms of art and buildings are evidenced in northern Mesopotamia at sites such as Göbekli Tepe (c. 10,000 B.C.) and Ҫatalhöyük (c. 7,500 B.C.), both in present-day Turkey, and Tell Brak (c. 6,500 B.C. - 5,000 B.C.) , in Syria.
Works of art included reliefs, sculptures, statues cast in metal, ceramics, jewelry, cylinder seals, stelae, monuments, obelisks, and wall paintings. These first productions became more refined in the region throughout later periods. They influenced the works of other cultures in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.
Historical context of Mesopotamian art
The art of Mesopotamia is located between 3,700 B.C. and 539 B.C., precisely the time when the Persians arrived in the territory. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers were significant for the development of these cultures that included various peoples such as the Sumerians, the Akkadians, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians. It must be considered that one of the most important developments was that of cuneiform writing, the first writing system of human civilization.
Mesopotamian cuneiform writing. Credit: Creative Commons.
The “Urban Revolution”
Four thousand years before Christ, a phase of urban growth occurred in southern Mesopotamia, which was defined as the Urban Revolution. The first cities, Nineveh, Ur, and Babylon appeared on the banks of the rivers. Equally important were the commercial cities that emerged, for example, on the routes connecting Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean. The cities of Syria and the shores of the Mediterranean (Ebla, Tyre, Byblos, Ugarit, Palmyra) played a strategic role in this period.
Cities were represented as a symbol of the cosmos on Earth: they were circular in shape, surrounded by walls and divided by two orthogonal axes, oriented to the cardinal points. Administrative activities were conducted in the royal palace and the temple, where the community's main food resources were preserved. The buildings were made up of massive walls, made of bricks baked in the sun and later covered with tiles fired in ovens.
As several peoples succeeded each other over three millennia, art did not have a unified development. In general terms, the greatest peculiarities that are reflected in these artistic manifestations are history, politics, religion, the forces of nature and the various achievements that occurred with the Persians.
The artistic manifestations aimed to decorate temples and tombs. Several artistic creations were linked to religion, something quite common among ancient people. As the materials worked were very vulnerable to the effects of time, most of them were lost over the centuries.
Sculpture and painting had similar purposes. Both decorated architectural spaces. The sculptors had to represent the human body in a static way, without demonstrating any type of expression of movement. Painters used light colors in drawings that represented battles, hunts, and other relevant events.
Terracotta female figurines from the Ubaid period. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (copyright).
As for the materials used, the most characteristic in the manufacture of arts was the use of clay, adobe, terracotta, ceramics, copper, basalt, tin, alabaster (gypsum and calcite), reeds, ivory, precious stones, in addition to gold, silver and bronze. The first art tools available were clay tablets and reed carving tools. Although sculpture and carving were popular, there were no drawing tools.
The Sumerians, who settled in southern Mesopotamia during the fourth millennium B.C., constituted the first civilization in history. Although the first recorded historical events date back to around 2,900 B.C., historians believe that Sumeria was inhabited for the first time by the so-called Ubaidians, between 5,000 and 4,000 B.C. They were the first to work with masonry, metallurgy, leather, and weaving. They also developed trade and drained portions of swamps for agricultural use.
Eridu, considered the first city in the world, was located on the border with the Persian Gulf. Due to the shared geographic position, fishers, Semitic-speaking nomadic pastors and Ubaidian farmers, all specialists in food production, stored the surplus foods they produced. This ability to produce and store food meant that, instead of constantly migrating in search of resources, they could settle in a particular location.
Ceramics in Mesopotamian Art
From the language, as well as other ancient Mesopotamian artifacts, such as pictograms, it is possible to deduce that there was an abundance of artistic traditions in that region. Clay was used to produce ceramics and tablets to create documents, using the cuneiform writing they developed. The metal was used to create daggers. Gold and copper were hammered and used in the production of necklaces and decorative plaques.
Ubaid III pottery jar, 5300-4700 BC, Louvre Museum; ALFGRN, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ubaid period – c. 5,000 B.C. – 4,100 B.C.
The pottery produced in the Ubaid Period, highly decorated, was made at home with slow wheels. Mesopotamian artists created pots, bowls, and vases from baked clay and painted decorative, abstract designs—a style that spread throughout the region.
Pottery from the Chalcolithic Era; Einsamer Schütze, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Uruk Period – 4,100 B.C. – 2,900 B.C.
During the transition from the Ubaid to Uruk Periods, pottery production shifted from domestic slow wheels to works that were created on a large scale on fast wheels by groups of specialized artists, but without the use of painting. As the region's economic growth began, many cities began to be developed along the prosperous river and canal trade routes. Each of them had government bodies with specialized employees.
Uruk trough; Gary Todd, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Mesopotamian artifacts have been discovered across a large expanse of land – from central Iran to the Mediterranean Sea and the Taurus Mountains in Turkey. Uruk culture had a profound influence on the surrounding areas due to its spread through Sumerian traders. Upon surpassing fifty thousand inhabitants, Uruk was soon considered the most urbanized city of its time.
Warka vase from all angles, Uruk period; Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin
FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Most cities had theocratic governments. Its priests were God's representatives in earthly affairs, assisted by councils of elders. This political model would influence the structure of the pantheon of gods in the later Sumerian period. It was a time of peace, without walls around the cities.
The Akkadian Empire – 2,334 B.C. – 2,218 B.C.
During the period of Akkadian rule of Sumerian cities, artists continued to create vases, jugs, bowls, and many other ceramic objects. Most of them were unpainted, like pottery from the Uruk period, although some examples have abstract patterns and reliefs.
Akkadian pottery; Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Third Dynasty of Ur – 2,047 B.C. – 1,750 B.C.
Unpainted ceramic objects were still created, but in more elaborate forms, creating clay vessels to store liquids, as well as flower vases and cake stands. Clay tablets were also produced to keep records, writing them with styluses made from reeds. The texts inscribed on clay tablets that were intended for archives were baked in an oven. Tablets were also used to keep track of animal stock, workers, wages, and other daily administrative tasks.
Cuneiform tablet of beer, bread, and oil, Ur III Period,
c. 2100-2000 BC; Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Old Babylonian Period – c. 2,000 B.C. – 1,600 B.C.
The pottery produced during this period indicates a marked return to the use of abstract patterns painted on the surface, as well as an increase in the range of forms available for a variety of purposes, both practical and aesthetic. Ceramic artifacts such as pots, vases and cups were found with remains of abstract painting on the clay exterior.
Painted pottery, Jemdet Nasr period, c. 3000 BCE. From Greza, Shahrizor Plain, Sulaymaniyah,
Iraq; Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sculpture in Mesopotamia
Sculptures could be three-dimensional as in high relief in stone, although some were made in clay or wood. These people still worked gold, copper, and silver very well. The works especially represented human and mythological beings, animals, or gods in standing or sitting positions and their most obvious characteristic was the absence of movement. The Sumerians and Akkadians had a tendency toward symmetry and precision, especially in painting.
The representation of robust human forms was quite common, especially in Sumeria and Assyria, with a broad and stocky back, strong muscles, as well as very thick eyebrows and wide-open eyes. His appearance denoted a certain severity characteristic of Mesopotamia. For more than 2,000 years, Mesopotamian art and sculpture were created for political and devotional reasons; however, the method by which these purposes were conveyed differed from one period to the next.
Based on the most recent archaeological research, the sculptures can be dated to the tenth millennium B.C., before the first civilizations. Common motifs were animal and human forms, as well as seals with cuneiform images and inscriptions. The sculptures were made from a variety of materials, such as stones, plaster, and alabaster; metals such as bronze and copper and terracotta - material consisting of clay baked in the oven, without being vitrified, used in ceramics and construction.
Reliefs were usually part of the wall decoration of palaces. They used to tell the story of the monarch's conquests and triumphs. It was common to represent large figures of fantastic animals in bas-reliefs that protected city walls.
Hunter-gatherers and Samarra
The sculptures from this period, found by archaeologists, are light and small. Hunter-gatherers were nomads and transported these sculptures over long distances. Even after becoming sedentary, many artists continued to create small sculptures for personal devotional or ritual use.
Many of them were female figures of fertility, evidenced by the exaggerated characteristics and proportions of the breasts, thighs, and buttocks. An excellent example of this is the female figurine found in Samarra, dating from 6,000 B.C., currently in the Louvre Museum. Typical of the time, the sculpture shows few or no facial features, hands, or feet. The reproductive organs of the female anatomy are emphasized, even with the thighs folded in a position suitable for labor.
Fertility figure from the Halaf culture, 6000-5100 BC; Louvre Museum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sculptures from the Uruk Period
They reflect concepts such as communication and spirituality. An excellent example of the late prehistoric era is the valley of Uruk, dating from around 3,300 B.C. Historians suggest that the trough, watering trough or cattle feeder, made of plaster was part of an offering created for Inanna, goddess of fertility and love. The exterior of Uruk's trough was decorated with various sacred objects commonly associated with the goddess, such as reliefs of reeds and animals. Based on these observations, historians believe they had spiritual or ritual purposes rather than agricultural use.
The first forms of document notarization were found in this period in the form of cylinder seals, which were carved in stone and contained images of animals and early language systems. They were used by employees or their representatives as a type of official signature, rolling the cylinder in wet clay, leaving a graphic impression. These cylinders were also used as jewelry and were found in tombs of nobility along with their precious stones and metals. Images with a strong narrative quality were the popular motif of the time, as can be seen in the cylinders, gutters, and other examples of sculpture from this period.
Also notable was the improvement in the representation of the human body and face, as can be seen in the Mask of Warka, or the Lady of Uruk, from around 3,000 B.C. The marble mask is named after the city where it was found and is all what remains of a sculpture that once consisted of a body made of wood, with gold-plated hair and jewel-encrusted eyes and eyebrows. As was common at the time, the sculpture was painted to create a more realistic appearance; however, it faded over time.
Uruk trough;Gary Todd, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Early Dynastic Period
During the Early Dynastic Period from 2,900 to 2,400 B.C., sculptors created works based on older traditions and developed styles that became more complex over time. Copper was now the most used medium, although many artists still used stone and clay. The theme of the sculpture focused on religion, social interaction, and war. Cylinder art becomes increasingly detailed, as can be seen in the seal that was discovered in Queen Puabi's tomb.
It is divided into upper and lower register and depicts a palace feast celebration scene with the queen and her subjects seated at a banquet table. In the lower register, the king is seated with his subjects. Sovereigns are larger than their subjects, a form of visual ranking called hieratic scale. There are also cuneiform inscriptions on this fine example of sculpture in the ancient arts of Mesopotamia.
Cylinder seal of the “Lady” or “Queen” (Sumerian NIN) Puabi, one of the main defuncts of
the Royal Cemetery of Ur, c. 2600 BC. Banquet scene, typical of the Early Dynastic Period;
Nic McPhee from Morris, Minnesota, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Among the best-known seals is the one discovered in the ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu, depicting a human figure with arms outstretched towards an animal on either side. This motif, known today as 'Master of Animals' (or 'Lady of Animals'), is believed to be related to the concept of the gods establishing order through the creation of animals, the control of nature. The motif has been found in artwork throughout the Middle East, including Egypt, and in Mediterranean cultures such as Greece and Rome.
Another notable sculpture from this period was found in the tomb of Puabi in Ur. The bull's head was a mixed media sculpture and consisted of a golden head, with the skin made of lapis lazuli and the horns made of shells. The head was probably used to decorate a lyre used in funeral ceremonies and rituals, although most of the lyre found in Puabi's tomb has disintegrated over the centuries.
Sculptures representing the human form were also used as religious offerings in temples. The best-known examples are the Tell Asmar figures dated between 2,700 and 2,600 B.C. This group of twelve human sculptures depicts gods, priests, and worshipers, and were created on a hieratic scale, as with the cylinders of Queen Puabi.
Bull-headed lyre recovered from the royal cemetery of Ur Iraq, 2550-2450 BCE;
Mary Harrsch from Springfield, Oregon, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sculptures representing worshipers were created with their arms positioned in a way to suggest offering gifts to the gods. Depending on their position on the hierarchical scale, sculptures were made from materials ranging from plaster to limestone and alabaster. The common feature of all human figures is the large hollow pupils that once held stones in the sockets to create a more realistic appearance. The eyes represented significant spiritual power, especially regarding the eyes of the gods. One of the figures represents Enil, the powerful Mesopotamian god, and is made of limestone, shell, bitumen, and alabaster.
Statuettes of Sumerian female and male worshipers from the Square Temple of Abu at
Tell Asmar (ancient Eshnunna), Iraq. Early Dynastic period, c. 2800-2400 BCE. Part of the so-called
“Tell Asmar Hoard”; Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Akkadian Empire
The Akkadian Empire lasted from 2,270 to 2,154 B.C. Sculpture from this period became increasingly themed around war and politics, and the style became exponentially more realistic in its depiction of the human form. Much of Mesopotamian sculptural art from this period depicts a mixture of realistic and stylized features, as seen in the bronze portrait of King Sargon.
While his facial hair and eyes are stylized, his nose and mouth are created in a naturalistic style and give the impression of a unique individual, something rare for the time. The eyes of King Sargon's portrait are hollow, as they were previously inlaid, and the head was molded using the lost wax process.
Mask of Sargon of Akka; Hans Ollermann, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Akkadian period was one of massive oppression and upheaval, resulting in a very violent climate. This can be seen in surviving examples of art from that era, such as the depiction of the Victory Stele of Naram Sin from the 12th century B.C. The king is depicted wearing a horned helmet, signifying that he is a divine figure. Naram Sin is portrayed larger than the other figures, such as his enemies and soldiers, typical of the hieratic style. His soldiers observe the scene from a privileged point of view, while the king stands over the bodies of dead enemies. To enhance the drama of the scene, the event was created in high relief. Cuneiform text provides context on the right side of the panel.
Victory stele of Naram-Suen; Fred Romero from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Babylon and Assyria
As the Middle Bronze Age gave way to the Late Bronze Age in the second millennium B.C., Assyria and Babylonia became the most prominent cultures of the time in the Near East. Although stone was also used for sculpture, clay was the most used material. Mesopotamian artifacts from this period reveal the production of small free-standing sculptures, cylinder seals, and reliefs, as well as inexpensive molded ceramic slabs for domestic religious use. Representations of humans became more naturalistic and less stylized.
Shulgi (second king of the Third Dynasty of Ur during the so-called Sumerian Renaissance, reigned between 2,095 and 2,049 B.C. and was preceded by his father Ur-Namu and succeeded by Amar-Sim) and Ur-Namu are portrayed in statues cast in copper and usually a foot high and known as foundation figures. They were carved into the foundations of a palace or temple to honor the king who commissioned it or the god who created it to honor.
Votive figures, which first appeared during the Early Dynastic Period, were further refined by Ur III. They were anthropomorphic figures of varying sizes with large eyes (sometimes known as 'eternal gaze') in an attitude of prayer. They were commissioned by wealthy patrons for the purpose of remaining in the temple and paying homage to the god while the patron went about his business. The patron was thus understood to be in constant communion with the divine, as each piece was thought to have been made in his likeness.
Among the most famous works of this period are the many statues of Gudea, king of Lagash (r. 2,080-2,060 B.C.), always depicted in a meditative and prayerful pose, in keeping with his reputation as a devout ruler, associated especially with the cult of Nisaba, goddess of writing. The reliefs, whether high or low, follow the same established form of ruler or divinity given as larger than the others in the piece. This same practice was observed in the manufacture of cylindrical seals.
He was portrayed in at least thirty statues, all with some similar characteristics: the closed form, to define a clear and powerful volume, the rigid frontality and the symmetry of the pose, so much so that the sovereign's body is as imposing as a column, smooth, it is brilliant. The wide eyes, a constant element in Sumerian statuary, mean that only the king had the privilege of seeing the deity.
Statue of the Prince of Gudea, ruler of Lagash (2120 BC). Credit: Creative Commons.
The Assyrians developed their own style of huge, beautifully detailed reliefs in painted alabaster or stone. These reliefs mostly depicted activities conducted by members of royalty, such as hunting or battles, and were intended to be housed in palaces. Animals such as lions and horses are depicted in detail, while humans have been placed in comparatively rigid postures but also with great diligence.
An Assyria artwork depicting soldiers piling up booty, ca. 640-620 BC. From the South-West
Palace in Nineveh, room XXVIII, panels 7-9; British Museum, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
An example is the Burney Relief, created between 1,800 B.C. and 1,750 B.C. This high relief terracotta plaque is from the Old Babylonian period and depicts the Queen of the Night, a naked and winged goddess, flanked by a pair of owls and sporting claws of birds at the feet. It stands out particularly for its size and distinct iconography, which suggests use in a ceremonial cult environment.
“Burney Relief”, showing a Babylonian goddess from about 1800-1750 BC. It is probably
Ishtar or her sister Ereshkigal (lions) or Lilitu (owls). The figurine was originally painted
red with a black background; Aiwok, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal II (first half of the ninth century B.C.) is depicted on this splendid slab during a lion hunt. The relief is extremely low and embellished by a meticulous representation of the details, which stand out like ornaments on the clear figures of the animals. The composition is characterized by rhythm and dynamism, which culminates in the decisive gesture of the sovereign, in the center.
Ashurbanipal II hunting the lion, 883-859 B.C. C. Alabaster, 88.6x224 cm. From Nimrud, northern Iraq.
The art of the Persians
The most important evidence of Persian art dates to the Achaemenid dynasty (559 B.C. - 330 B.C.), which brought together the empire from the Indus River to the Nile. The tendency to use artists and artisans from distinct cultures has given rise to varied and original art. Refined bas-reliefs adorned the palaces and represented, with decorative care, processions of dignitaries and royal guards in honor of the king.
Ceramic production first appeared in East Asia between 20,000 B.C. and 10,000 B.C. among the Persians, the production of ceramic objects had great visibility. Goldsmithing work was considered one of the most important productions conducted at that time. Among the objects produced were copper figurines, necklaces, bracelets, as well as utensils made with gold and silver. The art of pottery increased in variety and styles in the fourth millennium B.C., due to technological advances such as the potter's wheel.
The Palace of the Persian King Darius I
Celebrated since antiquity is the Palace of Persepolis, capital of the Persian empire since 518 B.C., by the will of Darius I. Here the column was used systematically for the first time in the East. With this innovation, palaces took on sumptuous forms, with porticoes and hypostyle rooms (that is, supported by columns).
Large, aligned rooms served as the setting for sumptuous ceremonies in honor of the sovereign and deities. The Frieze of Archers is a long bas-relief in tiles, placed on a staircase leading to the palace. The figures follow each other, determining an almost obsessive rhythm, which creates an unreal effect.
Frieze of archers, from the Palace of Darius in Persepolis, 5th century B.C.
Mesopotamian Painting
Mesopotamian painting was part of the architecture, although few have survived due to the materials used. The purpose was expressly decorative, not only to create greater beauty for the architectural complex itself, but even for various ceramic pieces.
There are countless works of art produced using painting, including large murals, useful and decorative items, as well as several others that were made to decorate temples and palaces with the help of murals. The colors applied were black, white, red, and yellow, in addition to the mosaics so that they could highlight scenes from everyday life, wars, rituals that were performed, ceremonies, gods, in addition to the history of these people.
The most developed pictorial themes were related to the cult of deities, as well as themes of conquest. In the same way, people, animals and monsters, and even geometric figures were represented. The colors used were scarce, as there were few materials to obtain colors.
All your images lack perspective. Their size was proportional to the hierarchy of who was represented. The objective reality of things did not interest him.
Archaeological excavations of Persepolis.
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