Week 5 Ancient Aegeans and Prehistoric Cave Paintings

The “Hall of Bulls a cave painting found in Dordogne, France c. 15,000 BCE” according to the caption on page 10 and is described as having been painted on a limestone surface and giving a massive size to the largest animal of eighteen feet. The paintings are believed to celebrate the hunts over a period of time and the bull was very popular on this wall. The attempted realism in these paintings brings to mind another culture obsessed with the bull but for a different cultural reason, and yet they are both very similar in many ways.

The Minoans also had a love affair with bulls. The rhyton called Bull’s-Head is one example of the realistic in art at work again with a familiar subject. A picture of which is on page 89 and the description informs the reader that it is “steatite with shell, rock crystal, and red jasper.” In addition that the horns seen in the picture have been reproduced therefore restoring it to the glory it’s sculpture intended.

Both involve stone, the first example painted on it and the second carved from it. In addition a white powder has been rubbed into the surface of this carved bull to accentuate the coat just as the pigment was rubbed into the walls to create the paintings upon them.  Along with the subject matter these two works are a great deal alike or so it would seem.

In Hall of Bulls the paintings are or seem to be surrounding the success of the hunt and give life to the bull perhaps in order that the animal would return for the hunter to also continue to live. Bull’s-Head is a different story coming from a culture that gave life to the Minotaur with a belief that this creature must be placated with the lives of youths both male and female the beast feed on the lives of men instead of men feeding on the lives of bulls. In this way the art works are very different. They also differ in functionality. The Minoan piece has a dual purpose not only to represent an idea or experience but also to poor liquids from.  During ceremonies the Rhyton could be filled with liquid at the top back of the head form and would poor these same liquids out of the mouth. Where the cave paintings were not portable nor did they serve wine.

Perhaps each was a useful form for the men or women who created them. A cave painting could have been used to represent so many things including the ritual of worship and regeneration. Where we know more about what the Minoan artist was thinking about when he or she carved the Bull’s-Head it is not that clear what was going on in the thought process of the cave painters work. By recording history they could have been giving them and us a way to celebrate the rites and rituals that we all perform on a daily basis then and now. By doing so each of these works speaks aloud to the perseverance of men throughout time.  

Ziggerats v.s. Pyramids

According to our book on page 53 "Although the step pyramid resembles the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, it differs in both meaning (signifying a stairway to the sun god Ra) and purpose (protecting a tomb)." These are very significant differences as they incline the religious thought processes in how a temple is used, where as in the last chapter we learn that Ziggurats were used to indicate sacred mountain imagery and were used as a place of worship.

In the Egyptian ideals the pharaohs and queens of Egypt were gods and represented the physical form of the gods for the time of their rule. The pyramids were built along with the temples at the end of the Old Kingdom and the beginning of the New Kingdom to allow for the worship of the gods and the continuation of the pharaoh after death into the next life. It is also in these very elaborate temples and tombs that we see the funeral rites of the dead and the great lengths that were taken in mummification to preserve the physical form of the god.

Ziggurats were used during the lives of the rulers and signified a way to reach out to heaven and ask for the intercession of the gods on their behalf. These rulers were not the physical embodiment of the gods but rather the gods and rulers were glorified by the steps to the top of the mountain like shapes. They showed the people the prestige of the rulers by allowing them to ascend to the heights to worship the gods.

Another thing that is significant to notice about both is that none of the ziggurats progress to become smooth sided triangle shapes. The start out steps and remain steps however only one of the pyramids of Giza is a stepped mound. All the rest have the appearance of solid triangles. Each at one time or another had an entrance that is now reopened by the prying eyes of the world through archeologists without whom we would not have as much knowledge as we do about both.

Another difference is that Ziggurats had their temples built on the top of the structure, yet the pyramids have their temples either built within on the main level with the tomb hidden beneath or at the end of a long passage on the grounds of the pyramid.  One tells of the ascendance of man to the level of the gods above it all and untouched by the daily grind. The other speaks loudly of the gods coming down from the mountain to live among men, die among men, and visit us for meals and adoration.

In the Egyptian mind set gods were living with us so that we could become better humans by showing us how to live and treat others. In the minds of the individuals whom used ziggurats for religious purposes showed the importance of worshiping god to spread faith amongst the people. If you could afford to have the ability to rise above the masses to worship in full view of all this speaks more of your power than that of the people.

In the end I would say that each is equally important regardless of their role in the society they were built in. In our time we are just as impressed by their knowledge and ingenuity it took to accomplish them and the fact that people would trust in their religion so strongly that they would put their entire lives into that construction. Separated by the differences and brought together by faith.

Week 3 Page 33 images 2-5 Cylinder seal and its modern impression

Cylinder seal and its modern impression is the signature of Queen Puabi of Ur. The stone cylinder is carved with two relief scenes that when rolled out depict in the top scene two women of rank sharing food and drink while being waited upon by female servants.  The lower scene is a depiction on the queen’s court as she sits on her throne with her servants surrounding her. Per the information on the piece in Chapter 2 on page 33 this piece was “found leaning up against the right arm of her body,” causing the archaeologists to believe that this is her signature.

The double line in the center of the cylinder is a separation of events, creating the effect of a ceiling and a floor. Showing the separations of the elite and the masses by giving important events in court in the upper level we are privy to the private world of women in the rooms of the queen. We see servants serving drinks and fanning the women of privilege. They seem to be enjoying a private conversation and celebrating an intimate event. The use of fringe along the bottom of the clothing seems to denote their sex. By using negative space the artist is able to capture the general forms of each individual as well as line in the furniture.

The lower panel in the piece shows this woman enjoying a meal and entertainment provided by her servants. She appears to be well loved and cared for as it is important to recognize also that all the individuals in this frame as well are denoted by their clothing as female. We see even the strings on the harp, the drink which appears to be poured from the gourd shaped vessel in the hand maids hand.  Each part of the relief is a form of negative space.

The stone cylinder is hand carved and beautiful in and of itself.  A lovely shade of deep green lapis with white and yellow spotting that is typical for this stone. Since it does not appear to have wax or other materials embedded in the piece shows it was more likely to have been created for the purpose of commemorating an event than for the everyday use of signing ones name.

Placed as it was so close to what is for most of us our dominate hand leaves the idea in the mind of the viewer that this piece was supposed to be a moniker for the deceased rather than a celebration of important events in their life. It is possible that this is in remembrance of her coronation or the recognition of her coming of age.  Since the everyday event of partaking food and drink would not have been important enough to be recorded in such a permanent manner and there does not appear to be any special markings that denote a name or rank it is more likely that this piece is much like taking a picture of an moment in time is today.

Since when the cylinder is rolled in clay it creates a flat image about the size of a current photograph it would appear that it is celebratory. In each panel we see a young woman surrounded by her servants in one an older woman perhaps her mother or soon to be mother-in-law joins her at the same level in rank. It brings back the understated yet very important lack of males in the events pictorial record. 

The balance created in both panels is simple and a-symmetrical.  While the upper panel only contains 5 females the second panel is made up of even number 8 women, furnishings are sparse and only created for the use of this important woman.  Feminism would be a complete thought for reason as to the one sided sexual balance however, women in this time would have been kept separate from men as often as possible.  So it would be preferable to believe that this is due to culture and expectations of the times.

Each line is deliberate, the details in this piece are very important because the artist took the time to ensure that they would be properly placed in the clothing and furnishings rather than the faces of the figures. No this is not about signing ones name it is about remembering who we are and why we hold our place in life.

Quote from Art History book 1, chapter 2, page 33. By Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothern.