Comparative Analysis: *consider topics of Power and Society

Victory stele of Naram-Sin, from Susa IranDate 2254 – 2218 BCE

Stele with law code of Hammurabi, from Susa IranDate ca. 1780 BCE

• Made from pink sandstone and carved in low relief

• The king is leading is victorious army up the slopes of a mountain

• The king stands alone, much larger in scale than his men

• His troops march up the mountain in orderly lines suggesting discipline and organization of the king’s forces

• The first time that a King appeared as a god in Mesopotamian art

• He is represented as godlike, as if he is scaling the mountain up to the heavens

• Made from basalt and carved in high relief

• One of the first examples of an artist showing foreshortening

• A remarkably early example of a code of law

• The subject matter is Shamash the sun god handing Hammurabi a rod and ring symbolizing authority (possibly a tool of some kind)

• Hammurabi’s laws governed all aspects of Babylonian life

Comparative Analysis*consider topics of class, status and authority

Menkaure and Khamerenebty, from Gizeh, EgyptDate: Dynasty IV ca 2490-2472 BCE

Seated scribe, from Saqqara, EgyptDate: Dynasty IV ca 2500 BCE

• High relief sculpture carved from Graywacke (the figures are still attached to the stone block from which they are carved)

• The figures are idealized with well built bodies that convey eternal youth (quality typical of an Egyptian god-king)

• Khamerenebty’s arm clasps around the Pharaoh’s waist to present the couple as married

• Rigidly formal with arms hanging stiffly and clenched fists which indicates power

• The larger than life representation of the Pharaoh conveys power and authority

• Full-round sculpture carved from limestone and painted

• The figure is naturalistic with curves and sagging chest muscles showing signs of age

• More relaxed position, sitting with his writing tablet

• Informal, natural representation of the scribe conveys his lower status

Well then why even make a sculpture of a scribe??

• Because while not high-class, it is an honorable profession in an illiterate society

Comparative Analysis

Kamares ware jar, from Phaistos (Crete), GreeceDate: ca 1800-1700 BCE

Warriors Vase, from Mycenae, GreeceDate ca 1200 BCE

• Minoan• Central motif of leaping fish• Curvilinear & swirling abstract

pattern/design• Example of the lively marine life that

abounded in the Aegean sea• Shows the importance of the sea and

its abundant resources to the island of Knossos

• Does NOT depict a narrative

• Mycenaean• Used for mixing wine and water• A simple narrative is depicted (no

setting or landscape)• Has a repeating pattern of marching

warriors going across its surface• On the left a woman bids farewell• Subject matter is of warriors/

defense, a major focus of Mycenaean culture.

• Much more simplified pattern and style than the detailed carved Minoan Harvester’s vase