History

Abstract

reliefs, votive statues, inlays, cylinder seals, and cuneiform tablets of Mesopotamia, Syro-Anatolia, the Levant, Persia, and Egypt from 3500 to 330 BCE. In addition to their formal qualities, we will explore the practices by which these artifacts and monuments were made; the cultural value of their raw material components, including clay, stone, metals, ivory, and pigments; their life histories, modes of circulation, interactive potential, and significance within the larger social and political climate; and the modern reception and response to these works of art. Students will also obtain an understanding of art historical approaches to the study of ancient Near Eastern visual culture and the value of Art History to the field of ancient Near Eastern Studies. Class meetings- structured around thematic case studies of material groups from different regions presented in chronological sequence-emphasize conceptual issues (agency, materiality, aesthetics, narrative, ideology, space, representation, style, technology, sensory experience), and theoretical and methodological considerations (archaeological, art historical, anthropological, philological, historical). The course draws primarily on archaeological evidence and ancient textual sources and includes regular visits to the Oriental Institute Museum.