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Ancient Near Eastern Art

  • Period: 3500 BCE to 400 BCE

    Ancient Near Eastern Art

  • Ziggurat of Ur (largely reconstructed), c. 2100 B.C.E, mud brick and baked brick Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq
    2100 BCE

    Ziggurat of Ur (largely reconstructed), c. 2100 B.C.E, mud brick and baked brick Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq

    The Ziggurat was a invention of the Ancient Near East, its like an ancient Egyptian pyramid but not exactly, the ancient that is near the eastern of ziggurat has four sides which rise up to the realm of the gods, there is religious rituals to ancient near eastern cities at the Ziggurat, Ziggurats are found scattered around what is today, Iraq and Iran.
  • Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi, basalt, Babylonian, 1792-1750 B.C.E.
    1792 BCE

    Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi, basalt, Babylonian, 1792-1750 B.C.E.

    In this piece of art work from Babylonia, Stele is shown here receiving the Laws from the god shamash, Stele would mainly agree to these laws because the laws themselves come from the gods. We know that Shamash is a god himself from the way he is dressed. He has "4" lines in his hat, which makes him powerful, and that he is seated. An interesting thing is that the Hammurabi has a code written in Babylonia.
  • Winged human-headed bull (lamassu or shedu), 721-705 B.C.E
    721 BCE

    Winged human-headed bull (lamassu or shedu), 721-705 B.C.E

    Lamassu from Assyrian, is a "mythical guardian spirit", it has the body of a Bull, has the wings of an eagle, and has the head of a human, the lamassu has a crown with 2 bull horns, which means its not that powerful but it kind of is a little. The lamassu has a angle from the front where it shows it standing and walking, at the front it is still like a guard, and the other side shows its walking, like its following or guiding you.