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Characteristic:
Functional and Symbolic: Art served political, religious, and propagandistic purposes.
Hierarchical Scale: Important figures are depicted larger than others.
Stylized Human Figures: Rigid poses, large eyes, and detailed beards/hair.
Material Use: Clay, stone, metal (especially bronze), and later, glazed brick.
Narrative Art: Art often told stories, especially in reliefs
Relief Sculpture: Common in palaces and temples—low and high reliefs with detailed figures. -
Date:. 2600–2400 BCE
• Artist: Unknown (anonymous)
• Media: Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, red limestone
• Dimensions: ~21.6 × 49.5 cm (two sides)
• Repository: British Museum, London
• Significance: This iconic piece displays narrative scenes (“War” side and “Peace” side) in registers, illustrating Sumerian society (soldiers, tribute, banquets). It demonstrates the Sumerian narrative tradition, hierarchical scale, and use of inlay techniques. -
Date:2254–2218 BCE
Artist: Unknown
• Media: Pink sandstone stele
• Dimensions: ~1.98 m (6 ft 7 in) high
• Repository: Musée du Louvre, Paris
• Significance: This stele shows Naram-Sin ascending a mountain, trampling his enemies, with a horned helmet signifying his divine status. It breaks from the register format and introduces a narrative, mythic landscape—marking a turning point in Mesopotamian art. -
Date: c. 2100 BCE
• Artist: Unknown
• Media: Diorite
• Dimensions: ~0.74 m (2 ft 5 in) high
• Repository: Musée du Louvre, Paris
• Significance: Gudea’s statues are idealized, serene, and inscribed; this one shows him holding the plan or model of a temple, underlining his role as builder and pious ruler. It typifies Neo‑Sumerian statuary ideals: permanence, religious function, and textual content. -
Date: c. 1780 BCE
• Artist: Unknown
• Media: Basalt
• Dimensions: ~2.25 m high (7 ft 4 in)
• Repository: Musée du Louvre, Paris
• Significance: This stele is inscribed with one of the earliest codified legal systems; the upper relief shows Hammurabi receiving authority from the sun god Shamash. The art underscores the king’s divine sanction and his role as justice‑giver. -
Date: c. 721–705 BCE
• Artist: Unknown
• Media: Limestone / alabaster
• Dimensions: ~4.5–5 m high (colossal figure)
• Repository: Many pieces in various museums (Louvre, British Museum, etc.)
• Significance: These human-headed winged bulls function as guardians at palace entrances. Their combination of human intelligence, animal strength, and divine symbolism epitomizes Assyrian architectural sculpture and power projection. -
Date: c. 510 BCE
• Artist: Unknown
• Media: Limestone / stone
• Dimensions: ~2.3 m high (varies)
• Repository: Louvre, Paris (some capitals moved)
• Significance: The double-headed bull capital is iconic: combining grandeur, structural function, and a symbolic hybrid creature (bulls backing to back) reflects royal strength, stability, and the aesthetic grandeur of Persian palatial architecture.