iconography
The content, or subject, of an artwork and the study of content in art. Also the study of symbolic, often religious, meaning of objects, persons, or events depicted in works of art.
twisted perspective
Or composite view. A convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally.
ziggurat
In ancient Mesopotamian architecture, a monumental platform for a temple.
protome
The head, forelegs, and part of the body of an animal.
mastaba
Arabic, "bench." An ancient Egyptian rectangular brick or stone structure with sloping sides erected over a subterranean tomb chamber connected with the outside by a shaft.
hypostyle hall
A hall with a roof supported by columns.
megaron
A large reception hall and throne room in a Mycenaean palace, fronted by an open, two-columned porch.
relieving triangle
In Mycenaean architecture, the triangular opening above the lintel that serves to lighten the weight to be carried by the lintel itself.
Paleolithic
The "old" Stone Age, during which humankind produced the first sculptures and paintings.
composite view
A convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally.
apadana
The great audience hall in ancient Persian palaces.
cuneiform
Latin, "wedge-shaped." A system of writing used in ancient Mesopotamia, in which wedge-shaped characters were produced by pressing a stylus into a soft clay tablet, which was then baked or otherwise allowed to harden.
ka
In ancient Egypt, the immortal human life force.
freize
Any sculptured or painted band in a building.
corbelled vault
A vault formed by the piling of stone blocks in horizontal courses, cantilevered inward until the two walls meet in an arch.
beehive tomb
A burial structure characterized by its false dome created by the superposition of successively smaller rings of mudbricks or, more often, stones.
Mesolithic
The "middle" Stone Age. Between Paleolithic and Neolithic.
narrative
Art that tells a story, either as a moment in an ongoing story or as a sequence of events unfolding over time.
lamassu
Assyrian guardian in the form of a man-headed winged bull.
hierarchical scale
An artistic convention in which greater size indicates greater importance.
canonical
A rule, for example, of proportion. the ancient Greeks considered beauty to be a matter of "correct" proportion and sought a canon of proportion, for the human figure and for buildings.
fresco
Painting on lime plaster, either dry or wet.
tholos
A temple with a circular plan. Also, the burial chamber of a tholos tomb (in Mycenaean architecture, a beehive-shaped tomb with a circular plan).
Neolithic
The "new" Stone Age.
relief
In sculptures, figures projecting from a background of which they are part. The degree of relef is designated high, or low (bas), or sunken.
stele
A carved stone slab used to mark graves or to commemorate historical events.
hieroglyph
A system of writing using symbols or pictures.
pylon
The wide entrance gateway of an Egyptian temple, characterized by its sloping walls.
labyrinth
Maze. The English word derives from the maze-like plan of the Minoan palace at Knossos.
Left wall of the Hall of the Bulls in the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 16,000-14,000 bce. Largest bull 11'6".
Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria, ca. 28,000-25,000 bce. Limestone 4 1/4" high.
Reclining woman, La Magdeleine, ca. 12,000 BCE.
Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France, ca. 25,000-20,000 bce. Painted liomestone, 1' 6" high.
Bison, detail of a painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain, ca. 13,000-11,000 bce. Standing bison 5' 2 1/2" tall.
Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech-Merle, France, ca. 23,000-22,000 bce.11" 2" long.
Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting on the wall of the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 16,000-14,000 bce. Bison 3' 4 1/2" long.
Deer hunt, detail of a wall painting from level III, �atal H�y�k, Turkey. ca 5750 bce.
Aerial view of Stonehenge (looking Northwest), Salisbury Plain, Wilshire, England, ca. 2550-1600 bce. Circle 97' in diameter, trilithons 24' high.
Peace side of the Standard of Ur, from tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600-2400 bce. Wood, lapis lazuli, shell, and red limestone, 8" x 1' 7".
Statuettes of two worshipers, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar), Iraq, ca. 2700 bce. Gypsum, shell, and black limestone, man 2' 2 1/4" high, woman 1' 11 1/4 " high.
War side of the Standard of Ur, from tomb 779, Royal Cemetry, Ur (modern tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600-2400 bce. Wood, lapis lazuli, shell, and red limestone, 8" x 1' 7".
Head of an Akkadian ruler, from Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 2250-2200 bce. Copper, 1' 2 3/8" high.
Victory stele of Naram-Sin, from Susa, Iran, 2254-2218 bce. Pink sandstone, 6' 7" high.
Ziggurat (looking southwest), Ur (modern Tell Mugayyar), Iraq, ca. 2100 bce.
Stele with the laws of Hammurabi, from Susa, Iran, ca. 1780 bce. Basalt 7' 4" high.
Lamassu (man-headed winged bull) from the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin )modern Khorsabad), Iraq, ca. 720-705 bce. Limestone, 13- 10" high.
Ashurbanipal hunting lions, relief from the north palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 645-640 bce. Gypsum, 5'4" high.
Ishtar gate (restored), Babylon, Iraq, ca. 575 bce.
Persian and Medes, detail of the processional frieze on the east side of the terrace of the apadana of the palace. Persepolis, Iran, ca. 521-465 bce.
The palette of King Narmer from Kierakonpolis, Eqypt, Predynasti, ca. 3000-2920 bce. Slate, 2' 1" high.
Imhotep, stepped pyramid (looking northeast) of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynastic, ca. 2630-2611 bce.
The Great Pyramids of Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty. From bottom: pyramids of Menkaure, ca. 2490-2472 bce.; Khafre, ca. 2520-2492 bce; and Khufu, ca. 2551-2528 bce.
Great Sphinx (with pyramid of Khafre in the background). Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2520-2492 bce.
Khafre enthroned, from Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2520-2494 bce. Diorite, 5' 6" high.
Menkaure and Khamerernebty from Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2490-2472 bce. Graywacke, 4' 6 1/2" high.
Seated scribe, from Saqqara, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2500 bce. Painted limestone, 1' 9" high.
Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut (looking southwest), Deir el Bahri, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1473-1458 bce.
Hatshepsut with offering jars, from the upper court of her mortuary temple, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1473-1458 bce. Red granite, 8' 6" high.
Facade of the temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290-1224 bce. Sandstone, colossi 65' high.
Nebamun hunting fowl, from the tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, Egypt, 18th dynasty. ca. 1400-1350 bce, Fresco secco, 2' 8" high.
Akhenaton, from the temple of Aton, Karnak, Egypt, 18th dynasty, ca 1353-1335 bce. Sandstone, 13' high.
Thutmost, Nefertifi, from Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353-1335 bce. Painted limestone, 1' 8" high.
Tiye, from Ghurab, Egpt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353-1335 bce. Wood, with gold, silver, alabaster, and lapis lazuli, 3 3/4" high.
Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters, from Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353-1335 bce. Limestone, 1' 1/4" high.
Death mask of Tutankhamen, from the innermost coffin in his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1323 bce. Gold with inlay of semiprecious stones, 1' 9 1/4" high.
Temple of Horus (looking east), Edfu, Egypt, ca. 237-47 bce.
Figurine of a woman, from Syros (Cyclades), Greece, ca. 2600-2300 bce. Marble, 1' 6" high.
Bull-leaping, from the palace, Knossos (crete), Greece, ca. 1400-1370 bce. Fresco, 2' 8" high, oncluding border.
Landscape with swallows (Spring Fresco) from room Delta 2, Akrotiri, Thera (cyclades), Greece, ca. 1650-1625 bce. Fresco, 7' 6" high.
Kamares Ware jar, from Phaistos (crete), Greece, ca. 1800-1700 bce. 1'8" high.
Marine style Octopus flask, from Palaikastro (Crete), Greece ca. 1450 bce. 11" high.
Snake Goddess, from the palace, Knossos (crete), Greece, ca. 1600 bce, Faience 1' 1 1/1" high.
Harvesters Vase, from Hagia Triada (crete_, Greece, ca. 1500-1450 bce. Steatite, orginally with gold leaf, greatest diameter 5
Corbel-vaulted gallery in the circuit wall of the citadel, Tiryns, Greece, ca. 1400-1200 bce.
Lion gate (looking southeast), Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 bce. Limestone, relief panel 9'6" high.
Interior of the Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 bce.
Funerary mask, from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1600-1500 bce. Beaten gold, 1' high.
Warrior Vase (krater), from Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1200 bce. 1'4" high.
iconography
The content, or subject, of an artwork and the study of content in art. Also the study of symbolic, often religious, meaning of objects, persons, or events depicted in works of art.
twisted perspective
Or composite view. A convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally.
ziggurat
In ancient Mesopotamian architecture, a monumental platform for a temple.
protome
The head, forelegs, and part of the body of an animal.
mastaba
Arabic, "bench." An ancient Egyptian rectangular brick or stone structure with sloping sides erected over a subterranean tomb chamber connected with the outside by a shaft.
hypostyle hall
A hall with a roof supported by columns.
megaron
A large reception hall and throne room in a Mycenaean palace, fronted by an open, two-columned porch.
relieving triangle
In Mycenaean architecture, the triangular opening above the lintel that serves to lighten the weight to be carried by the lintel itself.
Paleolithic
The "old" Stone Age, during which humankind produced the first sculptures and paintings.
composite view
A convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally.
apadana
The great audience hall in ancient Persian palaces.
cuneiform
Latin, "wedge-shaped." A system of writing used in ancient Mesopotamia, in which wedge-shaped characters were produced by pressing a stylus into a soft clay tablet, which was then baked or otherwise allowed to harden.
ka
In ancient Egypt, the immortal human life force.
freize
Any sculptured or painted band in a building.
corbelled vault
A vault formed by the piling of stone blocks in horizontal courses, cantilevered inward until the two walls meet in an arch.
beehive tomb
A burial structure characterized by its false dome created by the superposition of successively smaller rings of mudbricks or, more often, stones.
Mesolithic
The "middle" Stone Age. Between Paleolithic and Neolithic.
narrative
Art that tells a story, either as a moment in an ongoing story or as a sequence of events unfolding over time.
lamassu
Assyrian guardian in the form of a man-headed winged bull.
hierarchical scale
An artistic convention in which greater size indicates greater importance.
canonical
A rule, for example, of proportion. the ancient Greeks considered beauty to be a matter of "correct" proportion and sought a canon of proportion, for the human figure and for buildings.
fresco
Painting on lime plaster, either dry or wet.
tholos
A temple with a circular plan. Also, the burial chamber of a tholos tomb (in Mycenaean architecture, a beehive-shaped tomb with a circular plan).
Neolithic
The "new" Stone Age.
relief
In sculptures, figures projecting from a background of which they are part. The degree of relef is designated high, or low (bas), or sunken.
stele
A carved stone slab used to mark graves or to commemorate historical events.
hieroglyph
A system of writing using symbols or pictures.
pylon
The wide entrance gateway of an Egyptian temple, characterized by its sloping walls.
labyrinth
Maze. The English word derives from the maze-like plan of the Minoan palace at Knossos.
Left wall of the Hall of the Bulls in the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 16,000-14,000 bce. Largest bull 11'6".
Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria, ca. 28,000-25,000 bce. Limestone 4 1/4" high.
Reclining woman, La Magdeleine, ca. 12,000 BCE.
Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France, ca. 25,000-20,000 bce. Painted liomestone, 1' 6" high.
Bison, detail of a painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain, ca. 13,000-11,000 bce. Standing bison 5' 2 1/2" tall.
Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech-Merle, France, ca. 23,000-22,000 bce.11" 2" long.
Rhinoceros, wounded man, and disemboweled bison, painting on the wall of the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 16,000-14,000 bce. Bison 3' 4 1/2" long.
Deer hunt, detail of a wall painting from level III, �atal H�y�k, Turkey. ca 5750 bce.
Aerial view of Stonehenge (looking Northwest), Salisbury Plain, Wilshire, England, ca. 2550-1600 bce. Circle 97' in diameter, trilithons 24' high.
Peace side of the Standard of Ur, from tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600-2400 bce. Wood, lapis lazuli, shell, and red limestone, 8" x 1' 7".
Statuettes of two worshipers, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar), Iraq, ca. 2700 bce. Gypsum, shell, and black limestone, man 2' 2 1/4" high, woman 1' 11 1/4 " high.
War side of the Standard of Ur, from tomb 779, Royal Cemetry, Ur (modern tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600-2400 bce. Wood, lapis lazuli, shell, and red limestone, 8" x 1' 7".
Head of an Akkadian ruler, from Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 2250-2200 bce. Copper, 1' 2 3/8" high.
Victory stele of Naram-Sin, from Susa, Iran, 2254-2218 bce. Pink sandstone, 6' 7" high.
Ziggurat (looking southwest), Ur (modern Tell Mugayyar), Iraq, ca. 2100 bce.
Stele with the laws of Hammurabi, from Susa, Iran, ca. 1780 bce. Basalt 7' 4" high.
Lamassu (man-headed winged bull) from the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin )modern Khorsabad), Iraq, ca. 720-705 bce. Limestone, 13- 10" high.
Ashurbanipal hunting lions, relief from the north palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 645-640 bce. Gypsum, 5'4" high.
Ishtar gate (restored), Babylon, Iraq, ca. 575 bce.
Persian and Medes, detail of the processional frieze on the east side of the terrace of the apadana of the palace. Persepolis, Iran, ca. 521-465 bce.
The palette of King Narmer from Kierakonpolis, Eqypt, Predynasti, ca. 3000-2920 bce. Slate, 2' 1" high.
Imhotep, stepped pyramid (looking northeast) of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt, Third Dynastic, ca. 2630-2611 bce.
The Great Pyramids of Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty. From bottom: pyramids of Menkaure, ca. 2490-2472 bce.; Khafre, ca. 2520-2492 bce; and Khufu, ca. 2551-2528 bce.
Great Sphinx (with pyramid of Khafre in the background). Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2520-2492 bce.
Khafre enthroned, from Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2520-2494 bce. Diorite, 5' 6" high.
Menkaure and Khamerernebty from Gizeh, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2490-2472 bce. Graywacke, 4' 6 1/2" high.
Seated scribe, from Saqqara, Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, ca. 2500 bce. Painted limestone, 1' 9" high.
Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut (looking southwest), Deir el Bahri, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1473-1458 bce.
Hatshepsut with offering jars, from the upper court of her mortuary temple, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1473-1458 bce. Red granite, 8' 6" high.
Facade of the temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel, Egypt, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290-1224 bce. Sandstone, colossi 65' high.
Nebamun hunting fowl, from the tomb of Nebamun, Thebes, Egypt, 18th dynasty. ca. 1400-1350 bce, Fresco secco, 2' 8" high.
Akhenaton, from the temple of Aton, Karnak, Egypt, 18th dynasty, ca 1353-1335 bce. Sandstone, 13' high.
Thutmost, Nefertifi, from Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353-1335 bce. Painted limestone, 1' 8" high.
Tiye, from Ghurab, Egpt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353-1335 bce. Wood, with gold, silver, alabaster, and lapis lazuli, 3 3/4" high.
Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters, from Amarna, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1353-1335 bce. Limestone, 1' 1/4" high.
Death mask of Tutankhamen, from the innermost coffin in his tomb at Thebes, Egypt, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1323 bce. Gold with inlay of semiprecious stones, 1' 9 1/4" high.
Temple of Horus (looking east), Edfu, Egypt, ca. 237-47 bce.
Figurine of a woman, from Syros (Cyclades), Greece, ca. 2600-2300 bce. Marble, 1' 6" high.
Bull-leaping, from the palace, Knossos (crete), Greece, ca. 1400-1370 bce. Fresco, 2' 8" high, oncluding border.
Landscape with swallows (Spring Fresco) from room Delta 2, Akrotiri, Thera (cyclades), Greece, ca. 1650-1625 bce. Fresco, 7' 6" high.
Kamares Ware jar, from Phaistos (crete), Greece, ca. 1800-1700 bce. 1'8" high.
Marine style Octopus flask, from Palaikastro (Crete), Greece ca. 1450 bce. 11" high.
Snake Goddess, from the palace, Knossos (crete), Greece, ca. 1600 bce, Faience 1' 1 1/1" high.
Harvesters Vase, from Hagia Triada (crete_, Greece, ca. 1500-1450 bce. Steatite, orginally with gold leaf, greatest diameter 5
Corbel-vaulted gallery in the circuit wall of the citadel, Tiryns, Greece, ca. 1400-1200 bce.
Lion gate (looking southeast), Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 bce. Limestone, relief panel 9'6" high.
Interior of the Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 bce.
Funerary mask, from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1600-1500 bce. Beaten gold, 1' high.
Warrior Vase (krater), from Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1200 bce. 1'4" high.