The Art of Greece: Its Origins in the Mediterranean and Near East

266 Pages·1968·47.926 MB·English

by  Ekrem Akurgal

UNIVERSITYOF CALIFORNIA
MEDICAL CENTERLIBRARY
SAN FRANCISCO
HISTORY COLLECTION

ART OF THE WORLD
NON-EUROPEAN CULTURES
THE HISTORICAL, SOCIOLOGICAL
AND RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS

THE ART OF GREECE
Its Origins in the Mediterranean and Near East
by
EKREM AKURGAL
Mis
CROWN PUBLISHERS INC., NEW YORK
H
4-> /i n f
.
Translatedby Wayne Dynes
Frontispiece: plate i - Assurnasirpaln (883-8j$ B.C.) hunting lions.
Alabaster relieffrom the Northwest Palace at Kalkhu (Nimrud)
British Museum. Height 92 cm. Cf pp. 30jf.
FIRST PUBLISHED IN 966
© 966 HOLLE VERLAG GmbH, BADE1N-BADEN, GERMANY
1
ENGLISFIHRSTTRAPNUSBLLAITSIHOEND I©N G19R6E8ATBYBRMIETTAHINUEINN &196C8O. LTD
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 68-9056
PRINTED IN HOLLAND
.
CONTENTS
Lists ofplates (8). List offigures (9). Acknowledgements (10).
FOREWORD
13-14
PART ONE: THE ORIENT
NEO-ASSYRIAN ART
I. 16-48
System of Near Eastern art (16). Five stylisticphases. Fundamentals of'conceptual' ap-
proach (16). Attitudes and gestures. Ideal representation (17). Perpendicular positioning.
'Escape'from conceptualprinciple. Thirddimension andcomposition. Horizontalperspective
(21). Progressive development. Threshold ofdiscovery ofperspective (22). Causes offailure.
Politicalandsocialstructure(25). Artinserviceofstate. AssyrianartasClassicalmodel'(25)
Art ofnarration. Continuous narration. (27)
Archaic style (28). Obelisk ofAssurnasirpalII(28).
Classical style (30). Harmony. Flat reliWef, powerful contours (30). Stylistic and
iconographicfeatures (30). Chariots(31). Lions. styligation (31).
Transitional style(32). Newcompositions. Transformations(37). Newfeaturesoflion
(37). Changes in chariot details(38). New warrior types. Activity inprovinces(39).
Plastic style (39). Monumentality and plasticity. Styligation of knee-cap (40).
Coiffure (40). Modification oflion type (41).
Realistic style (41). Change in hair style. Change in lion type (42). Egyptian lion
form. Climax of Assyrian sculpture (43). Lions in combat (43). From schematism to
naturalism (44). Climax ofrealism (44). Spatial depth and composition (45). Great battle
scene. Design andcomposition (46).
Assyrian architecture (46). Four centres. Nimrud. 'Fort ofSargon\ Nineveh (47).
BABYLONIAN ART
II. 49-52
Achievements of ancient Near Easternpeoples(49). Literature, artandreligion. Boundary
stone (49). Hanging gardens (50). City walls (51). Ziggurat. Ishtar Gate. Persian
conquest(52).
III. ARAMAEAN ART 53~66
Aramaean head-dress (53). Spiral curls, curl by the ear (53). Secular outlook (53).
Funerary stelae. Kilamuwa relief(54). Barrakab relief (a). Stele ofprincess. Aramaean
tiara (56). Hair style. Fold rendering (59). Modification of Hittite animalfigures (60).
Aramaean-Hittite lion figures (61). Aramaean-Hittite griffin. Flowering of Aramaean
art(62). ChariotrelieffromSakfegd^u(62). OtherAramaean-Hittitecarvings(65). Role of
Aramaeans in architecture.
IV. NEO-HITTITE ART 67-142
Antecedents of Syro-Hittite-Luvian complex (67). Spread of Aramaeans. 'Neo-Hittite
art' (67). Hieroglyphic script.
Architecture. Bit Hilani. Niqmepa's Palace (69). Minoan-Mycenaean features.
K
Building]. Building (71). Hilani buildings. Hilanis II, III (73). Hilani I. Upper
Palace(75). Flowering ofhilanitradition. Sakfego\u hilani(75). Tell Halafhilani. Abdi-
ilimu (77). Spreadofhilani(78). Neo-Hittite building elements. History oforthostat (79).
Other architectural elements. Base (80). Basesfrom Zincirli and Tell Tainat. Carchemish
type in Assyria (85). Furniture fragments in ivory. Animal pedestals (86). Portal
animals (87). Lion base from Carchemish. Columns. Necking rings (88). Capital. Car-
chemish capital with leaf crown and abacus (89). Ivory imitations. Ionic capital (93).
Phoenician capital(93).
Neo-Hittite sculpture (94). Three styles. Early Neo-Hittite style(1100-900/850)
(94). Empire tradition. Malatya orthostat relief(95). Dating. Assyrian elements.
Middle Neo-Hittite style (900-750/730) (96). Syro-Hittite and Mitannian style
elements. Assyrian elements. Neo-Hittite hair style (98). Neo-Hittite costume. Works
from Malatya(99).
Middle Neo-Hittite sculpture from Zincirli (100). Criteria for dating chariot
Ham
scenes (100). Dating. Middle Neo-Hittite lions (103). Zincirli lions. a lions (105).
TellAin Dara lions(105). Middle Neo-Hittitegriffin head.
Middle Neo-Hittite sculpture from Carchemish(106). AnatolianHittitefeatures
(107). Two different style trends. Use ofchariots^nesfor dating(109). Katuwas = Pisiris.
SculpturefromTell Halaf. MiddleNeo-Hittite traitsin TellHalafsculpture(111).
Assyrian traits. Syro-Phoenician traits (113). Dating. Carvingsfrom Tell Halaf. Anklets
(116). Coiffure (116). Flame-like styligation. Smallfinds as elements in dating (117). Tell
Halafgoldplaquette. TwoPhrygianbronzevessels{118).Periodofsmallorthostats(760-730).
Late Neo-Hittite style. Araras reliefs (121). Assyrian elements. Syro-Phoenician
elements(122). Links withZincirliandSakfego^u(122). Origin ofAraras reliefs.
Aramaeanizing Hittite carvings. Funerary stelae (127). Stele ofa couple. Stele with
family scene (129). Stele ofboy with woman (129). Attributes ofvariousprofessions (131).
Dating(132). Rock reliefatIvri%. Hittite elements(135).
Karatepesculptures(135). Phoenicianstyleelements. Nursingmotherwithchild(156).
Two styles. Phoenician group (137). Expressionistic work with humorous overtones. Ara-
maean-Hittitegroup (138). Dating. Phoenician influence (141).
V. PHOENICIAN AND SYRIAN ART REGION 143-160
Phoenician art. Eclecticism(143). Egyptiani^ingstyle (143). BaghdadcMonaLisa' (144).
*Woman at the Window'. Aphrodite cult in Babylon (144). Ivoriesfrom Arslan-Tas. Lion
typeofSargonidstyle(147). Khorsabadivories(148). OtherPhoenician styles. Kerameikos
bronze bowl(148). Nimrudbronze bowl. Tridacna shells(150). Ivory statuettefrom Samos.
Link with Urartian sirens(155).
Syrian art centres (156). Eclecticism. Nimrudivory box. Finds at Gordion. Iranian
sphere (160).