Cover
Preface
CHAPTER ONE: The “Art” of the “Ancient Near East”
1. Introduction
2. Defining the “Ancient Near East”
3. Periodization and Chronology of the “Ancient” Near East
4. Modern Frameworks for an “Ancient Near Eastern Art”
5. Did the Ancient Near East in Fact Produce “Art”?
6. Comparative Approaches
7. Conclusions
8. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
9. REFERENCES
PART I: APPROACHES AND METHODS OF ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
1. CHAPTER TWO: Art and Material Culture
  1. Introduction
  2. The Mechanical Reproduction of Images
  3. Art, Material Culture, and Social Scale
  4. The “Bureaucratic Eye”
  5. Image, Commerce, and Cosmology
  6. Cult Images and the Mixture of Materials
  7. Conclusion
  8. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  9. REFERENCES
2. CHAPTER THREE: Meaning and Interpretation
  1. Introduction
  2. New Perspectives from Anthropology and History
  3. The Methods of Art History and the Ancient Near East
  4. Text and Image
  5. The “Fribourg School”: The Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Iconography
  6. The Purpose and Persistence of Images
  7. Missing “Images” and Their Interpretation
  8. Conclusion
  9. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  10. REFERENCES
3. CHAPTER FOUR: Style
  1. Introduction
  2. Challenges of Style for the Study of Ancient Near Eastern Art
  3. Potentials of Stylistic Analysis, I: Selected Examples from Ancient Near Eastern Art
  4. Potentials of Stylistic Analysis, II: Ancient Near Eastern Glyptic
  5. Seal Styles and the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BCE)
  6. Conclusion
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
4. CHAPTER FIVE: Connoisseurship and Classification
  1. Introduction: Issues of Terminology
  2. Connoisseurship and Classification
  3. Connoisseurship, Classification, and Style: Passive Reflection of Normative Rules to Means of Active Communication and Information Exchange
  4. Cases of Connoisseurship and Classification in Near Eastern Art History
  5. Ivories of the Early First Millennium BCE
  6. A View from Abroad
  7. Glyptic
  8. Neo‐Assyrian Reliefs
  9. Conclusion
  10. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  11. REFERENCES
5. CHAPTER SIX: Visual Culture
  1. Introduction
  2. Hierarchies of Objects: Defining “Art”
  3. Disembodied Images: Reconstructions and Simulacra
  4. The Image in/on the Stone
  5. Images as Constructions of/by Culture
  6. Space at Babylon
  7. Visuality
  8. The Materiality of Gold
  9. Conclusion: Why (Not) Visual Culture Studies?
  10. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  11. REFERENCES
6. CHAPTER SEVEN: Technical Examination and Material Analysis
  1. Introduction
  2. Dating
  3. Analytical Tools
  4. Visual Analysis
  5. Structural Analysis
  6. Elemental Analysis
  7. Material Identification and Manufacture
  8. Conclusions
  9. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  10. REFERENCES
7. CHAPTER EIGHT: Gender and Sexuality
  1. Introduction
  2. Making and Breaking the Mother Goddess Paradigm
  3. The Emerging Male in Mesopotamian Narrative Art
  4. Nudity and Sex: Titillation, Fertility, Protection
  5. Gender Ambiguity and Intersexuality
  6. Conclusions
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
8. CHAPTER NINE: Semiotics, Reception Theory, and Poststructuralism
  1. Introduction
  2. Nonverbal Communication and How It Functions
  3. Semiotics: The World of Signs
  4. Reception Theory: The Receiver’s Role in Nonverbal Communication
  5. Poststructuralism
  6. Conclusions
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
PART II: CRITICAL TERMS AND CONCEPTS
1. CHAPTER TEN: Representation
  1. Introduction
  2. An Expanded Definition of Representation
  3. Art History and Approaches to Interpreting Representations
  4. The Material Perspective: The Ontology of Mesopotamian Objects
  5. Neo‐Assyrian Art and the Vocabulary of Representation
  6. Beyond Assyria: The Luwian and Aramaean Kingdoms
  7. Conclusions
  8. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  9. REFERENCES
2. CHAPTER ELEVEN: Narrative
  1. Introduction
  2. Narrative in the Art of Mesopotamia
  3. Obligation and Action
  4. Legal Transactions and Ritual Narratives
  5. The Birth of Historical Narratives
  6. The Cycle of Past and Future
  7. Assyrian Warfare and Ritual
  8. Conclusion: The Beginning and End of Mesopotamian Narrative
  9. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  10. REFERENCES
3. CHAPTER TWELVE: Ideology
  1. Introduction: Religion and Ideology
  2. Tradition and Ideology
  3. The Early Materialization of Tropes Pertaining to Royal Ideology
  4. Ritual
  5. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  6. REFERENCES
4. CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Ritual
  1. Introduction
  2. Disciplining Ritual: Contributions from Anthropology
  3. Between Art History and Archaeology: Enclosing and Disclosing Ritual
  4. The Hidden and the Everyday at Çatalhöyük
  5. Neo‐Assyrian Apotropaic Figurine Deposits
  6. Conclusions
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
5. CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Agency
  1. Introduction
  2. Object Agency in Mesopotamia
  3. Etic and Emic Descriptions
  4. Agency Theory
  5. Alfred Gell’s Art and Agency
  6. Approaches to Art
  7. Object Agency
  8. Object Agency and the Ancient Near East
  9. Conclusions
  10. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  11. REFERENCES
6. CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Aesthetics
  1. Introduction
  2. Aesthetics and Perception, Senses and Communication
  3. Principles of Aesthetic Judgment
  4. Value and Prestige
  5. Aesthetic Modalities
  6. Conclusions
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
PART III: MATERIALS, MEDIA, AND ARTISTIC ENVIRONMENTS
1. CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Statuary and Reliefs
  1. Introduction: Terminology and Approaches
  2. The Objects: Type, Size, Material, Context, Findspot, Date, and Origin
  3. Who/What is Depicted: Figures’ Identity, Portraiture, Narratives
  4. Who Made Sculpture for Whom: Artists, Patrons, Audiences
  5. Sculptures’ Lives: Consecration, Maintenance, Maltreatment
  6. Conclusions
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
2. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Glyptic
  1. Introduction
  2. Material, Form, and Size
  3. Sealings: How Seals Were Used
  4. Purpose and Importance of Seals in Antiquity and Today
  5. Seals as the Mass Media of Antiquity
  6. Private Seals vs. Institutional or Group Seals
  7. The Iconography of Seals: Between Narrative Medium and Symbolic Representation
  8. The Main Themes and Motives on Seals: Seventh to First Millennium BCE
  9. Individual Themes and Motives
  10. Conclusion
  11. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  12. REFERENCES
3. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Religious Architecture
  1. Introduction
  2. The Eanna Precinct at Uruk: Late Uruk Period
  3. Temple Building in Early Dynastic Mesopotamia: Khafajah
  4. Innovations in Temple Planning at the End of the Third Millennium BCE
  5. Regional Distinctions in the Early Second Millennium BCE
  6. Conclusion
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
4. CHAPTER NINETEEN: Palaces and Elite Houses
  1. Introduction
  2. The Development of Palaces in Greater Mesopotamia and Syria (ca. 3000–2000 BCE)
  3. Mesopotamia and Syria in the Second Millennium BCE: Kingdom to Empire
  4. Neo‐Assyrian and Neo‐Babylonian Palaces: First Millennium BCE
  5. Palaces in Hittite Anatolia (ca. 1650–1180 BCE)
  6. Conclusions
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
5. CHAPTER TWENTY: Rock Reliefs and Landscape Monuments
  1. Introduction
  2. Inscribing and Reinscribing Place
  3. Rock‐Carving as Colonization of Landscapes and Places
  4. Apparitions on the Living Rock
  5. Conclusions
  6. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  7. REFERENCES
6. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Reconstructing Artistic Environments
  1. Introduction
  2. Artistic Environments of the Prehistoric Near East
  3. Artistic Environments of the Early State
  4. The Territorial State
  5. The Imperial State
  6. Conclusion
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
PART IV: INTERACTIONS WITH NEIGHBORING REGIONS AND ARTISTIC TRADITIONS
1. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: The Ancient Near East and Egypt
  1. Introduction
  2. Image Exchange in the Fourth Millennium: Service to Technology and State Formation
  3. Artistic Exchange in the Third and Second Millennia: Ideology Exported, Technique and Form Imported
  4. The Late Bronze Age and the Egyptian New Kingdom
  5. The International Context of the Late Bronze Age
  6. Interconnections in the First Millennium BCE
  7. The Statue of Darius and Egypt in the Achaemenid Era (ca. 525–330 BCE)
  8. Conclusions
  9. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  10. REFERENCES
2. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: The Ancient Near East and the Bronze Age Aegean
  1. Introduction
  2. The Early Bronze Age (ca. 3000–2000 BCE)
  3. The Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000–1600 BCE)
  4. The Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600–1200/1100 BCE)
  5. Conclusions
  6. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  7. REFERENCES
3. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Near Eastern Art in the Iron Age Mediterranean
  1. Introduction
  2. Early Networks and the Cypriot Connection
  3. Orientalia: Ivories, Bowls, and Cauldrons
  4. Oriental and Orientalizing Art in Crete: 900–600 BCE
  5. Oriental Art in Early Iron Age of Greece: The Cemeteries of Athens and Lefkandi (Euboia)
  6. A New Context: The Great Sanctuaries of Olympia and Samos (Heraion)
  7. Near Eastern Art in Latium and South Etruria
  8. Summary and Conclusions
  9. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  10. REFERENCES
PART V: INTERSECTIONS WITH ARCHAEOLOGY, COLLECTING, AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
1. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: Archaeology and the Art of the Ancient Near East
  1. Introduction
  2. Stratigraphy and Provenance
  3. The Afterlife of Monuments
  4. Functional Contexts
  5. Analytical Methods
  6. The Significance of New Discoveries
  7. Conclusion
  8. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  9. REFERENCES
2. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Cultural Heritage across the Middle East, Ancient and Modern
  1. Introduction
  2. “Cultural Heritage” and its Uses in the Ancient Near East
  3. National Laws, Antiquities Services, and Museums
  4. National Laws and More Recent Histories
  5. International Conventions
  6. Conclusion
  7. GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
  8. REFERENCES
Index
End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Chapter 02
1. Figure 2.1 Lion‐spearing scene impressed onto clay vessel sealing. Syria, Tell Majnuna; early fourth millennium BCE. Tell Brak Expedition TB16859.
2. Figure 2.2 Gaming board inlaid with symmetrical designs. Ur, Royal Cemetery; Early Dynastic IIIa (ca. 2550–2400 BCE). Shell, red limestone, and lapis lazuli; 30.1 × 11 × 2.4 cm. British Museum ME 120834.
3. Figure 2.3 Line drawings of cylinder seal impressions showing experiments with composite figuration. Mesopotamia and western Iran; late fourth millennium BCE, Uruk.
4. Figure 2.4 Composite construction of Early Dynastic stone statues. Nippur, Inana Temple, level VIIB. Left to right: Iraq Museum IM 66164, IM 66183; Oriental Institute Museum A31494.
Chapter 03
1. Figure 3.1 Entitlement document (narû) recording purchase of land by a royal officer, Marduk‐nasir. Babylon; reign of Marduk‐nadin‐ahhe (eleventh century BCE). Limestone; h. 61 cm. British Museum ME 90841
2. Figure 3.2 Bird‐headed apkallus flanking “Assyrian sacred tree below Standard Inscription.” Nimrud, Northwest Palace; reign of Assurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE). Gypsum; 1.11 × 1.62 m. British Museum ME 124583
3. Figure 3.3 Detail, Neo‐Assyrian palace relief with epigraph. Nineveh, Southwest Palace; reign of Sennacherib (704–681 BCE). Gypsum; h. entire relief 2.51 m. British Museum ME 124911
4. Figure 3.4 Cylinder seal and modern impression: water god, two‐faced god, and two minor gods carrying plant and bird man. Akkadian period (ca. 2350–2220 BCE). Serpentine; 32.5 × 19.5 mm. The Morgan Library & Museum, Morgan Seal 198.
5. Figure 3.5 Sun‐god Tablet of Nabu‐apla‐iddina. Sippar, reign of Nabu‐apla‐iddina (ninth century BCE). Gray schist; 29.5 × 17.8 cm. British Museum ME 91000
Chapter 04
1. Figure 4.1 Composite line drawing from impressions of PFS 7*. Inscribed cylinder seal, carved in Court Style. Pres. h. of image 1.60 cm (almost complete).
2. Figure 4.2 Composite line drawing from impressions of PFS 38. Cylinder seal carved in Modeled Style. Pres. h. of image 1.40 cm (almost complete).
3. Figure 4.3 (a) Composite line drawing from impressions of PFS 16*. Inscribed cylinder seal carved in Modeled Style. Pres. h. of image 1.90 cm (almost complete); (b) Photograph of one impression of PFS 16* on PF Tablet 655 Left Edge.
4. Figure 4.4 (a) Composite line drawing from impressions of PFS 9*. Inscribed cylinder seal carved in Fortification Style. Pres. h. of image 1.30 cm (complete); (b) Composite line drawing from impressions of PFS 49. Cylinder seal carved in Fortification Style. Pres. h. of image 1.90 cm (complete).
5. Figure 4.5 (a) Composite line drawing from impressions of PFS 95. Cylinder seal carved in Fortification Style. Pres. h. of image 1.60 cm (almost complete); (b) Composite line drawing from impressions of PFS 118. Cylinder seal carved in Fortification Style. Pres. h. of image 1.80 cm (complete).
Chapter 05
1. Figure 5.1 Furniture panel with winged, human‐headed sphinx. Nimrud, Fort Shalmaneser SW 37. Ivory; 6.6 × 10.3 cm. ND 10342.
2. Figure 5.2 Tympanum decorated with heroic figure. Crete, Idaean Cave; ninth century BCE. Bronze; dia. 55 cm. Heraklion Museum X9.
3. Figure 5.3 Cylinder seal and modern impression: contest scene, inscribed for Lugallam the scribe. Akkadian period (ca. 2350–2220 BCE). Limestone; 30 × 19 mm. Oriental Institute Museum OIM A3710.
4. Figure 5.4 Schemes of representation in Sennacherib’s reliefs.
Chapter 06
1. Figure 6.1 Reconstruction of throne room, Northwest Palace, Nimrud.
2. Figure 6.2 Rendering from the Learning Sites virtual reality reconstruction of the Northwest Palace of Assurnasirpal II, Nimrud, showing a view down the throne room from near the king’s position.
3. Figure 6.3 Cylinder seal and modern impression: contest scene; inscribed for owner, Shakallum. Akkadian period, ca. 2350–2200 BCE. Chalcedony; 3.6 × dia. 2.3 cm. British Museum ME 89147.
4. Figure 6.4 Pendant with nude goddess Hathor. Minet el‐Beidha, deposit 213bis; ca. 1250 BCE. Gold; 4.7 × 2.3 cm. Musée du Louvre AO 14718.
Chapter 07
1. Figure 7.1 Polished metal section showing large pits residual from casting (a), and intergranular corrosion (b), which confirms this figure’s authenticity. Male figure (Lebanese Mountain group). Provenience unknown; Lebanon, Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000 BCE). Unalloyed copper; h. 35.7 cm. Geneva, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire 18724.
2. Figure 7.2 Radiograph showing cast‐on section of rim, with boundaries between original cast and cast‐on section indicated (a), and modern soldered repairs (b). Handles and rim of a cauldron. Provenience unknown; Cyprus, Late Bronze Age (ca. 1300–1050 BCE). Bronze; handles h. ca. 20.9, rim dia. 40.0 cm. The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 74.51.5685.
3. Figure 7.3 Stone identification using open architecture X‐ray diffraction unit in progress. Unknown object. Nippur, Joint Expedition, American Schools of Oriental Research (Chicago), 1960–61, IT 350, Level XV, Inana Temple. Uruk period, late fourth millennium BCE. Black limestone; 7.2 × 8.3 × 9.1 cm. Rogers Fund, 1962. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 62.70.17.
4. Figure 7.4 Spectra of turquoise specimens from the Sinai and from Nishapur and Kerman (eastern Iran) obtained using X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Ratios derived from these data have been used to establish the geological provenance of turquoise associated with artifacts from ancient and medieval Egyptian and Near Eastern contexts.
Chapter 08
1. Figure 8.1 Female figurine. Syria, Chagar Bazar; ca. 5500 BCE. Ceramic; 9.7 × 5 cm. Ashmolean Museum AN1936.90.
2. Figure 8.2 Drawing, Uruk Vase. Uruk (modern Warka); Late Uruk period, ca. 3300–3000 BCE.
3. Figure 8.3 Assurbanipal and Libbali‐sharrat banqueting in a garden. Nineveh, North Palace (645–635 BCE). Gypsum; h. relief 58.42 cm. British Museum ME 124920.
4. Figure 8.4 Model bed depicting conjugal couple. Attributed to Bismaya mound IV; Isin‐Larsa/Old Babylonian period, ca. 2000–1600 BCE. Ceramic; 7.3 × 5.2 × 2.2 cm. Oriental Institute Museum OIM A361.
5. Figure 8.5 Figurine of nude female (“Judean Pillar Figurine”). Tell ed‐Duweir (ancient Lachish); eighth–seventh century BCE. Ceramic; h. 18.1 cm. Gift of Harris D. and H. Dunscombe Colt, 1934. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 34.126.53.
6. Figure 8.6 Cylinder seal with modern impression: Ishtar with foot on back of lion, with minor goddess; inscribed “To the Goddess Nin‐ishkin, Ilaknuid the seal‐cutter presented (this seal).” Akkadian period (ca. 2350–2200 BCE). Limestone; h. 0.42 cm. Oriental Institute Museum OIM A27903.
7. Figure 8.7 Figure identified as a hermaphrodite or cross‐dressing male. Tel ‘Ira; eighth–seventh century BCE. Ceramic; 13 × 4 cm.
Chapter 10
1. Figure 10.1 Human skulls overmodeled with “gypsum.” Syria, Tell Aswad; Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B (8200–6900 BCE), no. 741‐CS3.
2. Figure 10.2 Statue of King Assurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE). Nimrud, temple of Ishtar Belit Mati. Magnesite on reddish dolomite stand; h. statue 1.13 m.
3. Figure 10.3 Stele of Bel‐Harran‐beli‐usur. Iraq, Tell Abta; reigns of Shalmaneser IV (782–772 BCE) and Tiglath‐pileser III (744–727 BCE). Alabaster; 1.83 × 1.15 m. Istanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri 1326.
4. Figure 10.4 Relief depicting city conquest. Nimrud, Central Palace; reign of Tiglath‐pileser III (744–727 BCE). Gypsum; h. 91 cm.
5. Figure 10.5 Stele with the storm god Adad brandishing thunderbolts. Arslan Taş (ancient Hadatu), corridor S between buildings N and L (temple?). Reign of Tiglath‐pileser III (744–727 BCE). Basalt; 1.36 × 0.54 × 0.42 m. Musée du Louvre AO 13092. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY.
6. Figure 10.6 Funerary stele with banquet scene. Zincirli (ancient Sam’al), outer wall of Hilani I; early seventh century BCE. Basalt; h. 1.50 m.
7. Figure 10.7 Orthostat showing King Barrakib (ca. 732–711 BCE) with scribe. Zincirli (ancient Sam’al), Hilani IV. Basalt; h. 1.15 m.
Chapter 11
1. Figure 11.1 The Uruk Vase. Uruk (modern Warka), Eanna precinct; ca. 3100 BCE. Alabaster; h. 92 cm. Iraq Museum IM 19606. Hirmer Verlag Fotoarchiv.
2. Figure 11.2 Blau Monuments. Provenance unknown; Jemdet Nasr period (ca. 2900 BCE). Green schist; h. 17.9 cm (chisel); w. 16 cm (scraper).
3. Figure 11.3 “Stele of the Vultures,” reconstruction drawing, obverse and reverse. Tello (ancient Girsu), Early Dynastic III (ca. 2500 BCE). Musée du Louvre AO 16109, AO 50, AO 2346, AO 2348. Drawing by Elizabeth Simpson.
4. Figure 11.4 Cult pedestal of Tukulti‐Ninurta I (1243–1207 BCE). Qal’at sherqat (ancient Assur). Alabaster; h. 58 cm.
5. Figure 11.5 Assurnasirpal II returns from a victorious campaign. Nimrud, Northwest Palace (ca. 875–860 BCE). Gypsum; h. 91.44 cm.
6. Figure 11.6 Detail, Teumman and his son fall from their chariot and flee during battle of Til‐Tuba. Nineveh, Southwest Palace (ca. 653 BCE). Gypsum; h. entire relief 2.04 m.
Chapter 12
1. Figure 12.1 Lion Hunt Stele. Uruk, Eanna precinct; ca. 3100 BCE. Basalt; pres. h. 78 cm. Iraq Museum IM 23477. Hirmer Verlag Fotoarchiv.
2. Figure 12.2 Palace relief showing animal beneath galloping horse. Nimrud, Northwest Palace; reign of Assurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE). Gypsum; l. 2.23 m.
3. Figure 12.3 Palace relief, king and sacred tree. Nimrud, Northwest Palace; reign of Assurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE). Gypsum; 1.93 m.
4. Figure 12.4 Plaque of Ur‐Nanshe. Tello (ancient Girsu); Early Dynastic IIIA (ca. 2550–2400 BCE). Limestone; 39 × 46.5 × 6.5 cm. Musée du Louvre AO 2344.
5. Figure 12.5 Stele depicting Assurbanipal with basket of bricks. Babylon, Marduk Temple (Esagila); ca. 668–655 BCE. Marble; h. 36.8 cm.
Chapter 13
1. Figure 13.1 Çatalhöyük figurine forms. From left: zoomorphic horns and limbs; anthropomorphic female figure; zoomorphic quadruped; anthropomorphic‐phallic figure; abbreviated forms (below, center).
2. Figure 13.2 Mixed deposit on floor of Building 77, Çatalhöyük: deer antler in front of southwest platform, sealed by building collapse/demolition.
3. Figure 13.3 Clay apotropaic figurines recovered from Neo‐Assyrian centers. (a) fish‐cloaked apkallu figurines. Nimrud or Nineveh; h. 12.7–13.2 cm. (b) bird‐apkallu figurine. Nimrud; h. 12.3 cm.
4. Figure 13.4 Deposit (capsule 11) containing fourteen fish‐cloaked apkallu figurines. Assur, “Haus des Beschwörungspriesters.” From C. Preusser, Die Wohnhäuser in Assur, Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichung der Deutschen Orient‐Gesellschaft 64 (Berlin: Gebr. Mann, 1954), pl. 28b.
5. Figure 13.5 Clay apotropaic figures: Creatures of the Apsu. From Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, illustrations by Tessa Rickards.
Chapter 14
1. Figure 14.1 Foundation peg, inscribed. Tello (ancient Girsu); ca. 2090 BCE. Copper alloy; h. 33.5 cm. The Morgan Library & Museum, AZ145.
2. Figure 14.2 One of a pair of colossal gate guardians in the form of winged human‐headed bulls. Nimrud, Northwest Palace; reign of Assurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE). Gypsum; h. 3.50 m.
3. Figure 14.3 Relief depicting Assyrians removing cult statues. Nimrud, Central Palace, reign of Tiglath‐pileser III (744–727 BCE). Gypsum; h. 2.72 m.
4. Figure 14.4 Victory Stele of Naram‐Sin (2254–2218 BCE). Susa. Limestone; 2 × 1.5 m. Musée du Louvre, AO Sb 4.
5. Figure 14.5 The Art Nexus. From A. Gell, Art and Agency: An Anthropological Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 29, table 1 (adapted by Mel Keiser). By permission of Oxford University Press.
Chapter 15
1. Figure 15.1 Spouted vessel with “eyes” and rosette. Uruk, Eanna precinct; Late Uruk (ca. 3100 BCE). Stone with mosaic inlay; 15 × max. dia. ca. 7 cm. Iraq Museum. Hirmer Verlag Fotoarchiv.
2. Figure 15.2 Drawing of decoration, “Scarlet Ware” jar (British Museum 123293). From P. Delougaz, Pottery from the Diyala Region, Oriental Institute Publications 63 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1952), pl. 138.
Chapter 16
1. Figure 16.1 Stele of Hammurabi (1792–1750 BCE). Susa. Basalt; 2.25 × 0.65 m. Musée du Louvre AO Sb 8.
2. Figure 16.2 Gudea, Statue N. Tello (ancient Girsu), ca. 2100 BCE. Calcite; 62 × 25.6 cm. Musée du Louvre AO 22126. Scala/Art Resource, NY.
3. Figure 16.3 Goat (“Ram in the Thicket”). Ur, Royal Cemetery PG 1237; Early Dynastic IIIA (ca. 2500 BCE). Gold, silver, copper, shell, bitumen, and lapis; h. 42.6 cm. University Museum 30–12–702.
4. Figure 16.4 Door plaque. Khafajah; Early Dynastic II–IIIA (ca. 2750–2500 BCE). Limestone; 32 × 29.5 cm. Iraq Museum 14661. Hirmer Verlag Fotoarchiv.
5. Figure 16.5 Entitlement document (narû) of Meli‐shipak (1186–1172 BCE). Susa; Kassite period. Limestone; 68 × 28 cm. Musée du Louvre AO Sb 22.
6. Figure 16.6 Drawing of Court VI, slabs 63–64, Sennacherib’s palace, Nineveh. Austen Henry Layard, Original Drawings, I, 57.
Chapter 17
1. Figure 17.1 Cylinder seal inscribed for Ginadu, official of King Inshushinak‐shar‐ilani of Susa, and modern impression. Lapis lazuli and gold; 2.1 × 1.1 cm. Iran, Haft Tappeh; Middle Elamite (fourteenth century BCE). H. T. 10–32–26. From B. Mofidi‐Nasrabadi, “The Grave of a puhu‐teppu from Haft Tappeh,” Akkadica 132 (2011): 151–6, fig. 6.
2. Figure 17.2 Clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform text and partial impression of dynastic seal of King Abban (ca. 1700 BCE). Tell Atchana (ancient Alalakh), reign of Niqmepa (ca. 1450 BCE). H. original seal (with caps) ca. 2.4 cm.
3. Figure 17.3 Cylinder seal and modern impression: contest scene. Provenance unknown; Early Dynastic (ca. 2500 BCE). Aragonite; 4.3 cm.
4. Figure 17.4 Stamp seal and modern impression: Achaemenid royal hero as master of animals. Provenance unknown; Achaemenid period (ca. 550–330 BCE). Agate; 3.1 × dia. base 2.5 cm.
5. Figure 17.5 Composite drawing, Seal 1 of King Ishgi‐Mari of Mari (ca. 2300 BCE). Drawing by Dominique Beyer from multiple seal impressions found in the palace at Mari.
6. Figure 17.6 Modern impression of Old Syrian cylinder seal depicting the storm god and a winged, armed goddess.
Chapter 18
1. Figure 18.1 Eridu, plan and photo of level VII temple. From F. Safar, M. ‘A. Mustafá, and S. Lloyd, Eridu (Baghdad: Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Culture and Information, State Organization of Antiquities and Heritage, 1981), 88, fig. 39, and 106, fig. 54.
2. Figure 18.2 Khafajah, plan of Temple Oval I. From P. Delougaz, The Temple Oval at Khafājah, Contribution by T. Jacobsen, Oriental Institute Publications 53 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1940), pl. III.
3. Figure 18.3 Ur, plan of Nanna Temple complex. From C. L. Woolley, The Buildings of the Third Dynasty, Ur Excavations 6 (London: Oxford University Press for the Trustees of the two museums [Joint Expedition of the British Museum and of the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania to Mesopotamia], 1974), pl. 53.
4. Figure 18.4 Tell al‐Rimah, plan and axonometric reconstruction of temple complex. From D. Oates, “The Excavations at Tell al Rimah, 1965,” Iraq 28 (1966): 122–39, pls. XXXVI–XXXVII.
Chapter 19
1. Figure 19.1 Kish, plan of “Palace A.” From E. Mackay, A Sumerian Palace and the “A” Cemetery at Kish, Field Museum of Natural History Anthropology Memoirs 2 (Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1929), pls. 21–22.
2. Figure 19.2 Tell Brak, plan of “Akkadian Palace.” From M. E. L. Mallowan, “Excavations at Brak and Chagar Bazar,” Iraq 9 (1947), pl. LX.
3. Figure 19.3 Mari, plan of palace of Zimri‐Lim. From A. Parrot, Mari: Le palais, vol. 2: Architecture, Mission Archéologique de Mari (Paris: Geuthner, 1958).
4. Figure 19.4 Nimrud, plan of Northwest Palace (ninth century BCE). From M. E. L. Mallowan, Nimrud and its Remains (London: British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 1966), folding pl. III.
5. Figure 19.5 Boğazköy (ancient Hattusa), plan of Büyükkale, Period III (thirteenth century BCE).
Chapter 20
1. Figure 20.1 Naqsh‐e Rustam, Sasanian reliefs depicting the investiture of Ardashir I (224–240 CE).
2. Figure 20.2 Yazılıkaya, view of main chamber (A). Near Boğazköy (ancient Hattusa); thirteenth century BCE.
3. Figure 20.3 Karabel rock relief of “Tarkasnawa, King of Mira.” Near Manisa, Turkey; late thirteenth century BCE.
4. Figure 20.4 Kurangun rock relief. Western Fars province, Iran; early second millennium BCE.
5. Figure 20.5 Fıraktın rock relief with Hattušili III and Queen Puduhepa. Near Develi, Kayseri, Turkey; thirteenth century BCE.
Chapter 21
1. Figure 21.1 Megalith decorated with relief sculpture showing animal figures. Göbekli Tepe, southeastern Anatolia/northern Mesopotamia (Turkey), Pre‐Pottery Neolithic (ca. 10,000–9,000 BCE.)
2. Figure 21.2 Inlaid front panel of “Bull‐Harp.” Ur, Royal Cemetery, PG 789 (“King’s Tomb”); Early Dynastic IIIA (ca. 2500 BCE). Shell and bitumen; 31.5 cm. University of Pennsylvania Museum B17694A.
3. Figure 21.3 Drawing of the impression on a tablet (SMN 1000) from Nuzi of cylinder seal of Saushtatar. Nuzi; Mittani era (ca. 1500–1350 BCE).
Chapter 22
1. Figure 22.1 Bowls, cups, and jewelry from the Tod Treasure. Tod, Montu Temple; Dynasty 12, reign of Amenemhet II (ca. 1919–1885 BCE). Silver; h. 3.3–9.3 cm; dia. 7.7–15 cm. Musée du Louvre E15128–15318.
2. Figure 22.2 Axe of Ahmose. Thebes, tomb of Ahhotep; Dynasty 18, sixteenth century BCE. Gold, electrum, copper alloy, semiprecious stones, wood; 47.5 × 6.7 cm. Luxor Museum JE 4673.
3. Figure 22.3 Repoussé bowl decorated with marsh scenes, agriculture, farming, husbandry, and wine‐making activities. Tell Basta; Dynasty 19 (thirteenth–twelfth century BCE). Silver; dia. 20.7 cm. Rogers Fund, 1907. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 07.228.20.
4. Figure 22.4 Statue of Wedjahorresnet. Sais; Dynasty 27, reign of Darius, year 3 (519 BCE). Basalt; h. 96 cm. Musei Vaticani, Museo Egizio 22690.
5. Figure 22.5 Statue of Darius (522–486 BCE). Susa, monumental gate east of Palace of Darius. Granite (graywacke); pres. h. of statue 51 cm, base 104 × 64 cm.
Chapter 23
1. Figure 23.1 Basket earrings with dangling pendants. Lemnos, Poliochni; Early Bronze Age (ca. 2450–2200 BCE). Gold; l. 6.7–7.8 cm. Athens, National Archaeological Museum 7159.
2. Figure 23.2 Wall painting fragments, marine scene with turtles. Qatna, Royal Palace, Room N; Late Bronze Age (sixteenth–fifteenth century BCE; find context fourteenth century BCE). Digital reconstruction by Constance von Rüden.
3. Figure 23.3 Pyxis lid with female flanked by goats. Minet el‐Beida, Tomb III; Late Bronze Age (thirteenth century BCE). Ivory; h. 13.7 cm. Musée du Louvre AO 11601.
Chapter 24
1. Figure 24.1 Cypriot wheeled stand (the Buccleuch stand). Cyprus; Late Bronze Age, ca. 1200 BCE. Bronze; h. 21.29 cm (without wheels). British Museum Greek & Roman Antiquities 1946, 1017.1.
2. Figure 24.2 Furniture panel with sphinx, Phoenician style. Nimrud, Fort Shalmaneser; 900–700 BCE. Ivory; 6.9 × 7.75 cm. British Museum ME 134322.
3. Figure 24.3 Mirror or fan handle with two nude females wearing polos, North Syrian style. Nimrud, Burnt Palace; 900–700 BCE. Ivory; 13.4 × 4.9 cm. British Museum ME 118102.
4. Figure 24.4 Drawing of decorated shield or tympanum (The Hunt Shield). Crete, Idaean Cave, ca. 700 BCE. Bronze; dia. 83 cm. Heraklion Museum (X7).
5. Figure 24.5 Griffin protome. Olympia; ca. 700–650 BCE. Bronze; h. 35.8 cm. No. B945. Hirmer Verlag Fotoarchiv.
6. Figure 24.6 Near Eastern sheetmetal vessels decorated with antithetical sphinxes, reused as sphyrelata statues. Olympia (composite of Olympia B5040, B5859, B5885, B5047). Bronze; max. h. 33.6 cm.
7. Figure 24.7 “Phoenician” bowl with Aramaic inscription. Olympia; late eighth–early seventh century BCE. Bronze; 3.1 × dia. 20.4 cm. Athens, National Museum 7941.
8. Figure 24.8 Decorated pectoral. Cerveteri (Caere), Regolini‐Galassi Tomb; ca. 675–650 BCE. Gold; 42 × 38.1 cm. Musei Vaticani, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco 20553.
Chapter 25
1. Figure 25.1 Relief carved with winged figure. Pasargadae, Gate R (ca. 540–530 BCE). Limestone; h. 2.90 m. Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, FS‐FSA_A.6_04.GN.0997.
2. Figure 25.2 Detail, doorjamb carved with bull‐man and figure in fish cloak. Pasargadae, Palace S (ca. 540–530 BCE). Limestone; pres. h. 80 cm.
3. Figure 25.3 Vessel carved with architectural façade. Khafajah, Early Dynastic II (ca. 2700–2600 BCE). Steatite/chlorite; 6.5 × dia. 8.1 cm. Oriental Institute Museum OIM A12415.
Chapter 26
1. Figure 26.1 Head of Akkadian ruler. Nineveh, near Ishtar Temple; Akkadian period (ca. 2350–2200 BCE). Copper alloy; h. 36.6 cm. Iraq Museum 11331. Hirmer Verlag Fotoarchiv.
2. Figure 26.2 Çinili Köşk (Tiled Pavilion), Istanbul, built 1472; used as Ottoman Imperial Museum from 1875 to 1891.

BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO THE ANCIENT WORLD

This series provides sophisticated and authoritative overviews of periods of ancient history, genres of classical literature, and the most important themes in ancient culture. Each volume comprises between twenty‐five and forty concise essays written by individual scholars within their area of specialization. The essays are written in a clear, provocative, and lively manner, designed for an international audience of scholars, students, and general readers.

A Companion to Latin Literature
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James J. Clauss and Martine Cuypers

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Edited by Susanna Braund and Josiah Osgood

A Companion to Tacitus
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A Companion to Ancient Greek Government
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Edited by Sinclair Bell and Alexandra A. Carpino

A Companion to the Flavian Age of Imperial Rome
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A Companion to Roman Italy
Edited by Alison E. Cooley

A Companion to Science, Technology, and Medicine in Ancient Greek and Rome
Edited by Georgia L. Irby

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