1000 Portraits of Genius. Victoria Charles

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      10. Seated Figure, called the Singer Ur-Nanshe, shtar temple, Mari, Tell-Hariri, Sumerian, c. 2520 B.C.E. Gypsum, height: 26 cm. National Museum of Damascus, Damascus.

      Discovered by André Parrot in 1952 in the temple of Ninni-zaza in Mari, this small gypsum statue of the singer, Ur-Nanshe, has already provoked extensive written analysis. Is it a woman or a man? What were they holding between their missing arms? What was its function?

      For a long time it was considered to be feminine, but a linguistic study of the inscription on the back of the piece confirms that, in fact, it is a masculine figure that was created during the reign of Iblul-Il, the king of Mari. It is not the only Presargonic sculpture to have had its gender questioned. Therefore, neither the long and meticulous straight hair pulled behind the ears nor the traditional kaunakés puffed skirt that covers his thighs are seen as a traits that define the gender of the sculpture. Shorter than other representations of this traditional garment, the skirt seems to have been specifically designed to allow the musician to cross his legs while performing. Even though the arms are missing, his position suggests that he was most likely holding a musical instrument against his bosom. Although it is still difficult to allot a specific role to this small ritual sculpture, it was thought to be used as a symbolic representation of Ur-Nanshe while he was away from the temple so that his songs would play for eternity.

      11. Cycladic Figurine, Amorgos, Cyclades, Greek, c. 2500 B.C.E. Marble, height: 30 cm. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Marble and bronze were the two materials most used for Greek sculpture, the latter being much more in use than we would be led to infer from the number of bronze statues preserved. The best marble for statuary came from the island of Paros and from Mt. Pentelicus, in Attica. The Greeks at all periods, strange as it seems to us, applied paint to portions of both their architecture and their sculpture. The eyes, eyebrows, hair, perhaps the lips, and certain parts of the drapery, particularly to indicate a pattern, were painted. The original Greek sculpture, which has escaped the destruction of centuries of greed and ignorance, is but a small fraction of what once existed. The sculpture we have is very largely made up of Roman copies and adaptations of famous earlier works.

      12. King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and Queen, Giza, Egyptian, Old Kingdom, 4th Dynasty, reign of Menkaura (2490–2472 B.C.E.). Greywacke, 142.2 × 57.1 × 55.2 cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

      13. Head of a King (Sargon of Akkad?), Nineveh, Mesopotamian, Akkadian period, c. 2300 B.C.E. Bronze, height: 30.5 cm. Iraq Museum, Baghdad. A masterpiece of Mesopotamian art, this bronze sculpture was discovered in Nineveh, an ancient city in what is now known as Iraq, in the middle of the Temple of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. Around 2300 B.C.E., the Akkadian empire completely dominated Mesopotamia. Unlike the Sumerians who lived in the south, the Akkadian society consisted of the people from the northern ancient Babylonian civilization. Art historians believe that this mask represents the founder of this empire, Sargon, or possibly his grandson, Naram Sîn. Sargon was a mighty conqueror with excellent strategy who originated from the first unified state in Asia, which allowed him to conquer the other city states of the same region and expand his empire over the Near East. Abandoned at birth, Sargon, according to legend, had a childhood reminiscent of that of Moses and other great founding fathers such as Romulus and Remus. Even if his grandson left a slightly negative image of his forbearer, they are both still considered, however, as major figures in Mesopotamian history.

      14. Fragmentary Feminine Statuette, called Woman with a Scarf, Princess from the epoch of Gudea, Prince of Lagash, Tello, former Girsu, Neo-Sumerian, c. 2120 B.C.E. Chlorite, 17.8 × 11 × 6.7 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      15. Statue of the King Ishtup-Ilum, Temple 65, Palace of Zimrilim, Mari, Mesopotamian, early Isin period, c. 1800–1700 B.C.E. Diorite, height: 152 cm. National Archaeological Museum, Aleppo.

      16. Head of a God, Tello, former Girsu, Iraq, early 2nd millennium B.C.E. Hand-modelled terracotta, 10.8 × 6.4 × 5.7 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      17. Royal Head, known as the Head of Hammurabi, Shush, former Susa, Iran, Mesopotamian, early 2nd millennium B.C.E. Diorite, 9.7 × 15.2 × 11 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      18. Princess from Akhenaten’s Family, Egyptian, New Kingdom, 1379–1362 B.C.E. Painted limestone, 15.4 × 10.1 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      19. Statue of Idrimi, King of Alalakh, Tell Atchana, former Alalakh, Syrian, 16th century B.C.E. White stone, eyebrows and eyelids originally inlaid, epigraphy, height: 104 cm. British Museum, London.

      20. Head of a Women, Egyptian, Middle Empire, 12th Dynasty, reign of Amenemhat I (1991–1962 B.C.E.). Painted wood with gold leaves, height: 10.5 cm. The Egyptian National Museum, Cairo.

      21. Head from a statue of Amenhotep III, from Thebes, mortuary temple of Amenhotep III, Egyptian, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III (c. 1390–1352 B.C.E.), c. 1350 B.C.E. Quartzite, height: 117 × 81 × 66 cm. The British Museum, London.

      This sculpture is part of one of the largest statues in the Thebes funerary temple of Amenhotep after the nearby Colossi of Memnon. The head was originally part of a full length statue of Amenhotep that was placed between two pillars on the west side of the temple court. The height of the statue in its full form was about 7.5–8 meters high and was found during the excavations that took place in 1964. It is likely that in this representation of Amenhotep he held both the crook and the flail – the symbols of Egyptian kingship. He is shown wearing the red crown and is made from a special brown quartzite, both attributes coming from Lower Egypt. The artist most likely used this type of stone for its polished qualities that make certain features stand out. The eyes are more polished than around the lines of the mouth while the beard and the eyebrows remain completely unpolished, which in turn makes them stand out from the face.

      22. Bronze statuette of Thutmose IV, Egyptian, New Kingdom 18th Dynasty, c. 1350 B.C.E. Bronze, height: 14.7 cm. The British Museum, London.

      23. Bust of the Queen Nefertiti, Egyptian, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, Amarna period, c. 1340 B.C.E. Painted limestone, 47 cm. Neues Museum, Berlin.

      Nefertiti is one of the most famous Egyptian queens in world history, partially because of this well-known representation of her. Sculpted in Tell el-Amarna, in the official sculptor to Akhenaton’s studio – where Nefertiti was the royal wife – this bust epitomizes the beauty of its model. The finesse of the representation, the brilliance of its colours and the delicacy of the СКАЧАТЬ