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Sumer

By Pszkodon
  • Period: 4000 BCE to 3100 BCE

    Sumer

    Sumer is the earliest known civilization. This time period is marked by the emergence of urbanism, the development of cities, and the invention of writing. Some themes of Sumerian art are the sacred sphere, the socio-political sphere, kingship, and deities. Art during this time period was created using clay, mudbrick, lapis lazuli, gold, and shells. Hieratic scale, composite pose, and abstracted human figures are common stylizations of the period.
  • unrecorded artists, Anu Ziggurat with White Temple, c. 3200-300 BCE, mudbrick, 148 x 164 feet base, 40 feet height, Iraq
    3200 BCE

    unrecorded artists, Anu Ziggurat with White Temple, c. 3200-300 BCE, mudbrick, 148 x 164 feet base, 40 feet height, Iraq

    The White Temple was built atop Anu Ziggurat, dedicated to the sky God Anu. A ziggurat is a built platform with four sloping sides. The whitewashed temple stood 40 feet above the flat plain of Uruk, making it a focal point of the city. The temple was a visual symbolization of the theocratic political system, in which state officials operate on the behalf of a God. The temple contained staircases, shelves, a podium, an altar, and the bones of a leopard and a lion.
  • unrecorded artist, Mask of Warka, 3100 BCE, marble, 20 cm in height, National Museum of Irag, Baghdad, Iraq
    3100 BCE

    unrecorded artist, Mask of Warka, 3100 BCE, marble, 20 cm in height, National Museum of Irag, Baghdad, Iraq

    The Mask of Warka is one of the earliest known representations of the human face. It is possibly a rendering of the Goddess Innana, the Sumerian goddess of love, war, beauty, sex and fertility. It is carved out of a single piece of stone and was likely mounted on a wooden body. The eyes and eyebrow are believed to have been inlaid with lapis lazuli and shell. The mask was a depiction of divine presence and may have been used to evoke favor.