by patti haskins

Sumerian Art

More than 4000 years ago the Sumerians settled in the valleys of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The Sumerians were the first human race to form a settlement and brought to an end the nomadic existence of humans till then. With settlement and forming of cities, the Sumerian inventions changed the way all of us live today. Things that we take for granted today like farming, calendar, wheels were all Sumerian inventions. Writing was discovered and the Sumerian art and culture was sophistication in itself. The Sumerian art can be easily separated into ritual objects, state objects and personal objects.

Dating from 2400 BC, archaeologists have found smooth, perfected and idealized features of the classical period in Sumerian art. Some of the portraits are in marble and others in black-gray diorite. Excavations have unearthed great skill and artistry in Sumerian art. Sumerian art was complex and ornate with clay being the most abundantly used material. Stone, wood and metal had to be imported into Sumer. Painting and sculpture was the main median used and art was primarily used for religious purposes.

Sumerian art had Three-dimensional statuettes made of marble with an obvious hierarchy of size. The tallest statues were of the vegetation God almost about 30 inches in height. A number of statutes and sculptures were religious and depicted the mother goddess. Mother goddesses were worshipped in the hope of bringing fertility to women and crops. These were the next tallest statues. Smaller than these were the priests and the smallest were the worshippers. All statues have their heads uplifted and hands clasped with cylindrical bodies devoid of any gender differentiation.

The clasped hands are the pose of supplication or portraying ‘wanting or waiting for something’. In Sumerian art the entire body of the statues is simple except the faces. This reinforces the power of the face with dominating eyes. The vast eyes would be inlaid with colored stones or enamel making them stand out.

These figures were stand ins used during religious rituals. The rituals involved leaving the stand-ins at the temple when a person died. These large eyed statues seemed to speak as they stared open eyed offering supplication to the gods on behalf of whoever donated them to the temples.

Another piece of Sumerian art was the standard or the banners, which was a part of the state. The figures on these banners pretty much summed up the Sumerian life in its entirety. One side of the banner had soldiers leading prisoners to the king, while the other side had a king holding a banquet and commoners bringing him gifts of livestock and farm produce and manufactured goods. This Sumerian art piece is 18 inches decorated with shell and lapis lazuli. The mosaic was designed in bitumen.

Sumerian merchants led their barley and textile filled caravans into Asia Minor and Iran returning with timber, stone and metals. Soon, these were used in making weapons and Sumerian art as well. The Sumerian art forms reflect on the culture and lifestyle of the ancient Sumerians.

Artist: Chris Carlson – www.chriscarlsonco.tumblr.com Photography: Mike Larremore www.mikelarremore.com June, 2012 – Denver, Colorado Music The Boston Pops – Super Mario Theme Both photographer and artist are for hire. Extra Angles & Images: imgur.com See Another Collaboration: youtu.be
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