RESEARCH CULTURAL ICONS AND SOCIAL HISTORY The Great Sphinx was built in approximately 2500 BC by the pharaoh Khafra, the builder of the Second Pyramid at Giza.The Great Sphinx is a large human-headed lion that was carved from a mound of natural rock. It is located in Giza where it guards the front of Khafra's pyramid. The greatest monumental sculpture in the ancient world, the Sphinx is carved out of a single ridge of stone 240 feet (73 meters) long and 66 feet (20 meters) high. The sphinx is built of soft sandstone and would have disappeared long ago had it not been buried for so long. It was the first time that a pharaoh had been represented in this way with the body of a lion, even though this animal had symbolised royalty ancient
He stands directly behind Hatshepsut while dedicating the myrrh acquired at Punt to Amun-Re. Many historians argue that Thutmose III resented Hatshepsut’s superiority in their co-regency, and they support this by the claim that Thutmose III destroyed many of her inscriptions and reliefs. However, many New Kingdom pharaohs replaced their predecessor’s cartouche with their own. This destruction of many of her inscriptions occurred in the year 42, 22 years after her death. Thutmose had control of the army.
The sculpture is extremely rigid and frontal, characteristic of ancient Egyptian sculpture and art. The piece uses the Egyptian canon of proportions, creating a very idealized figure. This piece is propaganda because it is extremely idealized and shows the power of Khafre to the people of Egypt. He sits on a throne, common for a king and a person of power. He wears the traditional pharaoh headdress and false beard.
The Human-headed winged bull and winged lion alone had many different designs and for such a big sculpture it had a lot of details in the wings, feet, face, and the beard of the creature. These designs followed along with more of the art that was created in the empire. In “The King and Eunuch Attendant” (Fig. 3), which was another carving made to protect the empire walls, there seems to follow a similar design and overall feel of the “Human-headed winged bull and winged lion” (Fig. 1).
According to nationalparkservice.gov, “The Washington Monument towers above the city that bears his name, serving as an awe-inspiring reminder of George Washington's greatness”. In contrast, there is another architecture that is common with the ancient Romans which is the Lincoln Memorial. The exterior of the memorial has a peristyle which was used centuries ago from Pompeii to England. Today you may see many building with this same type style, but modern days we recognize it as pillars. According to abrahamlincolnonline.org, “New York architect Henry Bacon modeled the memorial in the style of a Greek temple.
These pieces not only showcase similarities and differences in style and technique but also the strong points of both empires and essentially the reason why Assurnasirpal and Darius were successful leaders, each in their own way. Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions is a low relief panel made out of alabaster, whereas Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute is a low relief panel carved out of limestone. The Assyrian piece depicts the vicious king Assurnasirpal on a chariot hunting lions armed with a bow and arrow. It is quite possible that Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions is the representation of a ceremonial hunt, where lions kept in captivity by the king are released into an arena for Assurnasirpal to kill for show. Darius and Xerxes Receiving Tribute depicts King Darius sitting in his throne accepting tribute while his son Xerxes stands behind him.
Around the throne of Khafre and kneeling statue of senenmut sculpture they both have a lot of symbols conveying a message written in hieroglyphic writing. On the Khafre sculpture there’s two lion bodies on the throne, symbols that can represent Egypt where they originated from; there are plants in between the legs, and a falcon representing the god of Lower Egypt. On the kneeling statue of senenmut it holds something in the middle that looks like a cobra. On top of it looks like a cup with a sun in it referring to the light or god. Around the throne and in the back there are a lot of symbols that might represent Egypt and Queen Hatshepsut and King Thutmose
The great size of the block used to erect the walls inspired the term “Cyclopean Walls”, implying that the structure had been built by the mythical Greek characters known as Cyclops. As the focal point for the entire gate, sitting upon the lintel, are the lions. Made from a slab of limestone, two lionesses stand facing one another. Their forepaws are up on a platform that most likely represents what appears to be a religious alter and they stand as tall as the central pillar which rises out of the said alter. This symbolism most likely represents political and religious power.
PART 1. In the ANCIENT MIDDLE EAST, HAGOP KEVORKIAN GALLERY, 1. Large alabaster relief of Assurnasirpal 2 & winged Genie (55.155) Q. a) How does the relief reinforce the concept of royal authority? It distinguished King Ashur-nasir-pal 2’s royal authority by showing the genies protecting him. Also, the relief shows king’s unique crown and the spike which represents the ruler as a warrior.
Description Of Sculpture: As you pass through gallery 238 in the Metropolitan Art Museum it may be easy to look past sculptures that are only half a foot high in favor of larger pieces of art work, but this piece carries an incredibly diverse range of messages within its framework. To begin in the middle with the torso and move outwards, the seated bodhisattva throughout history has been consistently depicted as a “sublime, superhuman, blessed being, elevated above the finite world yet not entirely divorced from it, as is the case with the Buddha.” (Seckel pg. 218) The body purposely turns as a gesture