Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 10

Ceramic Figurine

   
     This is a ceramic sculpture of the Chinese zodiac symbol, the dragon. The dragon is a sign of the emperor, and is highly valued among Chinese families.
      As time went on, ceramic figures were found more and more in households and tombs. The use of green ware became increasingly popular as it was used alongside with grey ware.

Works Cited
Information and Picture: http://gaukartifact.com/2013/03/05/china-han-dynasty/

Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 9

Painting

     Unfortunately, I could barely find any information on this work of art. It is dated to the Eastern Han Dynasty and is currently being housed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. This painting seems to depict the three leftmost men in deep conversation, while the figure on the far right is looking over his shoulder at something or someone. 

Works Cited

Picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gentlemen_in_conversatio

n,_Eastern_Han_Dynasty.jpg 

*Go to this website for lectures on Asian art, very awesome!! 

http://ieas.berkeley.edu/publications/aparvlectures.html

Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 8

Decorated Pillar

      "This pillar was used in a brick tomb to hold up the lintel of a doorway. It would have been positioned centrally with doors on either side, creating the impression of a house.
     The extraordinary kneeling figure on top was intended to ward off evil. He is oddly proportioned, but complete. His feet appear on the sides of the pillar and his hands are incised on the front. A figure of a bird in flight is stamped between his legs. Two lines of this bird emblem are arranged on each side of the pillar. On the front are two columns climbing dragons. Surrounding the lines of pictorial decoration are borders with a geometric pattern, a common feature of Han tomb architecture."

Works Cited:
Information and Picture:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/asia/p/pilaster_from_a_tomb.aspx

Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 7

Ceramic Mansion

   
     "This glazed ceramic model of a watchtower shows all the essential features of Han architecture. The basic unit is an enclosure defined by four corner piers with a widely overhanging tile roof supported by a system of cantilevered brackets. In addition, the house has a second roof over the first story, which is elevated on a stepped platform; an exterior staircase; elaborate latticework screens that shield the third story; and a circular central window on the top floor.
     A great variety of architectural models were placed in Han tombs for use in the afterlife. This imposing mansion symbolizes the high status of the person buried in the tomb. Stylistically, the date and northern Chinese provenance of this house are confirmed by a number of archaeologically excavated pieces, most notably a green-glazed model of a four-story tower discovered in an Eastern Han tomb in Gaotang County, eastern Shandong Province."
    
Works Cited
Information and Picture: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/49519?rpp=30&pg=1&ft=han+dynasty&pos=3

Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 6

Board Game

     "A popular game in the Han dynasty, liubo involves two players who gamble using dice, counters, gaming pieces, and a marked board. The pottery figures exhibited in this case, together with the daily utensils, architectural models, and luxury goods exhibited in the other cases in the gallery, were used as tomb furnishings in ancient China. These figures, which capture a dramatic moment in a heated game, depict Han-dynasty people's leisure activities as well as their desired life in the other world (METMuseum)."

Works Cited
Information and Picture: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/50484?rpp=30&pg=1&ft=han+dynasty&pos=13 

Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 4

Terracotta Soldier Sword

   
     17 of these swords have been discovered with the terracotta army, having a handle made out of gold and inlaid with turquoise and a blade made of iron. Besides the general, a few officials were found with swords in their hands. "Swords had the highest rank among the weapons in ancient China and were carried by well-known or high-ranking people (DiscoverChina)." The swords would have been kept in a wooden scabbard. To prevent corrosion, the Chinese plated the sword with chromium.

Works Cited
Information: "The Unique Weapons in the Terra-cotta Pits." Discover China 
     Tours. Discover China Tours, Inc., 2004-2014. Web. 18 Oct., 2014.
Picture: http://www.twincities.com/ci_21852501/eight-chinas-famous-terra-cotta-warriors-are-centerpiece

Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 3

Porcelain Sculpture

     "This Dehua porcelain sculpture depicts the Bodhisattva Wenshu (Manjusri), portrayed here as a youthful maiden, sitting on her vehicle, the lion.
     A granular, sugary-white body covered in a pale pink or creamy glaze characterizes the Dehua porcelain ware, which was produced in the Fujian province. Dehua ware is also known for its colorful depictions of Buddhist and secular figure subjects (Cincinnati Art Museum)."

     "There is a famous place in China which is the centre for the worship of Manjushri Bodhisattva - the Wutai Mountain in the province of Shanxi in China.
     As written in a sutra, the Buddha predicted that after He passed away in Final Nirvana, Manjushri Bodhisattva would reside on a mountain name Wuting in a country in the east called "Great China", where he would teach the dharma. Hence, Chinese people regard that mountain, now called Wutai Mountain, as a sacred place for worshipping Manjushri Bodhisattva. Many temples dedicated to Manjushri Bodhisattva have been built there (BuddhaNet)."

Works Cited
Information: Cincinnati Art Museum. "Wenshu on a Lion, Dehua Ware." Cincinnati, OH:
     Cincinnati Art Museum, 2011. Plaque.
"The Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom." Buddhist Studies: Deities and Bodhisattva. 
     BDEA/BuddhaNet, 1996-2014. Web. 17 Oct., 2014.
Picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wenshu_(Manjusri)_on_a_Lion,_Dehua_ware,_China,_Qing_dynasty,_19th_century,_porcelain_-_Cincinnati_Art_Museum_-_DSC03188.JPG

Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 2

Tomb Figurine

     "This painted funerary figurine portrays a kneeling woman, created to accompany the deceased, siting in the traditional manner with a gentle smile and quiet attitude. Her serene expression appropriately reflects her function as an eternal companion to the tomb's owner.
     The most unusual feature of this piece is the woman's beaded hair ornament, made in the distinct fashion of the time. Rather than projecting from the hair, as was intended, the ornament falls flat against  the forehead because the head once toppled accidentally when its wooden support collapsed."

Works Cited
Information: Cincinnati Art Museum. "Tomb Figure of a Kneeling Woman." Cincinnati,
     OH: Cincinnati Art Museum, 2011. Plaque.
Picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tomb_Figure_of_a_Kneeling_Woman,_China,_Western_Han_Dynasty,_2nd_or_1st_century_BC,_earthenware_-_Cincinnati_Art_Museum_-_DSC03207.JPG

Qin and Han Dynasties: Artifact 1

Wine Vessel

     A bronze wine vessel with a tall cylindrical neck, is decorated with a tiger and mountain relief. "The lian belongs to a group of bronzes that share similar shapes, decorations, and forms." These containers held other miscellaneous items as well.

Works Cited
Information: Cincinnati Art Museum. "Wine Vessel, Lian." Cincinnati,
     OH: Cincinnati Art Museum, 2011. Plaque.
Picture: http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/4/901/911

Qin and the Han Dynasties: Introduction

   
     The Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE) was under the rule of Qin Shi Huang (260-210 BCE). During this time (of the dynasty), currency, weights and measures were standardized, and a uniform system of writing was established. The Great Wall of China was built along the northern border, as an acting death camp, due to the fact the the government used peasants as slaves until they died; hence the rumor that the Great Wall of China was built off of the workers corpses. During this time, Emperor Shihuangdi also had a massive burning and killing of Confucius scholars and their work.  
     The Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) was founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu). The Hans dynasty is divided into two periods: the Western Han (206 BCE-9 CE) and the Eastern Han (25-220 CE). "The Han Dynasty ruled in an era of Chinese cultural consolidation, political experimentation, relative economic prosperity and maturity, and great technological advances."

Persian Empire: Artifact 10

Gold Cup

     Produced in the Achaemenid Empire, about 2500 years ago during the fourth and third centuries BCE, "the cup, which is 5.5 inches high, is embossed with two female faces, each wearing a crown formed from snakes." This cup is similar to Roman double-headed bowls and tableware, which usually depicted Janus, the god of doorways, gates, beginnings and endings.

Works Cited
Information: Wright, Diana. "Achaemenid Gold Cup." Atrium. David Meadows, 2008.
     Web. 13 Oct., 2014.
Picture: http://arthistory.we-wish.net/tag/persian-art/

Persian Empire: Artifact 9

Bull and Lion Relief

     The relief showing a lion battling/ killing a bull is seen on the staircases in Darius' palace, leading up to his throne room. The lion is a symbol of absolute power and heroic triumph while the bull is also a symbol of power seen in columns throughout the empire. It is also thought that the lion is the sun hitting the earth, which the bull is representative of. This follows along the other idea that the bull is winter being killed/ driven away by spring (the lion).

Works Cited
Information: "A Brief History of 'Noe-Rooz'." Iransaga. K. Kianush, Art Arena, 2004.
     Web. 13 Oct., 2014.
"Persepolis Citadel." Bible History. Web. 13 Oct., 2014.
doostmusic. "IRAN Documentary Yesterday and Today: Rick Steves." Online viedo clip.
     YouTube. YouTube LLC, 2014. Web. 13 Oct., 2014.
Picture: http://www.artarena.force9.co.uk/Image/bull.jpg

Persian Empire: Artifact 8

Persian Money

   
     The daric was introduced by Darius I (522-486 BCE) toward the end of the sixth century B.C.E. "The daric's origins can be traced to the Persian conquest of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor by Cyrus the Great in around 550. Lydia had been the first ancient state to introduce the practice of minting coinage." Darius had began creating Persian money in the previous Lydian capital, Sardis. He was the first Achaemenid emperor to order the striking of the new gold coin with the image of the royal archer, though these were not the first coins to be struck at the Achaemenid imperial mint.
     The daric became extremely popular in the ancient world, especially in the Mediterranean Basin. It was widely used and well-known for its remarkable purity in gold. The ancient Greeks believed that the term dareikós came from the name of Darius the Great. Researchers today think the Greek term came from the Old Persian dari- meaning "golden." The Greeks popularly named the coin toxoótai, "archer" after the image that appears on the coin. "The coin's iconography emphasizes the importance of the king as a warrior and leader for the Persians." The coin was used (aside from its monetary value) to assert the "Great King's" authority and power.

Works Cited
Information: Alram, Michael. "Daric." Encyclopaedia Iranica. Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2014.
     Web. 10 Oct., 2014.
Truty, Andrew. "Persian Daric." Spurlock Museum. University of Illinois Board of Trustees,
     2001-2014. Web. 10 Oct., 2014.
Picture: http://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/collections/artifact/daric.html

Persian Empire: Artifact 7

Achaemenid Earring

     Gold, "round earring inlaid on both sides with multi-colored, semi-precious stones" including turquoise. "Its design may represent the king revered by the six "Great Houses" of the empire, the land of Persia surrounded by the six world regions, or the supreme god Ahuramazda surrounded by the six "Bounteous Immortals."

Works Cited
Information: "Earring." Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2014.
     Web. 9 Oct., 2014.
"Earring." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-2014.
     Web. 9 Oct., 2014.
Picture: http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/earring-155819

Persian Empire: Artifact 6

Calcite Jar

         "This jar comes from the western part of the Achaemenid Empire. It is inscribed with the words 'Xerxes Great King' in Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian and Egyptian.
     The Achaemenid Persians used a cuneiform script quite different from Akkadian cuneiform, and was probably an artificial royal creation of Darius I (521-486 BC). All the inscriptions written in this script ('Old Persian') appear either on buildings and rockfaces in Iran or on smaller portable objects probably emanating from his court. They are almost always accompanied by versions in other languages, and this vessel has Elamite (a language spoken in south-western Iran), written in cuneiform, and Egyptian, written in hieroglyphs. This demonstrates the extent of the Achaemenid Eempire, which stretched from Egypt and the Aegean to the Indus."

Works Cited:
Information: "Calcite Jar." The British Museum. The Trustees of the
     British Museum. Web. 9 Oct., 2014.
Picture: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/calcite_jar.aspx
    

Persian Empire: Artifact 5

The Cyrus Cylinder

    
     "This clay cylinder is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus, king of Persia (559-530 BC) of his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC and capture of Nabonidus, the last Babylonian king.

     Cyrus claims to have achieved this with the aid of Marduk, the god of Babylon. He then describes measures of relief he brought to the inhabitants of the city, and tells how he returned a number of images of gods, which Nabonidus had collected in Babylon, to their proper temples throughout Mesopotamia and western Iran. At the same time he arranged for the restoration of these temples, and organized the return to their homelands of a number of people who had been held in Babylonia by the Babylonian kings. Although the Jews are not mentioned in this document, their return to Palestine following their deportation by Nebuchadnezzar II, was part of this policy.

     This cylinder has sometimes been described as the 'first charter of human rights', but it in fact reflects a long tradition in Mesopotamia where, from as early as the third millennium BC, kings began their reigns with declarations of reforms."

Works Cited
Information: "Cyrus Cylinder." The British Museum. Trustees of the British
     Museum. Web. 6 Oct., 2014.
Picture: http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/features/2013/cyrus-the-great

Persian Empire: Artifact 4

Relief of Servant

 

      "Preserved is the nearly complete figure of a Persian attendant bearing a leather wineskin. In typical Persian fashion he is dressed in a kandys, a long-sleeved coat slung over the shoulders, and a bashlyk, a soft protective hood with long, scarf-like ends. As the curving palm leaves at the top indicate, this fragment once decorated the inner wall of a stairway leading to the palace of Darius. This carving was probably executed early in the reign of Darius' son, Xerxes (485-465 BC), who added the greater part of the palace's sculptural decoration. This figure originally formed part of a procession of Persian and Median servants shown ascending the palace stairs as royal visitors would have done on ceremonial occasions."

Works Cited
Information: Cincinnati Art Museum. "Relief with attendant bearing wineskin."
     Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati Art Museum, 2011. Plaque
Picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/frted/4685426885/

Persian Empire: Artifact 3

Stone Guard

     "This polished limestone relief fragment once adorned a central gateway complex, known as the Tripylon, erected by Darius' son and successor, Xerxes (486-465 BC). Preserved is the upper portion of a Persian archer, who matches in procession with an upright lance. His status as a royal guard is clear from his elegant fluted headdress and paraphernalia, which include a quiver case and bow."

Works Cited:
Information: Cincinnati Art Museum. "Relief with Persian Guard." Cincinnati, OH:
     Cincinnati Art Museum, 2011. Plaque.
Picture:  http://38.media.tumblr.com/7741171cfe212fb3f75dee42c067c76d/tumblr_mqyqbs0p3N1ryfivao1_500.jpg

Persian Empire: Artifact 2

Golden Bowl

 

     "This gold vessel was a royal offering to the Persian king Darius I (522-486 BC). The recipient himself is commemorated in a dedication, inscribed beneath the rim, which proclaims 'Darius, Great King' in the three official languages of the Achaemenid empire: Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite. To judge from its shape, this vessel was probably used for libation- the ceremonial pouring of wine in honor of a god. It may also have been used as a drinking cup (known in ancient Greek as a phiale). The bowl bears a stylized floral pattern consisting of a central rosette surrounded by the petals of a lotus flower, a design commonly found on drinking cups of the period. Similar metal vessels are often shown carried by servants or tributaries on the stairway reliefs of the Persian capital at Persepolis. Fashioned from solid gold, this vessel was cast in a stone mold, and its relief decoration was produced by a process of hammering from the interior, known as repoussé."

Works Cited:
Information: Cincinnati Art Museum. "Bowl of Darius the Great." Cincinnati, OH:
     Cincinnati Art Museum, 2011. Plaque.
Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Bowl_of_Darius_the_Great,_Iran,_Achaemenid_period,_reign_of_Darius_I,_522-486_BC,_hammered_gold_with_chased_decoraton_-_Cincinnati_Art_Museum_-_DSC03270.JPG

Persian Empire: Artifact 1

Gold Foundation Plaques 

      "These two inscribed Persian gold plaques served as offerings to commemorate the foundation of one or more royal buildings, according to established ancient Near Eastern custom. Inscribed in Old Persian, the official tongue of the Achaemenid realm, they invoke the protection of the Zoroastrian god Ahuramazda on behalf of the Persian Kings Arsames (ruled 6th century BC) and Artaxerxes II (405-359 BC)."

Works Cited
Information: Cincinnati Art Museum. "Foundation plaques." Cincinnati, OH:
     Cincinnati Art Museum, 2011. Plaque.
Pictures: http://ancientart.tumblr.com/post/95323256905/foundation-plaques-b-photo-1-and-a-photo-2