Catalog of an exhibition held at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, from March 18-July 27, 2020. Translated and adapted from L'histoire commence en Mesopotamie, which was published in French, on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Musee du Louvre-Lens, November 2, 2016-June 23, 2017. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Introduction : Does History Begin in Mesopotamia? / Ariane Thomas -- The Mesopotamian Collection of the Musee du Louvre / Ariane Thomas -- The Discoverers of Ancient Mesopotamia / Nicole Chevalier -- Mesopotamia as Viewed by the Moderns / Michael Seymour -- Mesopotamia in Modern Imagery -- A Pioneering Economy / Cecile Michel -- A Religious World / Benjamin R. Foster -- First Cities : Cities of Mesopotamia, from Uruk to Babylon / Pascal Butterlin -- Clay Architecture in Mesopotamia / Pedro Azara -- First Writing : Cuneiform and the Scribal Tradition / Beatrice Andre-Salvini -- First Kingdoms : When Kingship Descended from Heaven... / Dominique Charpin -- War and Peace : From the Birth of the State to Great Empires / Zainab Bahrani -- Ancient Mesopotamia Viewed from the Outside / Francis Joannes -- Epilogue : Imaginary Journey from Mesopotamia to Iraq / Ariane Thomas -- From Mesopotamia to Iraq, from 1850 to the Present -- Catalogue of the exhibition. First Cities : Catalogue nos. 1-39 -- First Writing : Catalogue nos. 40-91 -- First Kingdoms : Catalogue nos. 92-133 -- Appendix 1 : Mesopotamian Archaeology at the Museum : A Few Virtual Possibilities -- Appendix 2 : Restoring and Reassembling Objects for the Exhibition.
Summary:
"This catalogue of more than 100 objects from the Musee du Louvre's collection of Ancient Near Eastern antiquities presents essays on Mesopotamia's discovery and excavations, economy, religion, cities, cuneiform writing, rulers and history, as well as its enduring presence in the contemporary imagination"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.