Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-183).
Contents:
Conclusion. Beholding Babylon's Ishtar Gate / Anastasia Amrhein and Elizabeth Knott. "The men who wrought the baked brick, those were Babylonians" : a brief history of molded and glazed bricks / Anja Fügert and Helen Gries -- Building Babylon : the anatomy of a monumental construction project / Heather D. Baker -- Layout and composition of the animals from the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way at Babylon / Sarah B. Graff -- How bricks were made / Jean-François de Lapérouse -- Reading between the lines : fitters' marks in the Ancient Near East / May-Sarah Zessin -- The power of stones : natural, artificial, and in between / Anastasia Amrhein -- Eyestones, natural and man-made / Elizabeth Knott -- Vitreous materials in the Ancient Near East / Katherine A. Larson -- Glassmaking as a scribal craft / Eduardo A. Escobar -- Color and affect in Nebuchadnezzar II's Babylon / Shiyanthi Thavapalan -- "Ishtar overthrows its assailants" : the protective forces of Babylon's Ishtar Gate / Beate Pongratz-Leisten -- Conclusion. Beholding Babylon's Ishtar Gate / Anastasia Amrhein and Elizabeth Knott.
Summary:
In the ancient Near East, expert craftspeople were more than technicians: they numbered among those special members of society who could access the divine. While the artisans' names are largely unknown today, their legacy remains in the form of spectacular artworks and monuments. One of the most celebrated works of antiquity--Babylon's Ishtar Gate and its affiliated Processional Way--featured a dazzling array of colorful beasts assembled from molded, baked, and glazed bricks. Such an awe-inspiring structure demanded the highest level of craft; each animal was created from dozens of bricks that interlocked like a jigsaw. Yet this display of technical and artistic skill also served a ritual purpose, since the Gate provided a divinely protected entrance to the sacred inner city of Babylon. A Wonder to Behold explores ancient Near Eastern ideas about the transformative power of materials and craftsmanship as they relate to the Ishtar Gate. This beautifully illustrated catalogue accompanies an exhibition at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. Essays by archaeologists, art historians, curators, conservators, and text specialists examine a wide variety of artifacts from major American and European institutions.
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.