Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age

Aruz, Joan, Sarah B. Graff, and Yelena Rakic eds.

2014

448 pages

446 illustrations

This title is out of print.

Download PDF (27.62 MB)Read online

Description

Table of contents

About the authors

Praise

Bringing together the research of internationally renowned scholars, Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age contributes significantly to our understanding of the epoch-making artistic and cultural exchanges that took place across the Near East and Mediterranean in the early first millennium B.C. This was the world of Odysseus, in which seafaring Phoenician merchants charted new nautical trade routes and established prosperous trading posts and colonies on the shores of three continents; of kings Midas and Croesus, legendary for their wealth; and of the Hebrew Bible, whose stories are brought vividly to life by archaeological discoveries.

Objects drawn from collections in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and the United States, reproduced here in sumptuous detail, reflect the cultural encounters of diverse populations interacting through trade, travel, and migration as well as war and displacement. Together, they tell a compelling story of the origins and development of Western artistic traditions that trace their roots to the ancient Near East and across the Mediterranean world. Among the masterpieces brought together in this volume are stone reliefs that adorned the majestic palaces of ancient Assyria; expertly crafted Phonecian and Syrian bronzes and worked ivories that were stored in the treasuries of Assyria and deposited in tombs and sanctuaries in regions far to the west; and lavish personal adornments and other luxury goods, some imported and others inspired by Near Eastern craftsmanship. Accompanying texts by leading scholars position each object in cultural and historical context, weaving a narrative of crisis and conquest, worship and warfare, and epic and empire that spans both continents and millennia.

Writing another chapter in the story begun in Art of the First Cities (2003) and Beyond Babylon (2008), Assyria to Iberia offers a comprehensive overview of art, diplomacy, and cultural exchange in an age of imperial and mercantile expansion in the ancient Near East and across the Mediterranean in the first millennium B.C.— the dawn of the Classical age.

Met Art in Publication

Terracotta krater, Workshop of New York MMA 34.11.2, Terracotta, Greek, Attic — Terracotta krater
Workshop of New York MMA 34.11.2
ca. 775 BCE

Panels of a writing board, Ivory, Assyrian — Panels of a writing board
ca. 721–705 BCE

Relief fragment: cavalryman leading his horse beside a stream, Gypsum alabaster, Assyrian — Relief fragment: cavalryman leading his horse beside a stream
ca. 704–681 BCE

Relief panel, Gypsum alabaster, Assyrian — Relief panel
ca. 883–859 BCE

Handle of a flywhisk or fan, Ivory, Assyrian — Handle of a flywhisk or fan
ca. 8th–7th century BC

Gold stater, Gold, Lydian — Gold stater
ca. 560–546 BCE

Furniture plaque carved in relief with lion-headed figure, Ivory, Assyrian — Furniture plaque carved in relief with lion-headed figure
ca. 8th–7th century BCE

Openwork furniture plaque with the head of a feline, Ivory, Assyrian — Openwork furniture plaque with the head of a feline
ca. 9th–8th century BCE

Incised cosmetic box fragments with a warrior and four women, Ivory, Assyrian — Incised cosmetic box fragments with a warrior and four women
ca. 9th–8th century BCE

Fan or fly-whisk handle in the form of four female figures, Ivory, gold leaf, Assyrian — Fan or fly-whisk handle in the form of four female figures
ca. 8th–7th century BCE

Furniture plaques carved in relief with animal combat, Ivory, Assyrian — Furniture plaques carved in relief with animal combat
ca. 8th century BCE

Furniture plaque carved in relief with a male figure grasping a tree; winged sun disc above, Ivory, Assyrian — Furniture plaque carved in relief with a male figure grasping a tree; winged sun disc above
ca. 8th century BCE

Furniture plaque carved in relief with warrior holding lotuses, Ivory, Assyrian — Furniture plaque carved in relief with warrior holding lotuses
ca. 8th century BCE

Openwork furniture plaque with a "woman at the window", Ivory, Assyrian — Openwork furniture plaque with a "woman at the window"
ca. 8th century BCE

Openwork furniture plaque with a cow suckling a calf, Ivory, Assyrian — Openwork furniture plaque with a cow suckling a calf
ca. 9th–8th century BCE

Furniture plaque carved in relief with a winged, falcon-headed sphinx, Ivory, Assyrian — Furniture plaque carved in relief with a winged, falcon-headed sphinx
ca. 9th–8th century BCE

Furniture plaque carved in relief with two falcon-headed sphinxes trampling captives, Ivory, Assyrian — Furniture plaque carved in relief with two falcon-headed sphinxes trampling captives
ca. 9th–7th century BCE

Figure of a man with an oryx, a monkey, and a leopard skin, Ivory, Assyrian — Figure of a man with an oryx, a monkey, and a leopard skin
ca. 8th century BCE

Ostracon with Pharaoh Spearing a Lion and a Royal Hymn on its Back, Limestone, ink — Ostracon with Pharaoh Spearing a Lion and a Royal Hymn on its Back
ca. 1186–1070 B.C.

Showing 20 of 43

Citation

Chicago

MLA

APA

Aruz, Joan, Sarah B. Graff, and Jelena Rakić. 2014. Assyria to Iberia: At the Dawn of the Classical Age [Exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, September 22, 2014 - January 4, 2015]. New York New Haven London: The Metropolitan museum of art distributed by Yale university press.

Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age

Met Art in Publication

Related Content

Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age

Citation