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| All of human existence before the emergence of writing. |
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| "Old stone age" from about 40,000 to 8000 BCE. |
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| "Middle stone age" an ice age in Europe. |
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| "New stone age" from about 8000 to 2300 BCE. |
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| Metals are used as tools and in works of art. 2300-1000 BCE. |
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| Structure of 2 or more large stones supporting a capstone. |
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| A tomb under a cairn reached by a long narrow post and lintel passageway. |
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| post and lintel construction |
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| An architectural system of construction with two or more vertical elements (posts) supporting a horizontal element (lintel).[image] |
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| A megalithic stone block placed in an upright position by prehistoric people. |
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| A circular area enclosed by stones or wooden posts, usually bounded by a ditch and raised embankment. |
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| Clusters of religious, administrative, and service buildings developed in each city as centers of worship and thriving businesses. |
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| Wedge shaped script pressed into clay tablets with a stylus. |
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| Writing instrument for cuneiform. |
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| A stepped pyramidal structure with a temple or shrine on top. |
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| Thousands of colored cone-shaped stones or baked clay pressed like thumbtacks into wet plaster walls. These flat "hands" created shimmering, multicolored designs. Invented at Uruk. |
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| Carved figures which project slightly. |
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| A small, cylindrical stone decorated with incised patterns. When rolled across soft clay or wax, a raised pattern or design (relief) is left, which served in Mesopotamian times an as identifying signature. |
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| Carved figures which project significantly. |
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| A stone slab placed vertically and decorated with inscriptions or reliefs. Used as a grave marker or memorial. |
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| An area of a fortress or defended city place in a high, commanding spot. |
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| A group of buildings used for living and governing by a particular ruler, usually located in a fortress or citadel |
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| A pattern of open notches built into the top parapets and battlements of many fortified building for the purpose of defense. |
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| An architectural element used for support and/or decoration. |
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| A slab of masonry supporting a statue or the shaft of a column (also called a plinth). |
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| The main vertical section of a column between the capital and the base, usually circular in cross section. |
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| In architecture, a decorative pattern of evenly spaced parallel vertical grooves incised on shafts of columns or columnar elements (such as pilasters). |
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| The sculpted block which tops a classical column. |
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| Symbolizes the Egyptian God Horus. |
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| A hieroglyph signifying life, used by ancient Egyptians. |
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| Symbol associated with the creator god Atum and the rising sun. (Ancient Egypt) |
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| Also known as the Eye of Horace, it was symbolic of the sun and moon to the Ancient Egyptians. |
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| overseer of the underworld, usually portrayed as a human form. |
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| Evil brother and killer of Osiris. |
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| Osiris's wife and sister, a human. |
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| The overseer of funerals and cemeteries, represented as a man with a jackal's head. |
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| The sky god, represented as a human body with a hawk head. He is the son of Isis and Osiris, and defeats Seth to avenge his father and become Earth King. |
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| A highly stylized depiction serving as a symbol for a person or object. Also: A type of writing utilizing such symbols. |
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| The flat surface everything stand on, sometimes a register. |
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| A plant that grew in profusion along the lower Nile. |
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| A set of ideal mathematical ratios in art, especially sculpture, originally applied by the Egyptians and later the ancient Greeks to measure the various parts of the human body in relation to each other. |
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| The name given by ancient Egyptians to the human life force, or spirit. |
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| A flat-topped, one-story building with slanted walls. Invented by the ancient Egyptians to mark underground tombs. |
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| In Egyptian tombs, the small room in which the ka statue was placed. |
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| A rectangular stone coffin, used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and others. Often decorated with relief sculpture in side panels. |
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| A large cemetery or burial area. |
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| Ancient Egyptian multichambered burial site, hewn from solid rock and often thoroughly hidden. Most often found in remote cliffs and valleys of southern Egypt. |
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| A columns attached to a background wall. |
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| A sequence or row of columns, supporting a straight lintel (as in a porch or portico) or a series of arches (an arcade). |
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| In Egyptian architecture, a large interior gathering room of a temple complex that precedes the sanctuary. Marked by numerous rows of tall, closely spaced columns. |
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| A massive gateway formed by a pair of tapering walls of oblong shape. Erected by ancient Egyptians to mark the entrance to a temple complex. |
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| A surrounding colonnade in Greek architecture. A peristyle building is surrounded on the exterior by a colonnade. Also: a peristyle court is an open courtyard with the same colonnade form found on all sides. |
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| A tall stone shaft of four-sided rectangular shape, hewn from a single block, that tapers at the top and is completed by a pyramidion. Erected by the ancient Egyptians in ceremonial spaces (such as entrances to temple complexes) as commemorative monuments. |
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| A pyramid-block set as the finished element atop an obelisk |
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| A plan or design that is based on a symmetrical, linear arrangement of elements. |
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| When a carved image is modeled below the original surface of the background, which is not cut away. |
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| A medium made from clay fired over a low hear and usually left unglazed. Also: the orange-brown color typical of this medium. |
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| A technique in which a design or inscription is cut into a hard surface with a sharp instrument. When on pottery, it is added before firing. |
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| A vessel in the shape of a figure or an animal, used for drinking or pouring liquids on special occasions. |
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| The paper-thin sheets of hammered gold that are used in gilding. In some cases (such as Byzantine icons), also used as a ground for paintings. |
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| An arch built into a wall just about a post and lintel structure (such as a gate, door, or window) to help support the wall above. Relieves some of the weight on the lintel by transferring the load to the side walls. |
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| Early roofing technique in which each course of stone projects inward slightly over the previous layer (a corbel) until all sides meet. Results in a high, narrowly pointed arch or vault. A corbel table is a table supported underneath by corbels. |
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| A type of above-ground burial place marked by an earthen mound with a rounded conical shape like a beehive. |
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| Any large-scale, monumental building project that impresses by sheer size. Based on Greek myth of giants of legendary strength. Also: a prehistoric method of building , utilizing megalithic clocks of rough-hewn stone. |
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| The face or front wall of a building, usually including the main elevation. |
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| An interior courtyard or room built with an opening in the roof, usually over a pool or garden. Most often found in Roman domestic buildings. Also: the vestibule of an Early Christian basilica-plan church, usually roofed. |
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| A semi-circular opening first used by the ancient Romans. |
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| In architecture, the vertical element found in pairs on both sides of an opening in a wall, such as a door or window. |
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| The oblong, wedge-shaped stone blocks used to build an arch. The topmost voussoir is called a keystone. |
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| A continuous semicircular vault. |
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| A raised platform that acts as the foundation for a building. Most often used for Etruscan, Greek, and Roman temples. |
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| A type of architectural support. Usually consists of a masonry pillar with a wide base built against an exterior wall to brace the wall and strengthen vaults. Acts by transferring the weight of the building form a higher point to the ground. |
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| A platform or base supporting a sculpture or other monument. Also: the block found below the base of a classical column (or colonnade) serving to raise the entire structure off the ground. |
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| A building material invented by the Romans, which was easily poured or molded when wet, and hardened into a particularly strong and durable stone-like substance. Made primarily from lime, sand, cement, and rubble mixed with water. |
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| In architecture, the exterior facing of a building, often in decorative patterns of fine stone or brick. In decorative arts, a thin exterior layer for decoration laid over wooden objects or furniture. Made of fine materials such as rare wood, ivory, metal, and semiprecious stones. |
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| In architecture, a semicircular niche. On a small scale, often used as decoration, whereas larger exedrae can form interior spaces (such as an apse). |
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| A style in which artists concern themselves with capturing the exterior likeness of an object or person, usually by rendering its visible details in a finely executed, meticulous manner. |
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| A large rectangular building with an open interior space. Often built with a clerestory and side aisles separated from the center space by colonnades. Used in Romans times as centers for administration or justice and later adapted to the Christian church. A basilica-plan structure incorporates the essential elements of this plan. |
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| A method of representing three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface by the use of formal elements that act to give the impression of recession. Does not rely on scientific principles or mathematics. |
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| In sculpture, the decorative effect created by the use of the drill. Also: the technique of using a drill for the creation of certain effects in sculpture. |
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| A type of painting that has as its subject inanimate objects (such as food, dishes, fruit, or flowers). |
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| Any building (or part thereof) constructed in a circular (or sometimes polygonal) shape, usually producing a large open space crowned by a dome. |
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| A recessed decorative panel that, with many other similar ones, is used to decorate ceiling or vaults. The use of coffers is called coffering. |
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| In architecture, a circular opening. Oculi are usually found either as windows or at the apex of a dome. When at the top of a dome, it is either open to the sky or covered by a decorative exterior lantern. |
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| The wall that supports a dome. Also: a segment of the circular shaft of a column. |
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| A variation on the traditional pediment, with an open space at the center of the topmost angle and/or the horizontal cornice. Often filled with a decorative element, such as a cartouche. |
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| The illusion created on a flat painted or drawn surface in which figures and objects appear to recede or project sharply into space. Often accomplished according to the rules of perspective. |
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| A manner of representation in which the appearance of natural space and objects is re-created with the express intention of fooling the eye of the viewer, who may be convinced that the subject actually exists as three-dimensional reality |
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| In religion or philosophy, the union of different ideas or principles. |
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| A person, usually a pries or priestess, who acts as a conduit for divine information. Also: the information itself or the place at which this information is communicated. |
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| A semicircular wall area, framed by an arch over a door or window. Can be either plain or decorated with reliefs. |
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| A form created when two images (usually paintings on panel or reliefs) are hinged together. |
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| A style of vase painting derived from the fluid and elegant script of manuscripts. |
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| A type of paper made from animal skins. Vellum is a thick, expensive support. |
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| A term usually applied to medieval manuscripts that are rolled or in a tubular form |
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| A painting on paper or parchment used as illustration and/or decoration for manuscripts or albums. Usually done in rich colors, often supplemented by gold and other precious materials. The illustrators are referred to as illuminators. Also" the technique of decorating manuscripts with such paintings. |
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| A handwritten book or collection of handwritten documents |
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| A small motif or scene that has no established border and that fades on the edges into the background. Also: the foliated decoration around a capital letter in an illuminated manuscript. |
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| A type of artistic design popular in Europe and western Asia during the ancient and medieval periods, characterized by linear, animal-like forms arranged in intricate patterns. The style is often used on metalwork or other precious materials. |
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| A linear decoration made up of interwoven bands, often found in Celtic and northern European art of the medieval period. |
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| Decoartion made up of interwoven animal-like forms, often found in Celtic and northern European art of the medieval period. |
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Definition
| A technique in enameled decoration of metal involving metal wire (filigree) that is affixed to the surface in a design. The resulting areas (cloisons) are filled with decorative enamel. |
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| An arch with a rounded horseshoe shape; the standard arch form in western Islamic architecture. |
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| The rectangular vestibule at the main (usually western) entrance of a church. In Early Christian architecture, i can also be an entrance porch with columns on the outside of a church. |
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| The monumental west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers; the interior includes an entrance vestibule, a chapel, and a series of galleries overlooking the nave. |
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| A sacred place in Catholic churches where the relics of martyrs are buried, often marked by shrines for worship. |
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| A monumental building used as a tomb. Named after he tomb of Mausosls erected at Halikarnassos around 350 BC |
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Definition
| The topmost zone of a wall with windows (especially of a church or temple), when it extends above any abutting aisles or secondary roofs. Provides direct light into the central interior space. |
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Definition
| A series of arches, carried by columns or piers attached to the background wall; a purely decorative element. |
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Definition
| The clear and legible script developed in Carolingian times, using spaces between words and large initials at the beginning of sections of text |
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| A container, often made of precious materials, used as a repository for sacred relics. |
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| A journey made from church to church to visit reliquaries. |
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| A vault created by the intersection of two barrel vaults of equal size. |
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Definition
| A type of architectural support. Usually consists of a masonry pillar with a wide base built against an exterior wall to brace the wall and strengthen vaults. Acts by transferring the weight of the building from a higher point to the ground. |
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Definition
| The passage or aisle that leads around the apse of a Christian church. Developed for use in pilgrimage churches, an ambulatory usually allows general passage from the nave around the east end of a church without giving access to the restricted areas of the choir and alter. |
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Greek: a sacred or holy enclosure used for worship consisting of one or more temples and an altar.
churches: the space around the altar, usually at the east end (also called the chancel or presbytery) |
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| In church architecture, the story found above the side aisles of a church, usually open to and overlooking the nave. In a large church, such as a cathedral, the gallery may also be used as a corridor. |
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Definition
| A term describing anything that is cross-shaped, as in the cruciform plan of a church. |
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Definition
| Typically found in a Romanesque or Gothic church, a compound pier is a pier or large column with multiple shafts, pilasters, or colonnettes attached to it on one or all sides. |
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Definition
| Typically found in a Romanesque or Gothic church, a compound pier is a pier or large column with multiple shafts, pilasters, or colonnettes attached to it on one or all sides. |
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Definition
| The section of a church, usually between the crossing and the apse, where the clergy presides and singers perform. |
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Definition
| An open octagon resting on squinches, above crossing. |
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Definition
The roughly semicircular area of stone or other material enclosed by an arch that springs from a lintel. Usually found in medieval architecture above a doorway or portal, and often highly decorated.
Also: in Classical architecture, the area enclosed by a pediment. |
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Definition
| One of several continuous decorative bands or moldings on the face of an arch, across the voussoirs. |
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Definition
| A column, pier, or post found at the center of a large portal or doorway, supporting the lintel. |
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Definition
| A room in a monastery for writing or copying manuscripts. |
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| An ecclesiastical book. A lectionary is part of the fittings of a church and contains readings from Christian Scripture. It is the book from which the officiant reads to the congregation during holy services. |
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| A carved image, usually of religious person but also sf allegorical or mythological themes, that is attached to a column or carved from it. |
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Definition
| An arch built on the exterior of a building that transfers the thrust of the roof vaults at important stress points through the wall to a detached buttress pier. |
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Definition
| An arcaded element of the interior elevation of a Gothic church, usually found directly below the clerestory and consisting of a series of openings from a passageway or gallery, or can be a purely decorative device built into the wall. |
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| A tall narrow window crowned by a sharply pointed arch, typically found in Gothic architecture. |
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Definition
| In architecture, a circular opening. Oculi are usually found either as windows or at the apex of a dome. When at the op of a dome, it is either open to the sky or covered by a decorative exterior lantern. |
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Definition
| A four-lobed decorative pattern common in Gothic art and architecture. |
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Definition
| The lower zone, or base, of an altarpiece, decorated with painting or sculpture related to the main iconographic theme of the altarpiece. |
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Definition
| A painting, usually an altarpiece, made up of three panels. The panels often hinged together so the side segments (wings) fold over the central area. |
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Definition
| A pattern of open notches built into the top parapets and battlements of many fortified building for the purposes of defense. |
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Definition
| A painted or carved panel or winged structure placed at the back of or behind an altar. Contains religious imagery, often specific to the place of worship for which it was made. |
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Definition
| The side panels of triptych (usually found in pairs), which was hinged to fold over the central panel. Wings often held the depiction of the donors or of subsidiary scenes relating to the central image. |
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Definition
| The theoretical spatial plane corresponding with the actual surface of a painting (usually vertical). |
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Definition
| Any painting executed with the pigments floating in a medium of oil. Oil paint has particular properties that allow for greater ease of working (among others, a slow drying time, which allows for corrections, and a great range of relative opaqueness of paint layers, which permits a high degree of detail and luminescence). It was adopted on a wide scale in Europe after about 1450. |
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Definition
| In ceramics, a method of treating earthen-wares with an outermost layer of vitreous liquid (glaze) that, upon firing, renders a waterproof and decorative surface. In painting, a technique particularly used with oil mediums in which a transparent layer of paint (glaze) is laid over another, usually lighter, painted or glazed area. |
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| mathematical, linear, or Renaissance perspective |
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Definition
| A method of creating the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface by delineating a horizon line and multiple orthogonal line. These recede to meet at other more points on the horizon (vanishing points), to give the impression of recession. This impression, however, is achieved by visual instinct, not by the use of an overall system or program (usually involving scientific principles or mathematics) for depicting the appearance of spatial depth. |
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Definition
| Any line running back into the represented space of a picture perpendicular to the imagined picture plane. In linear perspective, all orthogonals converge at a single vanishing point in the picture and are the basis for a grid that maps out the internal space of the image. An orthogonal plan is any plan for a building or city that is based exclusively on right angles, such as the grid plan of many modern cities. |
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Definition
| In a perspective system, the point on the horizon line at which orthogonals meet. A complex system can have multiple vanishing points. |
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Definition
| The illusion created on a flat printed or drawn surface in which figures and objects appear to recede or project sharply into space. Often accomplished according to the rules of perspective. |
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Definition
| An altarpiece constructed from multiple panels, sometimes with hinges to allow for movable wings. |
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Definition
| A term used to loosely categorize paintings depicting scenes of everyday life, including (among others) domestic interiors, merry companies, inn scenes, and street scenes. |
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Definition
| Realistic protrayal of a figure |
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| Elevation to divine status |
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| 200 year period of peace in Rome |
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