Paleolithic; c. 28,000 - 25,000 BCE

Subtractive sculpture; limestone; free standing

Venus of Willendorf

Paleolithic; 15,000 - 10,000 BCE

Additive, built-up relief sculpture, clay

Cave, Le Tuc d' Audoubert, France

Two Bison

Paleolithic; c. 22,000 BCE

Pigments on stone 

Spotted Horses and negative hand prints

Paleolithic; c.15, 000 - 13,000 BCE

pigments on limestone

Hall of the Bulls

Paleolithic

pigments on limestone

Aurochs, horses, and rhinoceroses

Neolithic; 6750-6250 BCE

Ain Ghazal, Jordan; found in apparent burial ground

3’ 5 1/8”, first monumental sculpture, additive built up sculpture

Human Figure

Neolithic; c.2250-1600 BCE

Salisbury Plain, England

stone, post‑and‑lintel construction, trilithic, astronomical uses, formation marked where the sun rose at summer soltice

Stonehenge

Sumerian; c. 3200 – 3000 BCE

Uruk, Iraq

Alabaster, 1st known narrative relief sculpture, composite view, animals in strict profile, hierarchical scale

Warka Vase

Sumerian; c. 2700 BCE

Square Temple at Eshnunna, Iraq

Gypsum with inlay, subtractive sculpture, free standing in-the-round, large eyes symbolize etermal wakefulness, votive offering, hands in prayer, stylized hair and beard

Statuettes of two worshippers

Sumerian; c. 2685 – 2500 BCE

Ur, Iraq

wood inlaid with gold, lapis lazuli and shell, man-headed bulls, compostie view, heraldic composition

Lyre Soundbox

Sumerian; c. 2600 BCE

Royal Cemetary, Ur, modern Tell Muqayyer, Iraq

wood inlaid with shell Lapis Lasuli, red limestone, historical narrative, hierarchical scale

Standard of Ur

Neo-Sumerian; c. 2100 BCE

modern Tell Muqayyar, Iraq
fired brick over mud‑brick

Ziggurat at Ur 

Akkadian; 2250-2200 BCE

Nineveh (Iraq)

copper, 1st known life size hollow cast sculpture, balanced naturalism with abstract and stylization

Head of Akkadian Ruler 

Akkadian; 2254-2218 BCE

Susa, Iran

low relief, subtractive, pink sandstone, departure from the traditional register, commemorates conquest of Lulbi, divinity of king, leads army, composite view, spiral register, horned helmet signifies divinity

Victory Stele of Naram-Sin

Old Babylonian; c.1780 BCE

relief, basalt, god Shamash and Hammarabi are same height, god Shamash in composite view with headdress shown in true profile, shows only four horns (not all 8), foreshortening, (below relief) 3500 lines of law in cuneiform

Stele of Hammurabi

Assyrian; c. 645-640 BCE

palace complex of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh

Gypsum relief, exalts royal power, lions symbolize power and prowess

Lion Hunt

Assyrian; c. 720-705 BCE

Citadel of Sargon II at Khorsabad (Iraq)

limestone, 4 legs in profile (in motion), 2 frontal (at rest), more horns = more intimidating 

Lamassu

Neo-Babylonian; c. 575 BCE

Babylon

glazed brick, ishtar is sacred lion, Marduk and Nabu's dragon and Adad's bull

Ishtar Gate

Persian/Achaemenid; c. 521-465 BCE

Iran

Persepolis, Royal Audience Hall 

Persian/Achaemenid; 521- 465 BCE

terrace of apadana, Persepolis, Iran

limestone, projects unity, raised platform (apadana)

Processional frieze (detail)

Pre-Dynastic Egyptian c. 3000- 2920 BCE

slate, subtractive low relief, historical narrative, ceremonial palette, marks transition, statement of power, advent of the formal canon, recorded event of unification, traditional register

Palette of King Narmer

Early Dynastic Egyptian; c. 2630-2611 BCE

Saqqara, Egypt

acted as a capital (of lower Egypt), series of stacked mastabas

Imhotep, Stepped Pyramid of King Djoser

Dynasty IV, Egyptian Old Kingdom; c.2551-2472 BCE

Gizeh, Egypt

limestone, tombs of Khufu (largest - 2.3 mil blocks of stone ~2.5 tons ea.), Khafre, Menkaure

Great Pyramids 

Dynasty IV, Egyptian Old Kingdom; c.2520‑2494 BCE

Gizeh, Egypt

sandstone, subtractive, composite, 65' high, 240' long, colossal statue (largest in Near East), nemis headdress, lion (authority) with human (intelligence) head

Great Sphinx

Dynasty IV, Old Kingdom Egyptian; c.2490‑2472 BCE

Gizeg, Egypt

Greywacke, frozen gesturess signify marriage, Pharaoh's left leg extended forward in assertive stance (power)

Menkaure and Khamerernebty

Dynasty IV, Old Kingdom Egyptian; c. 2520-2494 BCE

Gizeh, Egypt

diorite, perfect body, ridgity creates eternal stiffness (timeless afterlife) 

Khafre enthroned

New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII; c. 1400-1350 BCE

Tomb of Nebamun, Thebes

fresco secco, hierarchical scale, Nedamun is largest, wife and child also shown in profile, high degree of naturalism, conceptual and optical mixing 

Nebamun Hunting Birds (Fowling Scene)

New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII; c. 1473-1458 BCE

Deir el-Bahri, Egypt

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

Amarna Phase, Dynasty XVIII, New Kingdom; ca. 1353-1335

the temple of Aton, Karnak, Egypt

sandstone, radical departure from traditional Pharaomic formulaic canon, 13' high, androgynous, attempt to portray Aton (the sexless sun disk)

Akhenaton

Amarna Phase, New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII, c. 1353-1335 BCE

painted limestone, Nefertiti means "The Beautiful One is Here", headdress balanced on long, delicate serpentine neck like a flower on a stem, questionable authenticity

Bust of Queen Nefertiti

Amarna Phase, Dynasty XVIII; c. 1353-1335 BCE
limestone, sunken relief stele, undulating curves replace rigid lines, domestic setting (rare) life-giving rays of Aton (the sun disk), prominent belly

Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters 

Dynasty XVIII, New Kingdom Egyptian; c.1323 BCE

gold inlaid with enamel and semi-precious stones, additive,  Tut "the boy king", rule from 8-18 yrs old, only intacts Dynastic tomb and treasures thus found, wears nemes headdress (volture and snake)

Death Mask of Tutankhamon

New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX (19 Ramses); c.1290-1224 BCE

Abu Simbel, Egypt

sandstone, moved 700 ft. to avoid submersion (THANKS JACKIE O!)

Temple of Ramesses II

New Kingdom, Dynasty XIX; c.1290-1224 BCE

Temple of Amon-Ra, Karnak

post and lintel, clerestory (admits light to the interior)

Model of Hypostyle Hall

Cycladic; ca. 2500 – 2300 BCE

Syros (Cyclades), Greece

marble, arms folded over abdomen (fertility?), schematized body of large triangles, "modern" qualities (flat, absract) 

Figurine of a woman

Cycladic, ca. 2700 – 2500 BCE

Keros (Cyclades), Greece

marble, 9" high, found in graves, entertainers of deceased, simple geometric shapes, flat planes, minimalist

Male Lyre Player

Minoan; ca. 1700‑1400 BCE

Crete

(aerial view)

Palace at Knossos

Minoan columns taper from top to bottom, opposite of Egyptian and Greek columns

Details of Palace at Knossos:

Stairwell and columns

limestone, alter

Details of Palace at Knossos:

Bull's Horns

similar to a labyrinth

Details of Palace at Knossos:

Plan view

Minoan ca. 1700-1400 BCE

Palace at Knossos, Crete

fresco

Throne Room

Minoan; c. 1450- 1400  BCE

Palace at Knossos, Crete

fresco, faux paintings, women are different colors than men (men are dark) 

Bull-Leaping

Minoan, c. 1450 BCE

Palace at Knossos, Crete

fresco, reconstruction

Dolphins

Minoan

Crete, Greece

curvaceous physiques, not entirely composite view

Boxing Children

Minoan; c. 1500 BCE

Palaikastro (Crete), Greece

ceramic, terra cotta, motif is suited perfectly to the shape of the vessel (means the potter and paiter were same person)

Octopus jar

Minoan; ca. 1600 BCE

Palace at Knossos (Crete), Greece

faience (glazed terra cotta), may represent priestess or bare-breasted goddess, snakes in hands and feline on head implies power of animal world, snakes were a good omen (reproduction) small scale statuettes

Snake Goddess

Mycenaean; ca. 1400 – 1200 BCE

Tiryns, Greece

referred to in the Illiad (Homer), huge roughly cut stone clocks example of Cyclopean masonry (named after the mythical one-eyed giants)

Aerial view of the citadel 

Mycenaean; c.1300‑1250 BCE

Mycenae, Greece

limestone, relieving triangle, corbeled arch, post and lintel (2 monoliths and a huge lintel), largest sculpture in prehistoric Aegean

Lion Gate

Mycenaean; c. 1300-1250 BCE

Mycenae, Greece

Tholos (temple with circular plan, round bldg), relieving triangle (lintel above triangular opening), corbeled arch (arranging layers of stone), dromos (roadway), left open for ventilation

Treasury of Atreus

Mycenaean; ca. 1600-1500 BCE

Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece

beaten/hammered gold, very stylized, 

Funerary Mask

Mycenaean, ca. 1200 BCE

Mycenae, Greece

ceramic, terra cotta, Kratar: vessel for mixing wine and water, woman bidding fairwell to warriors, uses silhouettes and outline, combination of frontal and profile views last time human figure in art for ~ 500yrs.

Warrior Vase