Sumerian Royal Cemetery at Ur and Queen Pu
Transcription
Sumerian Royal Cemetery at Ur and Queen Pu
Group #5: Sumerian Royal Cemetery at Ur and Queen Pu-abi • By: Won-Seok Choi, Jason Jacobs, Jessica Lin, and Alison Wallis Presentation Map • Historical Context (3 pages) • Ram Caught in a Thicket (2 pages) • Standard of Ur (2 pages) • Cultural Influences (2 pages) • The Great Lyre (2 pages) • Subject and Style • Silver Head of a Lion (2 pages) • Processes and Materials • The Headdress of Queen Pu-abi (2 pages) • Printed Sources and Links (2 pages) • Works Cited (2 pages) Historical Context By Jessica Lin • Ur was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia located near the original mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The remaining of the city are currently known as Iraq. The city of Ur was founded sometime in the six thousand B.C. and occupied for nearly five thousand years. By 2500 B.C. Ur was the center of Mesopotamia due to its remarkable agricultural and material wealth. Its strategic location on the Euphrates, with waterway access to the Persian Gulf, helped it grow by the 3rd millennium into a major, fully urban center. (Horne, 1). Ur contained the greatest cemetery constructed at the peak of its early prosperity; around 2650 B.C. Conducted in an excavation project funded by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Professor Wholley excavated nearly 1850 burials. There are sixteen burial artifacts that were deemed royal because they contained distinctive construction, the wealthy contents, and they were buried with the remaining body parts of the deceased. Historical Context • The royal burials contained enormous amounts of gold, electrum, and silver; lapis lazuli, carnelian, agate, and chalcedony. It contained a vast collection of jewelry and personal belongings, even cosmetics. Each tomb also contained from a half-dozen or more of dead bodies. Unfortunately, many of these tombs have either been looted or damaged before Wholley’s historical excavation. However, the tomb of queen Pu-abi was kept mostly intact. Pu-abi, identified by a lapis lazuli seal carved with her name, was clearly an extraordinary important woman in her day. Her tomb contains lots of wealthy artifacts as well as great amounts of history and information about Ur. Continued… Historical Context • Continued… The city and of Ur, which contained rare and exquisite Sumerian artifacts from the renowned, 4500-year-old royal cemetery at Ur is known to the world as the city famed in the Bible as the home of the patriarch Abraham (Parchin, 1). In the second half of the third millennium, Sumer and its city-states fell to Sargon I, the conqueror who unified Mesopotamia and created the Akkadian Empire. The city rebounded by a brief resurgence of power at the end of the three thousand B.C. under the ruling of Ur-Namma and his Third Dynasty. During this period, the massive ziggurat of Ur was raised. However, the city never regained its prosperity that it once reached, and the city was not heard until the excavation of the Royal Cemetery of Ur and Queen Pu-abi by Professor Leonard Wholley. Ram Caught In a Thicket ca. 2650-2550 BC By Jessica Lin • The Ram in a Thicket was discovered in the Royal Cemetery of Ur by the great excavator Leonard Wholley in the "Great Death Pit" at Ur. It was made around 2650-2550 B.C. The artifact is estimated at 45.7 centimeters tall and 30.48 centimeters wide. It was named the 'Ram in a Thicket', or sometimes "Ram Caught in a Thicket" by Wholley who liked biblical allusions. In this context, Wholley associated it with the ram caught in a thicket in the biblical story of Abraham and the intended sacrifice of Isaac. Ram Caught in a Thicket • • Continued… In Genesis 22:13, God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, but at the last moment 'Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son (British Museum, 1). In this story, Ur was the birth place of Abraham who sacrificed a ram instead of his son, Isaac. Nevertheless, art historians believe that it is a goat standing on its hind legs eating the leaves of a tree. The statue is an amazing example of an artifact made from delicate and composite materials. The artifact is composed of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, copper, shell, red limestone and bitumen. It was badly crushed when it was discovered, and wax was used to keep the pieces together as it was lifted from the ground, and it was then pressed back into shape. This delicate work was probably part of a larger sculpture, perhaps a support for a table used in an elaborate Sumerian ritual (Thicket in the Ram, British Museum, 1). This artwork is rich in symbolism. For example, Sumerians were acutely concerned with animal fertility and the fecundity of vegetation. Therefore, the artifact is surrounded by stylized rosettes representing Inanna, goddess of love, fertility and conversely, and war (Parchin, 1). The artifact is permanently collected by the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and everybody should visit this magnificent artwork once in a life time. Standard of Ur ca. 2650-2550 BC By Jessica Lin • The Standard of Ur, also known as the "Battle Standard of Ur," or the "Royal Standard of Ur”, was excavated by Professor Wholley from the Royal Cemetery in the ancient city of Ur. It was a Sumerian artifact made around 2,600-2,400 B.C. The Standard is a hollow wooden box measuring 8.5 inches high and 19.5 inch long, and it’s made with a mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli. Its original function is not known, however, Leonard Wholley suggested that it had been carried on a pole, borne as a standard. •It has also been speculated that it was the sound box of a musical instrument. (Standard of Ur, Wikipedia, 1). Standard of Ur Continued… • • The object contained two main panels called War and Peace. The War section depicted a march by the Sumerian army. The Sumerian army was likely engaged in a border skirmish. The panel contained soldiers on chariots trampling enemies; infantry with cloaks carry spears; enemy soldiers killed with axes; spearmen clad in armored cloaks; and other infantrymen bearing sickle-like knives or axes. The panel also depicted wounded, naked, and humiliated prisoners being presented to the king who holds a spear (Standards of Ur, British Museum, 1). On the other hand, the "Peace" panel depicts a banquet scene and also various scenes of life: animals, fish and other goods are brought in procession to a banquet; seated figures, wearing woolen fleeces or fringed skirts, drink to the accompaniment of a musician playing a lyre (Standard of Ur, Wikipedia, 1). The lyre that the harpist played in the “Peace” panel was identical to the great Lyre of Ur that was also excavated by Professor Wholley in the Cemetery of Ur. The great Standard of Ur is currently a permanent collection of British Museum. It was a remarkable artifact and it was an important piece of history which enabled everybody to understand the magnificent Sumerian Era. Cultural Influences By Won-Seok Choi • Lavish jewelry of gold and lapis lazuli, cups of gold and silver, bowls of alabaster, and extravagant objects of art and culture were among the Mesopotamian treasures discovered in the late 1920s by famous British archaeologist C. Leonard as part of a joint expedition by the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum (Parchin, 1). One of the most amazing discoveries he made in ancient Mesopotamia was the royal cemeteries at Ur and the exquisite artifacts from there, which revealed the glory of ancient Sumerian culture of the third millennium B.C. We see from the cemetery and many artifacts of the royal cemetery at Ur that much of their art meant for funerary and religious purposes. In the third millennium B.C., the leading families of Ur buried their deceased in vaulted chambers under the earth. In the cemeteries at Ur, excavators found gold daggers and helmets, golden beakers and bowls, jewelry, musical instruments, and a lot more luxuries. Cultural Influences • • They also found dozens of bodies of musicians, soldiers, and servants that have been sacrificed to accompany the kings, queens, or aristocrats. In this sense, the royal cemetery at Ur provides a glimpse into the ancient Sumerian culture, in which people believed that there is an afterlife that carried a great deal of significance among the Sumerians. This cultural belief led the ancient Sumerians to produce luxurious musical instruments that would entertain the deceased and golden daggers and helmets to protect the dead. Many other artifacts from the royal cemetery at Ur were created for this purpose. A theme frequently reflected in artifacts found in the cemetery is that of a funerary banquet. The scenes from the sound box of the Great Lyre from the “King’s Grave” depicts composite animals feasting, and other artifacts such as golden beakers and bowls shows a banquet. The use of animals and their features is frequently seen in the artifacts discovered in the royal cemetery at Ur. Continued… •The Great Lyre, Ram in the Thicket, and Silver Head of a Lion all depict an animal or it features. This indicates their “belief in power over the physical world by combination of various species' physical attributes” (Parchin, 1). The Great Lyre ca. 2650-2550 BC By Won-Seok Choi • Among the extravagant Sumerian artifacts from the Sumerian Royal Cemetery at Ur such as jewelry of gold, cups of gold and silver, bowls of alabaster, and objects of art was one of the world's earliest known musical instruments: a large wooden lyre with the gold and lapis lazuli bull's head and plaque that has a series of panels describing mythical animals feasting. This splendid lyre that we now refer to as the Great Lyre from the “King’s Grave” or Bull-headed lyre for its magnificent bull’s head that caps the lyre’s sound box has been reconstructed according to the measurements made by the original excavators and now sits in the University of Pennsylvania Museum (British Museum Online, 1). Composed of gold, lapis lazuli, shell, and wood, the lyre is approximately 5’5” high, its sound box being 1’7” high. It is fashioned of gold lead and lapis lazuli over a wooden core. The bull’s head attached to its front is also made of a wooden core covered by a sheet of gold, and details are of lapis lazuli and shell. The Great Lyre • Continued… The trapezoid-shaped sound box underneath the bull’s beard bears four inlaid panels depicting feasting imaginary composite creatures and is composed of contrasting shell and bitumen. The first panel from the top features a heroic human-headed bearded bull embracing other human headed bulls in a heraldic composition, or in a symmetrical fashion on either side of a central figure, all shown in partial profile (Parchin, 1). The other three panels depict animals attending a funerary banquet such as a scorpionman, a dog carrying a laden table, a lion serving beverage, and an ass playing a lyre, all shown in profile. Parchin contends that the mixture of human and animal features in some of the figures in the scenes “represents a Mesopotamian belief in power over the physical world by combination of various species' physical attributes” (Parchin, 1). The meaning of the sound box scenes is much debated among scholars, but some have suggested that the animals in the scenes are of the dead world and that “the narrative has a funerary significance”. (Kleiner, 25) Subject and Style By Jason Jacobs • Ur, along with the city-states of Larsa, Uruk and Lagash, included what can best be described as Sumer in the southeastern part of the Fertile Crescent. The Sumerians created some of the most beautiful art of their time. The Sumerians artwork illustrates the theme of religious and funeral type purposes. The subject of war and peace also can be seen in some works. The theme of mythology was carried into the art pieces such as the Silver Head of a Lion. C. Leonard Woolley excavated Ur's Royal Cemetery and he uncovered the treasures of Queen, or Lady Pu-abi. In these royal tombs, Woolley discovered the remains of an elaborate funeral and burial ceremonies of the Kings and Queens of Ur. Ur, previously known only through Biblical accounts as the home of the patriarch Abraham, became a historical reality with Woolley's astonishing discoveries. The royal tombs at Ur opened the world's eyes to the full history of ancient Sumerian culture at its best between ca. 2600-2500 B.C. Silver Head of a Lion ca. 2650-2550 BC By Jason Jacobs • For our group topic of Sumerian Royal Cemetery at Ur and Queen Pu-abi, I chose to interpret the Silver Head of a Lion. The Silver Head of a Lion was found in the royal tombs of the kings and queens of Ur between ca. 26502550 B.C.The Silver Head of a Lion came from the excavation of Ur's Royal Cemetery. In the royal tombs of Ur, jewelry fashioned from gold, silver, carnelian, lapis lazuli, elegant vessels made of precious metals, stones, and shell, and a variety of utensils. This included items such as a gold drinking tube, silver and gold cosmetic sets. Silver Head of a Lion Continued… • The weapons found in the tomb were also used by the royals. The Silver Head of a Lion demonstrated with its penetrating stare and its fierce outlook on evil. It is one of a pair presumably attached as an adornment to a wooden object. It is made of silver, shell and precious lapis lazuli. It is approximately 11 cm high and12 cm wide. The artist represented an animal central to Sumerian mythology. This ordain object created a magical talisman to ward off evil. There is subtle attention to detail as seen in both the lion's locks of hair and the intensity of its gaze. Once again, this stare suggests a fierce and menacing snarl. Materials and Processes By Alison Wallis • The ancient Sumerians used a variety of precious materials to create their elaborate works of art. Of the pieces found in the cemetery at Ur, many were made of gold, silver, copper, and electrum. The favorite of all the precious metals was gold. The gold they used was of the best quality ranging anywhere from 39k to 89k. It was soft and malleable making it easier to construct into elaborate details. The common process that they would use with gold would be that of pounding the gold until paper-thin. They would create gold leaf which commonly adorned many of their pieces. They also used wood and would carve it into musical instruments or plaques. Unfortunately the wood did not survive the decay and had to be reconstructed. Inlay was a seemingly popular process used by the craftsmen when working with wood. They would carve out scenes of animals from wood and then fill it in with different kinds of stone. The most common stones that were used in inlay are lapis lazuli, red limestone, shell, and bitumen. They only used the best of materials when creating pieces to go with the queen or king into the afterlife. They would also engrave stone seals that were buried with the queen and other important persons. They made very beautiful jewelry that would adorn the person from head-to-toe. This jewelry would be gold strands with beads of lapis lazuli and carnelian. Headdress of Lady Pu-abi ca. 2650-2550 BC By Alison Wallis • This piece was originally worn by Queen Pu-abi over an elaborate hairstyle or wig. This headdress was probably not worn that often by Pu-abi. Inline with their beliefs in the afterlife, this piece was more than likely an offer to the gods. This piece is constructed from 40k gold that has been pounded until extremely thin and pliable. It is also adorned with strands of lapis lazuli and carnelian beads. At the end of each gold leaf is a small bead. The Headdress of Lady Pu-abi Continued… • The headdress also consists of large crescent earrings that are constructed from the same 40k gold. To add to the already intricate headpiece there is a tall comb that has been pounded and cut into beautiful flowers. This adds to the femininity of the piece. This piece strongly reflects the pride that the Sumerians took in the work and the reverence they showed to their gods and royalty. All of their work is crafted with the utmost care and with the best materials that are available to them. Printed Sources and Internet Links for Further Information • Baumann, Hans: In the Land of Ur: The Discovery of Ancient Mesopotamia, translated by Stella Humphries. New York: Pantheon Books, 1969. • Kramer, Samuel Noah: The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. • Reade, Julian: Mesopotamia. London: British Museum Press, 1991. • Finegan, Jack: Archaeological History of the Ancient Middle East. New York: Dorset, 1979. • Stefoff, Rebecca: Finding the Lost Cities. New York: Oxford University Press, c. 1997. Printed Sources and Internet Links for Further Information • Woolley, Sir Leonard: Excavations at Ur: A Record of Twelve Years Work. New York: Crowell, 1955. • Zettler, Richard L. and Lee Horne, editors: Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1998. • The Cleveland Museum of Art at www.clemusart.com/exhibit/ur • The Royal Tombs of Ur at www.mesopotamia.co.uk/tombs • McClung Museum at www.mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/specex/ur Works Cited Won-Seok Choi • Parchin, S. 2006, Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. About, Inc., the New York Times Company. 2006. April, 29, 2006. • <http://arthistory.about.com/library/weekly/bl_urrev.htm> • Horne, L. 1998. Ur and its Treasures: The Royal Tombs, Expedition. Vol. 40, No. 2 < http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/specex/ur/ur-hist.htm> • • Standard of Ur. Wikipedia, 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_of_Ur>. April, 25, 2006 Parchin, Stan. “Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur.” About.com. 2006. The New York Times Company. 4 May, 2006. <http://arthistory.about.com/library/weekly/bl_urrev.htm>. • • The British Museum Online. 2000. Compass Collection Online. 4 May, 2006. <http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/goto?id=enc429>. • Kleiner, Fred, and Christin, Mamiya. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: the Western Perspective. 12th Ed. Vol. 1. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. Works Cited Jessica Lin • The British Museum Online, 2000. Compass Collection Online. April, 29. 2006. <www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/goto?id=OBJ1738> • < www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass/ixbin/goto?id=obj1740> Jason Jacobs • http://arthistory.about.com/library/weekly/bl_urrev.htm • http://www.stlouis.art.museum/index.aspx?id=176 Alison Wallis • McClung Museum, 1999. http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/specex/ur/ur.htm • Wilson, Karen. The Oriental Institute Museum, The University of Chicago. http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/INFO/NN_Fal00/NN_Fal00.html#fig5