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Art History key terms

Symbolic object or objects that identify a particular deity, saint, or personification in art Ceramics- Wares made of baked clay Corbel vault- Dolmen- Prehistoric sculpture made up of or more large stones supporting a large, flat, horizontal slabs Capstones- The final topmost stone in corbel arch or vault which joins the sides and completes the Structure Hinge- Circular area enclosed by stones or wood posts set up by Neolithic peoples Megalithic- Modeling -in painting the process of creating the illusions of three- emotionality on a 2 dimensional Surface by the use of light and shade.

In sculpture the process Of molding Passage graves- prehistoric tomb under a cairn, reached by a long narrow slab lined access passage or Passageways Post-and-Lintel-architectural system of construction with two or more vertical elements (posts) supporting A horizontal (lintel) Sculpture in the round -Three dimensional sculptures that is carved free of any background or block Chapter 2- Art of the Ancient Near East Alabaster- a soft fine translucent white stone Cylinder seals- a small cylindrical stone decorated with incised patterns.

When rolled across soft clay or wax the resulting raised pattern or design served as an identifying signature. Conventions-a traditional way of representing forms. Cuneiform- an early form of writing with wedged shaped marks impressed into wet clay with a stylist used primarily by ancient Mesopotamia. Hieratic scale-the use of different sizes for sign efficient or holy figures and those of the everyday world to indicate relative importance. The larger the Geiger the greater its importance. Mesopotamia- Pictographs-a highly stylized and simplified depiction serving as a symbol for a person or object.

Relief sculpture-a sculpture image or design whose flat background surface is carved away to a certain depth setting off the figures. Registers-a device used in a system of special definition. Scribes-a professional who wrote texts or maintains written records. Stele-an upright stone slab articulated with inscriptions or relief. Votive figures-an image created as a devotional offering to a god or other deity. Auguries-in Mesopotamia a tall stepped pyramidal structure of earthen materials Often supporting a shrine.

Chapter 3-Art of the Ancient Egypt Ankh- Colonnade-a row of columns supporting a straight lintel or series of arcs. Hieroglyph-picture writings words and ideas rendered in the form or pictorial symbols. Hypotheses hall-a large interior room characterized by many closely spaced columns that support its roof. Mast-a flat topped one story building with slanted walls over an ancient Egyptian underground tomb. Necropolis-a large cemetery or burial area. Palette-a hand held support used by artists for the storage and mixing of paint. Papyrus- Pylon-a massive gateway form by a pair or tapering walls of oblong shape. Scarab- Sunken relief- the image is molded below the original surface of the background which is not cut away. Chapter 5 Art Of Ancient Greece and the Aegean World Amphora-an ancient Greek jar for storing oil or wine with an egg shape body and two curved handles. Archaic-curved lips of an ancient Greek statue from the period c. 600-480 BCC. Black-figure technique-a technique of ancient Greek pottery black figures are minted on red clay ground.

Canon- established rules or standards. Caryatid-a sculpture of a draped female figure acting as column supporting an untreatable. Contrasts-the classical convention of representing standing human figures with opposing alternations of tension and relaxation on each side of a central axis. Corinthian order-the most ornate of the orders includes a base a fluted column shaft with a capital laboratory decorated with a chant us-leaf carvings. Doric order-the column shaft of the Doric order can be fluted or smoothed refaced and has no base.

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