Prior to my exploration of New York’s museums, I had the opportunity to visit several institutions, including the British Museum. However, I found myself less captivated by the concept of ‘Art.’ Upon my visits to the Metropolitan Museum, the Jewish Museum, and the Museum of the American Indian and many more, I began to perceive ‘Art’ as having a familial connection to history. If we consider civilization as the father figure, then ‘Art’ can be viewed as the mother. This led me to contemplate the evolution of civilizations alongside the progression of Art.
To approach this topic more systematically, I propose dividing the art of civilizations into two categories: the Orient and the Occident. In the Orient, I would include the artistic developments of Mesopotamian, Persian, Indus, Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian civilizations, primarily focusing on the Near East and Asia. Conversely, the Occident would encompass the Far East, Europe, and North America. As I have not yet visited South America, I will exclude it for the time being, with the intention of including it in the future.
Due to the vastness of artistic expressions, I will provide only a few illustrative examples that I happened to see in some museums.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has collections of art from many different cultures, including Western European and North American art (occident). For instance, this terracotta statue represents a youthful Hercules (Roman version of Greek God) from the Roman period. It was unearthed in the 17th century from the baths located near the Pantheon, which belonged to the Roman Emperor Nero around 43AD. Frequently, we encounter ancient statues in museums; however, many of them have undergone renovation and restoration, as is the case with this particular statue. In this photograph, the dark gray areas indicate the modern restorations.
We see a lot of oversize kraters in museums pertaining to Greeks. A krater is a large, open-mouthed vase or jar with two handles that was used in ancient Greece to mix wine and water. They were also used a lot in funerary customs. This particular Monumental terracotta krater Greek (Attic) belongs to 750-735 BC.
During the period, Athenian (Athens) funerary customs reflected a taste for display and distinction involving oversize, high-quality vessels such as this krater. Used as grave markers, these monuments commemorated outstanding individuals and kinship groups within society. The main scene on this krater shows the deceased (2) laid out on a bier, surrounded by members of his household (3) and, on either side, mourners (4). For optimal clarity, the dead man is shown on his side, and the checkered shroud (1) that would normally cover him has been raised. Below is a continuous procession of chariots and foot soldiers (6). This frieze may refer to the military exploits of the deceased, although the hourglass-shaped shields and chariots are typical of the earlier Bronze Age, suggesting that it may memorialize the glories of his ancestors (Homer’s Illiad).
This imagery may be seen as a direct reference to, and echo of, Late Bronze Age warfare as characterised by Homer’s aristocratic Trojan and Greek heroes in the Iliad.
These Late Geometric “tomb group terracotta vases are said to be from Athens. Despite the absence of archaeological records, they were probably found together in a tomb. Such groups are well attested in excavated burials. Moreover, the iconography of the two neck-amphorae, particularly the one with the mourning women on the neck, is appropriate for a funerary purpose. The group displays stylistic changes that occurred from about 730 to 700 BCE, a time of artistic innovation that resulted in the end of the formal precision of the Geometric style and the rise of the exuberant Protoattic style that is scenes referring unambiguously to Greece’s heroic past depicted by Homer.
We particularly observe remarkable statuette of a naked warrior has a small head and a massive neck. His long legs and the shape of his broad, flat chest echo Minoan artistic conventions. The sculpture was most likely made by a Cretan artist. We can identify bronze warrior, bronze mare, foal, bird and horse and Swastik.
Small statuettes such as this mare and foal, horse, and bird have been found by the thousands in Greek sanctuaries, where they were deposited as personal offerings to the gods.
Greek Hydriai -The hydria, or water jar, derives its name from the Greek word for water. The two horizontal handles at the sides were for lifting, the vertical handle at the back for pouring. Of all the Greek vase shapes, the hydria probably received the most artistically significant treatment in terracotta and in metal. Terracotta hydriai underwent two major changes during the sixth century B.C. They began as rotund and heavy but progressively developed a tighter profile with a distinct shoulder. At the end of the sixth century, a variant appeared known as a kalpis in which the curve from the lip through the body is continuous. This is the type favored by Attic (Athens) red-figure painters.
Bronze hydriai consist of the body, which was hammered, and the foot and handles, which were cast. These adjuncts were often beautifully decorated with figural and floral motifs. During the fourth century B.C, mythological subjects became popular. Bronze hydriai were used not only for water but also as cinerary urns and as ballot boxes.
The majority of the artifacts housed in this museum originate from funerary monuments constructed in the sixth century BC by a select number of families from Attica (Athens). Some burial sites were distinguished by statues, while others featured tall shafts topped with capitals. The most intricately designed graves belonged to individuals who died without marrying and had no descendants to honor their memory. The tombs of the aristocracy were established in private burial grounds situated along the roadsides of their family estates. Like all ancient marble sculptures, the funerary statues and grave stelai were originally painted, and significant remnants of red, black, blue, and green pigments are still visible today. The carved figures, regarded as some of the most exquisite examples of Greek art, exhibit subtle modeling, a fine polish, and meticulous tool marks on their surfaces.
During the Archaic period (800 BC-480 BC of Greece), burial shafts in Attica were often covered by solid, rectangular, houselike structures with plastered mud-brick walls and slightly sloping roofs. A series of terracotta plaques showing different stages of the funeral were probably set into the outer walls. In this very early example, the deceased is shown lying on a bier surrounded by mourners.
Mycenaean Greeks believed in Death and the Afterlife. By the sixth century B.C., the ancient Greeks had developed a well-defined understanding of the afterlife and the rituals associated with burial. In Homer’s Odyssey, the underworld is depicted as a realm situated deep beneath the earth, governed by Hades, the brother of Zeus and Poseidon, alongside his wife, Persephone. This domain is populated by countless shadowy figures, representing the souls of the deceased. It is portrayed as a dismal place; notably, the spirit of the esteemed hero Achilles expressed to Odysseus a preference for living as a lowly serf on earth rather than ruling over the dead in the underworld.
Upon death, it was believed that the psyche, or vital spirit, departed the body akin to a gentle breath or a fleeting gust of wind. The deceased underwent preparation for burial in accordance with established customs. After being cleansed and anointed with oil, the body was clothed and placed on a raised bed within the home. This was followed by the prothesis, a ritual where the deceased was displayed for public mourning by family and friends. The funeral procession typically occurred at night. During the Archaic period, cremation was favored over burial in Attica. While few items were interred with the deceased, significant earth mounds, rectangular tombs, and ornate marble stelai and statues were often constructed to commemorate the grave, ensuring that the memory of the deceased would endure. The essence of immortality was believed to reside in the living’s continued remembrance of the departed. Four silver vases from the late 4th to mid-3rd century B.C., reportedly discovered together, feature two narrow horizontal bands adorned with a wave motif encircling the vase.
Grave offerings, including jewelry, weapons, and vessels, were meticulously placed around the body on the tomb’s floor. Rituals conducted at the gravesite involved libations and a meal, as evidenced by the presence of food and shattered cups discovered within tombs. One particular tomb at Marathon housed the remains of horses, which may have been sacrificed at the location following their role in transporting the funeral cart.
Between 334 and 323 B.C, Alexander the Great and his forces achieved significant conquests across much of the known world, establishing one of history’s largest empires. The death of Alexander in 323 B.C. is conventionally regarded as the onset of the Hellenistic period. Following his demise, Alexander’s generals, referred to as the Kshatraps or Successors, partitioned the vast territories of his empire into their own kingdoms, leading to the emergence of several dynasties: the Seleucids in the Near East, the Ptolemies in Egypt, and the Antigonids in Macedonia. Certain Greek city-states sought to reclaim their independence through alliances, notably the Aitolian League in western central Greece and the Achaian League in the
Peloponnese, located at the southern tip of the Greek mainland. In the first half of the third century B.C, the expansive Seleucid kingdom diminished as smaller kingdoms, each governed by local dynasties with roots in Achaemenid times but influenced by Greek culture, emerged. The Attalid royal family of the prominent city-state of Pergamon came to dominate much of western Asia Minor, while Bactria, situated in the far east, was ruled by a wealthy and influential dynasty of Greek and Macedonian lineage. It was within this extensively broadened Greek realm that Hellenistic art and culture flourished. Hellenistic kingship persisted as the prevailing political structure in the Greek east for nearly three centuries after Alexander’s death. Royal families resided in magnificent palaces featuring elaborate banquet halls and exquisitely adorned rooms and gardens. Hellenistic monarchs became notable patrons of the arts, commissioning grand architectural projects and sculptures, as well as luxurious private items that showcased their affluence and refined tastes.
The conventional conclusion of the Hellenistic era is marked by the year 31 B.C., corresponding to the battle of Actium. In this conflict, Octavian, who subsequently ascended to the position of Emperor Augustus, triumphed over Mark Antony and Cleopatra, thus bringing an end to the autonomous rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The Ptolemaic dynasty represented the final Hellenistic kingdom to succumb to Roman control. And from 27 BC the Roman dominance started.
In 286 AD, the Roman empire was split into two halves, each with its own emperor and court. The empire was further divided into four regions in 293 AD. By this time, Rome itself was reduced to a symbolic status, as emperors ruled from different cities. The Roman Empire collapsed in 476 after the city was conquered by the Ostrogothic Kingdom. Consequently, Rome’s power declined and reduced to fractions to vanish.
Boscoreale is an area about a mile from Pompeii was notable for antiquity for having numerous aristocratic country villas. Some of the most important wall paintings still survive in a Roman villa at Boscoreale built in forst century BC. The villa, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D, is referred to as the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor, one of its owners during the first half part of the first century A.D. Excavated in the early 1900s, the villa’s frescoes are among the most important to be found anywhere in the Roman world.
The majority of the villa served as a residence for the owner, a member of that class of wealthy Roman citizens who owned more properties of this kind and used them as country houses. The painted decoration of the villa at Boscoreale, which was executed sometime around 40–30 B.C., attests to the original owner as a rich man with exquisite taste.
Here in Metrolpolitan museum, the room is “recreated” for visitors.
The young beardless soldier commemorated in the portrait wears a military cloak, pinned at his right shoulder. The portrait borne aloft implied the ascent of the deceased to the heavens, while Tellus (mother earth) and Oceanus (god of river) , reclined below, symbolizing the regenerative cycles of life. The central scene is framed at either end by the embracing figures of winged Eros and of Psyche, personification of the human soul.
Rome was at the height of its power and prosperity during Roman Empire in the second century A.D. A series of emperors- from Trajan (AD 98 to 117) to Marcus Aurelius (AD 161 to 180) were good administrators and effective generals ensured a peaceful succession, and wars were restricted to distant parts of the Empire.
In the city of Rome, throughout Italy, and in many of the provinces, people enjoyed a standard of living and a way of life that were unequaled both in antiquity and in more recent times. Ordinary people could enjoy leisure time to spend either at the baths or at the games, activities with both religious and political connotations. Surplus wealth was also channeled into public buildings and works of art, and it is largely the remains of those monuments that we can see and admire today at Roman archaeological sites and in museums.
The emperors took a leading role in the patronage of the arts. For example, Hadrian (A.D. 117–138)— famous for the stone wall he constructed across northern Britain and for the destruction of Jerusalem after the second Jewish revolt-is credited with the construction of innumerable temples and baths throughout the Empire. In the city of Rome, he built the famed Pantheon, a temple dedicated to all the gods. The design and construction of that architectural masterpiece have influenced many later buildings, including many of Andrea Palladio’s Italian Renaissance villas and Monticello, the late eighteenth- century Virginia home of Thomas Jefferson.
Hadrian was an intellectual with a deep love of Greek culture, and his lavish imperial villa at Tibur (modern Tivoli) reflects his eclectic tastes and his appreciation of the diverse nature of the world he ruled. Hadrian also changed the way an emperor was portrayed in a very direct and simple way: he was the first to be shown bearded, an affectation inspired by Greek philosophers.
Wealthy magnates or groups of local magistrates funded projects that improved the amenities and attractions of their cities, including such buildings as the Library of Celsus at Ephesus, dedicated to Hadrian in A.D. 135. Today, as in Roman times, visitors admire its ornate façade, further enhanced by niches occupied by statues that personify the virtues of the donor’s father, Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaenus. But it is well to remember that the donor, the Consul Gaius Julius Aquila, also left a large sum of money for the purchase of books and the upkeep of the library, which was open to the public.
Arts and crafts also flourished among ordinary people. Well-to-do private individuals commissioned portraits, statues, and funerary monuments, and provided themselves with all the refinements of daily life. Even the relatively poor and disadvantaged had access to high-quality pottery and glassware, which was supplied at low prices by an efficient system of mass production and distribution.
Septimius Severus became emperor in A.D. 193, during a period of civil war that followed the assassination of the last of the Antonine emperors, Marcus Aurelius’ son Commodus. Septimius, who was the first non-European to gain the imperial purple, came from the North African city of Lepcis Magna in Tripolitania (modern Libya). He married Julia Domna, a member of a rich and powerful Syrian family that thereafter dominated Rome until the death of Alexander Severus in A.D. 238. The disparate origins of the new dynasty are indicative of the romanization and integration of the provincial peoples within the imperial system. As the empire advanced, more Roman senators, administrators, and soldiers came from the provinces rather than from Italy itself, but the assimilation of local populations also meant that Latin and Greek gradually supplanted many of the preexisting native languages. In A.D. 212, the emperor Caracalla, Septimius’ son, enacted the Constitutio Antoniniana, which granted full citizenship to all free male inhabitants of the Roman Empire. Septimius initiated many reforms that had a long-term effect on the subsequent development of the empire. He was also a great builder. In Rome, his triumphal arch still dominates one end of the Forum, and his native city of Lepcis, which benefited greatly from his patronage, is one of the best-preserved Roman sites in the world today. His portraits are deliberately conservative, since he wanted to be associated as closely as possible with his predecessors, the Antonine emperors. Caracalla, however, adopted a new style of portrait, the so-called military style with close cropped hair and stubble beard that was followed by most third-century emperors.
Crisis of Roman Empire began in the third century. Beset by barbarian invasions, a renascent Persian Empire in the East, internal disorder, and rampant inflation, the Roman Empire in the third century A.D. may well have seemed to be heading for disaster. There was a rapid succession of emperors during the half-century between the accession of the first soldier emperor Maximinus in A.D. 235 and the death of Carinus in A.D. 284. The historical sources for the period, which are largely poor and unreliable, also give the impression of total anarchy. One immediate sign of the unsettled times is provided by the construction of a new, much larger circuit of walls in the city of Rome itself. These were begun under the emperor Aurelian in A.D. 271. Many provincial cities were also fortified, some for the very first time, during the mid-third century A.D.
In addition to a growing feeling of insecurity, parts of the Empire became almost semi-independent and self-ruling. This happened both in the West, where a Gallic empire was established by Postumus in A.D. 260, and in the East, where the rulers of the desert caravan city of Palmyra took control of the Empire’s defense against the aggressive Sassanian Persians. But the Empire proved to be more resilient and enduring than one might have expected. By then, it had been in existence for so long that the Romans and, indeed, many of their enemies could not conceive of an alternative. So, in the midst of all the troubles, celebrations were held in A.D. 248 to mark the thousandth anniversary of the founding of Rome. Although all free inhabitants were now Roman citizens, there was in fact a widening gap between the privileged elite, the honestiores, and the ordinary people, the humiliores. This divide is apparent not only in social and economic areas but also in the arts. The rich continued to enjoy a lifestyle that cherished the traditional mythology, art, and architecture of the Graeco-Roman world. The luxury arts of the later Roman period thus have a universality that reflects the ease with which wealthy patrons circulated in the Empire. For the average citizen, however, regional styles dependent on local production became more relevant and appealing. Nevertheless, mass production and long-distance distribution patterns continued to supply basic goods such as grain, olive oil, wine, and pottery across the whole of the Mediterranean basin.
As the burden of service and taxation fell increasingly on the humiliores, they sought relief either by fleeing from the land or by finding solace in the promise of religion. But while we might feel sympathy for the plight of the average Roman in the third century A.D., it was the rich, educated, and highly cultivated honestiores who effectively preserved classical civilization and bequeathed it to the medieval and modern worlds.
European Art
The deposition of the dead Christ from the Cross has been a symbolic theme for sculptor and painters since the fifteen century. The Descent from the Cross shows the moment when Christ’s body is removed from the cross to be taken away for burial. Nine participants in the scene, nearly all of them weeping with grief, are arranged in a sort of frieze of sorrow, around the slim, pale corpse.
Wares inspired by Renaissance ceramicist Bernard Palissy (1510-1590). Palissy was also an intuitive paleontologist. This is one such ceramic ware and such ceramic wares are known as Palissy wares. Palissy is known for his contributions to the natural sciences, and is famous for discovering principles of geology, hydrology and fossil formation. Palissy failed to discover the secrets of Chinese porcelain or white tin-glaze maiolica, but he created a style of rustic pottery, called “Palissy ware,” for which he is now famous.
“While he was working for the court, he produced numerous and varied works. In addition to continuing rustic figurines, he made a large number of dishes and plaques ornamented with scriptural or mythological subjects in relief. While Aristotle and Wang Chong correctly hypothesized about the role of precipitation in the water cycle, Palissy was the first to accurately surmise that rainfall alone was sufficient for the process and that rising underground water played no vital part. He was a kind of Leonardo Da Vinci. He was one of the first Europeans to enunciate theory consistent with today’s understandings of the origin of fossils. That and his practical application of Alexandrian theoretical works on hydraulics to the social issue of delivering public water to cities, were far in advance of the general knowledge of his time.” – Wikipedia
Sevres porcelain is famous ceramic wares produced even today. It is luxury of French porcelain.
The cold pink ground seen in thes caso, poputar only brom about 1757 to 1761, were intended for omarental purposes only.
French Limestone fireplace 1670 AD- based on a design by Jean Le Pautre. It is taken from Chateau du Chay in Cherac, Charente-Maritime. Fireback is of cast iron. Pair of Andirons with figures of Jupitor and Juno in front.
Hungarian Silver: The Goldsmith’s Craft in Hungarian Heritage. The rich natural resources and flourishing mining system in the Balkans attracted artisans from all over Europe who created decorative objects with what was to become a characteristic opulence. Because the region was a major battlefield between the West and the Ottomans for centuries, few of these objects have survived. Their refined appearance and high level of craftsmanship, represent Hungarian silver at its best.
These below are some enamelled beakers from Viena and a semi precious organic gemstone is used which is made out of a living creaature. These are all of early 19th century.
Beckford acquired this finely enameled medieval container for religious relics around the same time he commissioned the ewer in this case. Images of Christ and the Apostles are surrounded by a
vermicule (wormlike) decoration that lends movement to the gilded surface. The reliquary’s significance-legend claimed that Saint Louis himself had brought it from Palestine to the Basilica of Saint-Denis-perfectly fit Beckford’s antiquarian taste. It probably survived the French Revolution, when gold items were routinely melted down, because it was made of gilded copper rather than solid gold.
Although shells, coral, and fish were common decorative motifs for porcelain during the eighteenth century, painters rarely depicted marine specimens in landscapes as unsettling as the misty shorelines and cliffs found in the background of these plates. Featuring different border designs, the plates were likely sold separately.
These two vases were made at the time of the French Revolution, at a factory that was located in the heart of Revolutionary Paris. Decorated with landscapes depicting severe storms, the people in both landscapes are at the mercy of the wild forces of nature. These scenes, highly unusual for French porcelain, can be plausibly seen as reflections of the tumultuous period during which the vases were produced.
Epilogue
This museum is vast, requiring at least a week to thoroughly explore its artifacts, photographs, and paintings.
I spent two days there, yet I found myself rushing through the exhibits. I took photographs of the signage and plaques to examine them more closely at home. This article aims to assist visitors in preparing for their visit to the museum. I extend my gratitude to America for providing an abundance of knowledge to millions of individuals around the globe.
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