Located in southern Mesopotamia, Sumer is one of the earliest known civilizations in the world. Among its many achievements is its art, which comprised of relief sculpture, freestanding sculpture and cylinder seals. Sumerian artists created intricate designs and highly stylized forms. They developed genres of art which formed the basis of ancient Near Eastern art through the following millennia. Sumerian art maybe divided into three periods: the Uruk period, the Early Dynastic era and the Neo-Sumerian empire. Here is an overview of Sumerian art through these periods.
Table of Contents
The Key Questions
The Sumerians were not the first residents of Mesopotamia. It is not known from where they came and who they replaced. They are believed to have been permanently settled in the region by middle of 6th millennia BCE. Their civilization was the first major civilization to develop in Mesopotamia. It flourished from before 4,000 BCE to around 2,340 BCE.
Sumer is among the first complex societies to develop in the world, along with Indus Valley and Egypt. It is responsible for many firsts in the history of mankind. These include the first city-state of Uruk; the first organized religion; the first known written language, cuneiform; the first irrigation system; and the first wheeled vehicles.
S1 – Mesopotamia Art Types
S2 – The Uruk Period
Intro
Around 4th millennia BCE, Uruk became the hub of a flourishing civilization in southern Iraq, a region also known as Babylonia. This region is referred to as Sumer in the language of this civilization. The Uruk Period in Sumer lasted from around 4,000 BCE to around 3,100 BCE. By around 3,200 BCE, Uruk was the largest city in Mesopotamia, and perhaps in the world.
The Uruk period saw the development of finely carved monumental sculptures with a high standard of technical skill. It also saw the emergence of visual narratives in art, which would become one of the main genres of Mesopotamian art. The Uruk Vase is an example of this. Also, imported precious materials were used in cult statues for the first time.
Sculpture
It was during the Uruk period that large scale freestanding sculpture and relief carving appeared for the first time in the region. The rulers were depicted in various roles including that of priest, warrior and hunter. The priest-king statue was a common theme in Uruk period sculptures. Apart from naturalistic images, geometric shapes were used in sculpture from the Uruk period. An alabaster nude female statue is an example of this. This coexistence of natural and abstract style was a matter of choice and not an inability to imitate nature.
Cylinder Seals
Evidence of stamp seals being used in Mesopotamia dates as far back as 6th millennia BCE. However, cylinder seals were developed around 3600 BCE in the Uruk Period. Cylinder seals are one of the most distinctive features of Mesopotamian art and they were used for millennia to come not only in Mesopotamia but also in other regions of the world including Bronze Age Greece.
Sumerian cylinder seals were carved out of a variety of valuable stones including lapis lazuli or carnelian, imported from as far as the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan. They were small objects shaped in the form of a tube. Designs were carved in deep relief in a continuous band across the body of the seal. These designs varied from abstract patterns to complex narrative iconography.
S3 – Early Dynastic Era
Intro
By third millennia BCE, Mesopotamia had became a region with numerous city states, which were independently governed. Most of these were situated in Sumer. This stage of Sumerian art was the most sophisticated. It lasted from around 2,900 BCE till 2,334 BCE. Dramatic changes occurred in Mesopotamian art in this period of around 600 years which had far-reaching impact in the world of art.
An important aspect of Sumerian art in this period was that sculptors began creating images of people. These were not images of deities or supernatural beings as in the previous eras. Moreover, these artworks were not limited to rulers but also included depictions of ordinary people. Though this doesn’t seem spectacular to us, it was indeed a watershed moment in representational art.
Sculpture
During the Early Dynastic Period, Sumerian artists refined metalwork techniques. They knew the techniques of casting using the lost-wax method and with stone molds. Both solid and hollow cast objects were made. Metals were hammered and used in sculptures over a core of wood or bitumen. The surface of the artwork was then decorated with chased designs and inlays of colored stones.
A distinct feature of Early Dynastic period is that there is an abundance of surviving statues that depict the citizens rather than the rulers. This does not hold true for any other period in ancient Mesopotamia. These votive statues are of various sizes and are usually carved in gypsum or limestone.
Men are usually depicted wearing fleece skirts. They are often shown to be bald and sometimes have beards. The females are shown wearing dresses draped over one shoulder. A number of hairstyles and headdresses have been used to cover their head. The statues are usually shown in an attentive pose with hands clasped at the chest or waist. Some are shown holding cups or branches of vegetation. Facial characteristics offer little variation from one statue to the next.
Around 70 statues from this period are inscribed. Almost half of these come from the site of Mari in Syria. The Mari statues have a distinct style defined by its vitality and relative naturalism. The proportions are accurate and they have been carefully modeled. Among these statues is a masterpiece which depicts a musician sitting cross-legged on a woven cushion. The inscription on its shoulders identifies it as Ur-Nanshe.
The historical public monument was created for the first time during the Early Dynastic Period. These monuments, known as victory steles today, are usually freestanding slabs of stone, limestone, basalt or diorite. They are carved in relief and text is usually inscribed on them along with the images. They often depict historical events. Victory steles are among the best-known artworks from Mesopotamia. The earliest known is the Stele of the Vultures, dated to the Early Dynastic Period.
Cylinder Seals
The use of Cylinder Seals increased in the Early Dynastic Period. They were made from various types of stones including lapis lazuli, marble, calcite, serpentine and steatite. The depictions on seals varied from abstract gorged lines to highly naturalistic forms with realistic details. They cover mythological and religious subjects as well as some aspects of daily life and rituals.
There is remarkably creativity in the seals from the Early Dynastic Era which is evident in their animate iconography. Though seals were used for economic and legal purposes, they also became personal items in this period. The type of stone was often chosen for its supposed supernatural qualities like lapis lazuli was associated with divine favor; and rock crystal brought good fortune. Seals were also worn as jewelry due to such qualities being attached to them.
Moreover, Cylinder Seals were inherited as heirlooms and at times reused and re-inscribed across several generations. Thus, they became associated with the identity of their owners, a trend which continued in the following periods in Mesopotamia. Apart from men and women, seals were also considered to be owned by the Gods, who had them in their temples or wore them on their cult statues.
S4 – Neo-Sumerian Empire
Intro
The Neo-Sumerian Empire, also known as the Third Dynasty of Ur, flourished in southern Mesopotamia from around 2112 to 2004 BCE. Their artists didn’t follow the style and iconography of the intermediate Akkadian era. Akkadian art showcased warfare and military might. The Neo-Sumerian went back to focusing on the pious acts of the king in the religious sphere, continuing the traditions of the Early Dynastic Era.
Sculpture
There were two types of sculptural works in the period: ones that were to be viewed and others which were immediately interred into the ground. Votive statues and monumental reliefs are examples of the first kind while the second type are copper foundation figures which were integral to architectural construction.
The sculptures of the era often have small, bow-shaped mouth, which is slightly turned upward, and broad planes of the full cheeks. Some sculptors have also paid great attention to rimmed eyes and joint brows. The eyes were sometimes inlaid like in a surviving small marble female head. In keeping with the period, she has a small mouth, slightly turned up.
Statues of supernatural creatures were also made during the period. These include bovines with human heads. Weights, having a practical purpose, were often made in the shape of animals. Duck was a popular motif. It often rest with its head back into the body. The head and neck are carved in relief onto the duck form. At times, the weights were carved in abstract shapes like a four-sided pyramid bearing symbols of the gods.
Cylinder Seals
Typical seal iconography in Neo-Sumerian period is the presentation scene. The king is placed at the right side of the scene, a position for the gods. At times, he even wears the flounced layered garment of the gods. He is enthroned and holds a cup or a small vessel on his fingertips. Often, lama goddesses act as interceding figures, introducing the owner of the seal to the king.
Main Sources
S2:
Bahrani, Zainab. (2017). “Mesopotamia – Ancient Art and Architecture”. Thames & Hudson. pp40-46, 50-54.
Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. “Uruk: The First City.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The MET.
S3:
Bahrani, Zainab. (2017). “Mesopotamia – Ancient Art and Architecture”. Thames & Hudson. pp65, 70, 76, 102-108.
Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. (Oct, 2004). “Early Dynastic Sculpture, 2900–2350 B.C.” The MET.
S4:
Bahrani, Zainab. (2017). “Mesopotamia – Ancient Art and Architecture”. Thames & Hudson. pp157, 162, 167-172.
(Oct 17, 2024). “Third Dynasty of Ur: History & Facts”. World History Edu.