Emerald’s Blog

Carpets are used to decorate the floors and walls mosques and shines, they are an important part to Islamic art. They can give us an insight to their values, though their unique characters and designs.   The Ardabil Carpet https://smarthistory.org/the-ardabil-carpet/ is one of the oldest Islamic carpets in the world. The carpet gets its name from Ardabil, a town that is north-west of Iran. Ardabil was the home of a shrine dedicated to  Safi al-Din Ardabili , the carpet was made for his shrine. Safi al-Din Ardabili, is a  Sufi saint who trained his followers in I slamic mystic practices. This is when Muslims through direct contact with God can find spiritual love, and knowledge. One of Safi al-Din Ardabili descendants united Iran, the lineage that he created is known as Safavids, and lasted for over 200 years. This was one of the most important times for Islamic art. This carpet is a huge part of that art, it's  amazing, full of brilliant and vibrant colors as well as designs. Ca

  In Islamic art most were taught that it is typically taboo for there to be any representation of any living beings portrayed in it. Yes, this typically is the rule but very early on, in the Islamic religion,  this rule was only meant for religious structures. In the non-religious world there were figures on things like vases, metalwork and manuscripts. These two stucco statues ( https://smarthistory.org/two-royal-figures-saljuq-period/ ) are part of that world. These two figures can currently be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in their Islamic collection. They were created mid-11th or 12th century and extremely well-preserved for being over a thousand years old, full of absolutely brilliantly vibrant colors for being so old.  The reason they are so well- preserved is because they were found in the desert and it is so dry there. They were not found together, one was found in the 1950's and the other was found  in the 1960’s. Although their context is completely unknown the

One of the most popular images in Chistianity is the image of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. Over the past thousand years the Virgin Mary or The Queen of Heaven has gone for a serious, almost stern faced woman with her son sitting on her lap to a young a beautiful queen holding her son on her hip. The image of The Queen of Heaven holding her son on her lap is also known as The Throne of Wisdom( https://smarthistory.org/throne-of-wisdom-sculptures/ ) during the Romanesque art period. The myth behind the Throne of Wisdom is that in the old testament the Book of Kings, King Solomon who embodied wisdom, and justice had a throne of ivory covered in gold. Like his predecessors, the son of God representing wisdom needed a throne befitting a king. Thus, Mary enthroned herself, baby Jesus appears to be more of a miniature man rather than a baby. He also holds an open bible in his hand which symbolizes divine wisdom. During the middle ages, people believed that these statues were not not s

                                                                                      The art of gem carving( https://smarthistory.org/the-art-of-gem-carving/ ). is the same process today that it was over 2 thousand years ago. Although one mustn't forget that the tools available today aren't the same ones they used back in 500 B.C. This art takes precision, dedication, and time.  First, the artist will select the stone depending one the color of the stone they want. Then the artist will grind the stone down to achieve the desired shape during this process they will use water to prevent overheating. They will leave the s tone a little bit larger to leave room for craving. Then they will begin by removing the core for the stone. During this process they will use olive oil with an abrasive compound like emery to remove the core of the stone. The artist can enhance the color of the stone by either heat or soaking it with rusty nails. Next they will sketch a design on the back of th

  Elgin Marbles are a compilation of ancient Greek marble sculptures ( https://smarthistory.org/who-owns-the-parthenon-sculptures-2/ ), that were inquired by Thomas Bruce, 7th Lord Elgin, a British diplomat to the Ottman Empire. He obtained the sculptures by persuading the Ottoman government that they needed to be saved for “posterity”.  The removal of the collection took 12 years and was kept private for at least ten years. Finally, after receiving some written criticism about their removal, the crown began an investigation procuration of the collection by Lord Elgin. They determined that Thomas obtained the collection legally and bought it for him for only half of what it cost him to ship it.  They are currently on display at the British Museum in London. The question is should the Elgin Marbles be returned to Greece or stay in the British Museum? In my opinion, I believe that the collection should be returned to Greece. The reason behind this is that it is its original origin, the c

                                                                                                                                           Artemision Zeus or Poseidon, c. 460 B.C.E., bronze, 2.09 m high, Early Classical (Severe Style), recovered from a shipwreck off Cape Artemision, Greece in 1928 (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)      Artemision Zeus or Poseidon (https://smarthistory.org/artemision-zeus-or-poseidon/) is a bronze sculpture that was recovered in 1928. This statue was found at the site of a shipwreck off the coast of Cape Artemision in Greece.  He was incredibly well preserved because he was underwater. The fact is that rust only occurs when exposed to both water and air saving him for a millennia . Another interesting fact to this piece is that it is missing its attribute so, he could be either Zeus the king of the gods or Poseidon the god of the sea. He could have been holding either a thunderbolt which would have made him Zeus or trident making him Poseidon in

Warka (Uruk) Vase , Uruk, Late Uruk period, c. 3500-3000 B.C.E., 105 cm high (National Museum of Iraq)            The next piece I selected is the Warka Vase( https://smarthistory.org/warka-vase/ ). It was unearthed by German archaeologists in 1843 in the city of Uruk. This engraved vase stands about 3 feet tall and weighs approximately 600 pounds. It was located in a temple dedicated to the city’s main patron, Inanna, the goddess of love, war, and fertility. The Warka Vase is made of a type of sedimentary rock also known as gypsum or alabaster. It was a pair, however, the other was unreadable. The carves on this vase depict the life of the Mesopatamian people over thousands of years old. Each scene is separated by registers. The first starting with grains more than likely barley and reed banding around the base. The design alterations continue up next with rams and sheep probably prevalent in the region. T hen with farm hands (slaves) are depicted as naked men collecting the grains.

The piece of art I selected was a fighting scene painted on a box in the tomb of Tutankhamen ( https://smarthistory.org/ancient-egyptian-art/ ). Tutankhamen was on Egyptian Pharaoh in the 18th dynasty Egyptian New Kingdom, he   also known as King Tut. This piece, like all the other pieces of art in King Tut’s tomb, were meant to be buried forever. This could explain their clarity and vibrance, as they were not subjected to the elements being buried underground. The artwork placed in tombs were only to be used as a conduit to the after life. Pieces like this one were meant to depict their way of life before death as well as their importance.  This particular piece of artwork is unique because it doesn't have registers. Registers are parallel lines separating individual scenes, without these lines this piece portraits an image of battle. The reason this specific piece might have been placed in King Tut’s tomb is to prove that he was a great warrior or even depict his conquest wh