museum report
Sebastian Lazarte
AP Art History
Period 6
1/12/13
Museum Report For my museum report, I went to LACMA. I chose two artworks from the following art collections, Egyptian Art and Ancient Near East Art. The two artworks that I chose were Assyrian Relief Panels from Nimrud for Ancient Near East, and the Round Topped Stela for Egyptian Art. For my theme I chose religious beliefs. The religions of the Ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic. In Ancient Mesopotamia, the facts of nature were attributed to the workings of divine forces. Thus, there were many gods and goddesses. The forces of Taimat and Abzu created the four gods. The highest of the four gods was An, the sky god, the over-arching bowl of heaven. Next came Enlil, who could either produce raging storms or act to help man. Nin-khursag was the earth goddess. The fourth god was Enki, the water god and the patron of wisdom. These Mesopotamian gods did not act alone, but consulted with an assembly of 50 gods, wich is called the Annunaki. Innumerable spirits and demons shared the world with the Annunaki. The gods bound people together in their social groups and were believed to have provided what they needed to survive. The Sumerians developed stories and festivals to explain and harness help for their physical environment. Once a year came the new year and with it, the Sumerians thought the gods decided what would happen to mankind for the coming year. Otherwise, the gods and goddesses were more concerned with their own feasting, drinking, fighting, and arguing. They could be prevailed upon to help on occasion if ceremonies were performed to their liking. The priests were responsible for the sacrifices and rituals that were essential for the help of the gods. In addition, property belonged to the gods, so priests administered it. This made the priests valuable and important figures in their communities. Different periods of Ancient Egypt were worshipped by different gods. In the early periods, bodies
AP Art History
Period 6
1/12/13
Museum Report For my museum report, I went to LACMA. I chose two artworks from the following art collections, Egyptian Art and Ancient Near East Art. The two artworks that I chose were Assyrian Relief Panels from Nimrud for Ancient Near East, and the Round Topped Stela for Egyptian Art. For my theme I chose religious beliefs. The religions of the Ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic. In Ancient Mesopotamia, the facts of nature were attributed to the workings of divine forces. Thus, there were many gods and goddesses. The forces of Taimat and Abzu created the four gods. The highest of the four gods was An, the sky god, the over-arching bowl of heaven. Next came Enlil, who could either produce raging storms or act to help man. Nin-khursag was the earth goddess. The fourth god was Enki, the water god and the patron of wisdom. These Mesopotamian gods did not act alone, but consulted with an assembly of 50 gods, wich is called the Annunaki. Innumerable spirits and demons shared the world with the Annunaki. The gods bound people together in their social groups and were believed to have provided what they needed to survive. The Sumerians developed stories and festivals to explain and harness help for their physical environment. Once a year came the new year and with it, the Sumerians thought the gods decided what would happen to mankind for the coming year. Otherwise, the gods and goddesses were more concerned with their own feasting, drinking, fighting, and arguing. They could be prevailed upon to help on occasion if ceremonies were performed to their liking. The priests were responsible for the sacrifices and rituals that were essential for the help of the gods. In addition, property belonged to the gods, so priests administered it. This made the priests valuable and important figures in their communities. Different periods of Ancient Egypt were worshipped by different gods. In the early periods, bodies