Traditions in Artistic Craft of Mesopotamia and Anatolia

This paper presents a study of items of artistic craft in the Near East dating from the IV– III millennium BC. The discussed artifacts mirror the material and spiritual culture of the ancient population, the social structure at different stages, and the level of production development. The author focuses on the products with decorative coatings and inlays from archaeological sites of two historically and culturally related regions — Mesopotamia and Anatolia. An overview of the most significant finds is presented. They are grouped by territory, chronology, and functional purpose (architectural details, anthropo- and zoomorphic stone and metal sculpture, etc.), types of coatings, and inlays. The article aims to characterize their specifics, namely, materials, used techniques, dynamics of application on various categories of objects, based on comparative historical and stylistic analysis. A number of conclusions are put forward, in particular, concerning the priority of Mesopotamian artistic craft in the use of decorative coatings and inlays starting from the late IV millennium BC, which was conditioned by the formation of early states with a centralized temple economy. In Anatolia, the use of the discussed artistic techniques is limited to zoo- and anthropomorphic metal sculpture marked by a schematic appearance. The author explains the focus of the Anatolian artistic craft on metalworking by the lack of tradition of processing colored stone and abundant ore sources.

4th-3rd millennium BC · Anatolia · animal sculpture · anthropomorphic sculpture · architectural ornament · artistic tradition · Bronze Age art · decorative coatings · inlays · Mesopotamia · Metalworking · Near Eastern art · stone sculpture · temple economy · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Ancient Near East History