Art of Mesopotamia

by Zainab Bahrani

Mesopotamia is considered the cradle of Western civilization, and the diverse societies that flourished there, nestled around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, were as culturally rich as this attribution would suggest. Spanning a significant historical period, from 8000 BCE to the arrival of Islam in 636 CE, Art of Mesopotamia explores spectacular structures and objects, as well as the techniques artists used, in order to gain insight into the beliefs and practices of ancient peoples. The volume also introduces the archaeologists who discovered these sites more than a thousand years later.

Richly illustrated with more than 400 full-color photographs, Art of Mesopotamia is an astounding record by award-winning author Zainab Bahrani of artworks from this region, many of which have in recent years been damaged or destroyed by war, and as such is of particular and lasting importance. It includes the most up-to-date scholarship and reflects significant new approaches to Mesopotamian art over the past few decades.

Genres: History, Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Architecture, Ancient History

376 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2016

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful book this is! The problem of Art History books tends to be that while the art analysis and high resolution photographs are excellent, they can be rather sparse in describing the historical events, people, and philosophical movements that inspired the original artists. I supplemented this text with Marc Van De Mieroop’s “A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC”.
The text starts in Uruk, and weaves it way through Assyria, Ur, and Babylon, through to eventually the Parthians. The photographs are amazing, and as for the content and analysis, Bahrani’s summation of the archaeological insights that have been found are thoroughly stunning. If you are at all curious about the cultures of lost civilizations, this book vividly brings them to life. I’ll close my endorsement by noting that I bought at least four other books while reading this because each chapter left me wishing to know more!

[O LCB · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½

It has significant information from the first settlement in Mesopotamia, explaining why it is the cradle of art, and it concludes with the Persian and Greek conquests, marking the end of Mesopotamia.

However, towards the end, includes a concern that the US has used these ancient areas as military bases, destroying a significant portion of the historical heritage of the origin of the world. This not only violates human rights laws but also cultural heritage and should be stopped.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super helpful during my praxis course!