The interface between writing and art: the seals of Tepe Gawra

The article deals with the impact of writing on art during the Urban Period in the Near East. My analysis focuses on the compositions – the way images are organized – on the seals of Tepe Gawra, 5500-2000 BC. I note that : A) the preliterate seals feature figures head-to-tail or pell-mell that show...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Syria
Main Author: Schmandt-Besserat, Denise (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: IFAPO 2006
In: Syria
Year: 2006, Volume: 83, Pages: 183-193
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Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
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Summary:The article deals with the impact of writing on art during the Urban Period in the Near East. My analysis focuses on the compositions – the way images are organized – on the seals of Tepe Gawra, 5500-2000 BC. I note that : A) the preliterate seals feature figures head-to-tail or pell-mell that show no interaction ; B) the proto-literate glyptic borrows the linear composition of writing to link the figures of simple narratives ; C) in the historic period, glyptic emulates the strategies of writing, i.e. syntax and determinatives, to create complex narratives. I credit writing for the conceptual change from repetitious designs, simply able to evoke an idea, to complex narrative scenes ; and from the preliterate all over patterns apprehended globally, to the literate compositions “read” analytically.
ISSN:2076-8435
Contains:Enthalten in: Syria
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.4000/syria.237