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...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
IFAPO
2006
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In: |
Syria
Year: 2006, Volume: 83, Pages: 183-193 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
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. |
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ISSN: | 2076-8435 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Syria
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.4000/syria.237 |