Art history 211

 Celt with Incised Profile This piece does not have a creative title, it just called what it is, a Celt with Incised Profile. The Celt was created around the 10 th through the 4 th century B.C. The piece was found in Mexico, Mesoamerica, and is a part of the Olmec culture. The Celt is made from jade, or also known as jadeite. This piece is classified as Stone-Implement and jade. The Celt with Incised Profile is about 14 and 3/8 inches high and 3 and 1/8 wide. The diameter is 36.5 centimeters by 7.9 centimeters, by 1.9 centimeters. Around 1000 B.C., the style of this Celt became very popular. To make this style an elliptical ground stone tools to had to be used to create the elongated look.  Celts are a thin prehistoric tool, sot of like an adze, how, or axe. The Celts are usually made of stone or bronze. The greenstones in the piece would be hard and have a polished jadeite look. The purpose of this was to symbolize ears of maize. The profile is the main a...

Benin Plaques are very popular in African art and culture. The purpose of these plaques was to display how the Benin people viewed themselves, specifically to Portuguese traders and their soldiers. The people of Benin perceived them to have thin faces, bearded, strange attire, and pointed noses. These plaques would be placed throughout the king’s palace to show how the Portuguese were seen as symbols of the king’s power and wealth. The Benin people wanted to make a good impression on the Portuguese because they contributed to their trade a lot. Besides displaying people, animals had a lot of symbolism in the plaques as well. One of the most significant animals to be displayed on the Benin plaques is a leopard. The purpose of having leopards in art is to show how the king also has power over the tropical forest. The forest is covered in most of Benin, which is very important because it just makes the king that more mighty. The leopard symbolizes the king of the forest, while the Oba is ...

  These two Leopards of the house, also known as Ekpen N’owa are from around the 16 th century. The leopards are about 69 centimeters in length, and filled with a lot of detail. The two leopards are extremely identical. The details in the faces are all long exaggerated, especially the snout. The felines are baring their teeth, showing off their long fangs. The other small details such as the whiskers, nose, and ears are delicate. The eyes of the cats are angular and the general expressions of them seem to be happy and smiling. The rest of their bodies show strong form of the wild cats, details in the paws, and texture of fur throughout the bodies, all made from bonze. The purposes of these two leopards are to be used as water vessels, called aquamanile. These vessels are used in making ritual ablutions by pouring water that comes out the nostrils of the leopards. The leopards are displayed on royal ancestral altars and used by the Oba. The Oba of Benin is a sacred...

  Seated Figure (Djenné peoples)   This terracotta of Djenné peoples figure is posed in a somewhat, unnatural way. The figure is seated and hunched, it is pulling on knee up which wraps around its upper body. Wrapped around its bent leg are both arms clasping each other. The figure’s head is resting on the raised knee. Because the posture is so hunched, it gives off a meditative vibe. Also the expression of the face matches this seeming to be calm and content, even with its exaggerated features like its large ears, expanded eyes, and long mouth. These are all features that were well used stylistically in other works from this African region. On the hunched back are bumps and engraved holes. These decorative add on are organized vertically along the back. The seated figure is about 25/4 centimeters by 29.9 centimeters. There are over 1000 figures that are similar to this piece. These objects were found before the colonial period, in the 13 th century....

  This pendent has four sides with images painted on them. The images painted contain religious material that relate to Christian subject matter. The main panel of the jewelry shows the Virgin Mary holding baby Christ, while sitting, looking at the viewer. Surrounding them are Archangels holding swords. The styles of the icons have think bold lines and clean coloring. The Christ child is looking at the Virgin Mary with love in his eyes while holding the Book of the Gospel. The child is also gesturing of benediction with his hand. On the outer panel, which is the interior of the cover, Saint George is riding horseback while slaying a dragon. Because Saint George and the Virgin Mary Saints are displayed together on this diptych pendent, is shows the very close relationship between these two saints. They have a close relationship because Saint George was a soldier of God and the Virgin Mary’s constant companion. Seeing these religious icons together in art was very po...