Emily's blog

      The two sculptures above are known as part of the Djenne sculptures that were found in the Inland Delta around the Niger River and were produced around the thirteenth to fifteenth century. The sculpture on the left is an archer and the one on the left is a warrior on a horse, although both sculptures have some damage from the years they still are in well condition for their age. These two sculptures are just a few examples of the many that were recovered in this region and there isn't a whole lot of information linked to them.     "Because the majority of these works emerged via market forces during the 1970s and '80s, as opposed to via archaeological excavation, little is known about their original context, their functions, or the populations who produced them. Scholars have little sense of the scope of the corpus or its regional distribution and are at a loss to understand chronological relationships between sculptures." (Dyke, V. Kr...

  Seated Figure, Mali, Inland Niger Delta region, Djenné peoples, 13th century, terracotta, 25/4 x 29.9 cm ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art ) There are several of these terracotta figures that were found in the region of Mali which is known as the ancient city of Jenne-jeno. This region was known for its trade system and art through the first millennium up to 1600. These figures come in various forms as far as gender, their clothes, and several different poses and some even on horseback. The figure pictured above is most likely a male who is in a hunched over pose grasping onto its legs with their arms. The facial expression leads scholars to believe this sculpture is experiencing some sort of pain due to the open mouth, swelling of the stomach and legs, also the prominent eyes. Another part of this figure that is slightly interesting would be the circles that are protruding on the back and also the indentions in the middle of the protrusions. This also adds to the idea that this f...

  Preparations for war, including the building of a motte-and-bailey (detail), Bayeux Tapestry, c. 1070, embroidered wool on linen, 20 inches high (Bayeux Tapestry Museum) This piece is a small portion of The Bayeux Tapestry which in total consists of seventy five different scenes that all tell a narrative. This tapestry was made to pay tribute to William the Conqueror who was named that after successfully raiding England and taking the throne from Harold Godwinson in 1066. These scenes tie together to show the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings (1066), all from a Normandy point of view.  The artist of the tapestry still remains unknown as scholars continue to speculate and believe this is the work of Anglo-Saxon embroiderers. "This theory is supported by the stylistic analysis of the depicted scenes, which draw from Anglo-Saxon drawing techniques. Many of the scenes are believed to have been adapted from images in manuscripts illuminated at Canterbury."(K. Tanto...

  Army of the First Emperor of Qin in pits next to his burial mound, Lintong, China, Qin dynasty, c. 210 B.C.E., painted terracotta (photo:  scottgunn , CC BY-NC 2.0)     The first emperor of China was known as Qin Shi Huangdi the creator of the first Chinese empire who reigned from about 221-210 BCE. He was at a very young age of thirteen when he began to have such outstanding responsibilities as a ruler. He was first declared king of the state Qin and once he began to defeat other rulers of different Chinese states he was able to declare himself as the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty. As he took the throne he found it extremely important to create an extravagant tomb for himself because he had such a strong opinion of the afterlife. "He began the construction of his vast tomb as soon as he took the throne, and it took 38 years to finish, even with a reported 700,000 convicts laboring for the last 13 years of construction." (S. Mittman, 2019) After the tomb wa...

  Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja), c. 11th century, Copper alloy, Chola period, 68.3 x 56.5 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) Hinduism is a different type of religion that does not have one specific God or person, but rather a handful of deities and goddesses. Although there is one entity that is considered superior to the others and is believed to be a supreme being in a sense. This entity goes by Brahman and is known to manifest into different forms. "For Hindus, reaching salvation is understanding that everything is in union. The different names and forms that a god can take is immaterial as they are essentially Brahman." (Dr. Melody Rod-ari, 2018) In this image above we have the god known as Shiva who is known to be "the destroyer." In Hinduism it is believed that all things naturally come to an end so that they can essentially begin again, and Shiva is the one who initiates this so called end so that an new beginning can start. (F. Khalid, n.d.)   This ...

  Fasting Buddha Shakyamuni , 3rd-5th century Kushan period, Pakistan/ancient Gandhara (Metropolitan Museum of Art)       Buddhism was founded by a man named Siddhartha Gautama who later became known to be "the Buddha." Gautama decided to devote his life to researching the act of suffering and in doing so he took it upon himself to leave his lavish life behind and see what it felt to be poverty stricken. Once he experienced both he figured there must be a happy medium of both where life could be lived without the two extremes. He was able to develop ways of meditation to find internal peace and began teaching this form of religion to others. During his six years of seeking enlightenment he pursued ascetic practices which defines a person who dedicates their life to extreme practices of self- denial or self-mortification for religious beliefs. Indulging in these practices caused Gautama to participate in fasting in order to resemble a skeleton. He would endure th...