Day 40 - Terracotta amphora with chariots
April 5, 2018
The objects in this galley (151) cover a very long time span, from the late Neolithic (ca. 5000-3500 B.C.E.) through the Geometric period (1000-700 B.C.E.).
A couple of features of Cycladic art (produced in the Cyclades islands in the Aegean, largely between 3200 and 2000 B.C.E. ) strike me. First is the substantial number of marble statuettes of nude women, presumably fertility figures. It's a reminder of just how important fertility was (perhaps particularly at a time when many children died at birth or at an early age), as well as how it appears to have been uniquely associated with women. Of course, pregnancy was a very visible sign of fertility; but when, I wonder, did the idea that men could be infertile first take hold? Second is the depiction of the human head- long, oval, and virtually featureless except for the protruding long, narrow noses, shaped like triangular wedges. Very Brancusian, I'd say! I have to believe that Brancusi was influenced by Cycladic imagery.
From the Minoan period (which came to a height between 1900 and 1350 B.C.E., according to the caption), there is a vey nice terracotta jar that was acquired from the collection of Heinrich Schliemann. Very cool to think that Schliemann touched and presumably treasured it! And from the Mycenaean period (1550-1000 B.C.E.), a wonderfully droll jar depicting two googly-eyed octopuses (one on each side), along with various kinds of fish.
The painted terracotta jars from the Geometric period make me want to go back and look at the small Peruvian gourd I purchased on the street in Lima in 1981 C.E. It makes me think of how universal some geometric designs are, and how concentric circles, diagonal lines, zigzags, raised and inverted triangles, and "Grecian keys" are found in many different times and cultures. Still, it's shocking to see swastikas in the mix -- a reminder of just how old this design element is, and perhaps of how much power its antiquity confers.
Today's object is a painted terracotta amphora, about 3 1/2 feet high, that was likely used for funerary purposes. It's divided into several registers. Circling the jar on the main register on the body of the amphora are four chariots, each drawn by two horses and driven by a charioteer standing upright, along with a single horseman riding astride his mount and holding the reins in his left hand while raising his right am. All very male and martial. The remainder of the register contains small diamonds, zigzags, and at least one swastika. In the register above that, there are what appear to be stylized lions, their mouths ooen and their teeth clearly visible.
On the neck of the amphora, three women are depicted on each side. Their sex is immediately detectable from their long skirts decorated with diagonal checks and from the long hair that streams down their backs. But what I note is that their hands are raised to the tops of their heads. The caption describes them as "mourners," and I think how ancient the gesture of tearing one's hair in grief must be.
Another salient feature is that the top, neck, and handles of the amphora are decorated with snakes, whose twisting forms were apparently modeled separately and then applied to the clay. The caption notes that snakes were traditionally associated with death because they could burrow under the ground and because their ability to shed their skins made them a symbol of renewal. But I also think of the snake in Egyptian mythology, which symbolized chaos and destruction. So apparently the iconography of snakes is quite complex (which is a pretty "duh" statement, if you think about it!).
A couple of features of Cycladic art (produced in the Cyclades islands in the Aegean, largely between 3200 and 2000 B.C.E. ) strike me. First is the substantial number of marble statuettes of nude women, presumably fertility figures. It's a reminder of just how important fertility was (perhaps particularly at a time when many children died at birth or at an early age), as well as how it appears to have been uniquely associated with women. Of course, pregnancy was a very visible sign of fertility; but when, I wonder, did the idea that men could be infertile first take hold? Second is the depiction of the human head- long, oval, and virtually featureless except for the protruding long, narrow noses, shaped like triangular wedges. Very Brancusian, I'd say! I have to believe that Brancusi was influenced by Cycladic imagery.
From the Minoan period (which came to a height between 1900 and 1350 B.C.E., according to the caption), there is a vey nice terracotta jar that was acquired from the collection of Heinrich Schliemann. Very cool to think that Schliemann touched and presumably treasured it! And from the Mycenaean period (1550-1000 B.C.E.), a wonderfully droll jar depicting two googly-eyed octopuses (one on each side), along with various kinds of fish.
The painted terracotta jars from the Geometric period make me want to go back and look at the small Peruvian gourd I purchased on the street in Lima in 1981 C.E. It makes me think of how universal some geometric designs are, and how concentric circles, diagonal lines, zigzags, raised and inverted triangles, and "Grecian keys" are found in many different times and cultures. Still, it's shocking to see swastikas in the mix -- a reminder of just how old this design element is, and perhaps of how much power its antiquity confers.
Today's object is a painted terracotta amphora, about 3 1/2 feet high, that was likely used for funerary purposes. It's divided into several registers. Circling the jar on the main register on the body of the amphora are four chariots, each drawn by two horses and driven by a charioteer standing upright, along with a single horseman riding astride his mount and holding the reins in his left hand while raising his right am. All very male and martial. The remainder of the register contains small diamonds, zigzags, and at least one swastika. In the register above that, there are what appear to be stylized lions, their mouths ooen and their teeth clearly visible.
On the neck of the amphora, three women are depicted on each side. Their sex is immediately detectable from their long skirts decorated with diagonal checks and from the long hair that streams down their backs. But what I note is that their hands are raised to the tops of their heads. The caption describes them as "mourners," and I think how ancient the gesture of tearing one's hair in grief must be.
Another salient feature is that the top, neck, and handles of the amphora are decorated with snakes, whose twisting forms were apparently modeled separately and then applied to the clay. The caption notes that snakes were traditionally associated with death because they could burrow under the ground and because their ability to shed their skins made them a symbol of renewal. But I also think of the snake in Egyptian mythology, which symbolized chaos and destruction. So apparently the iconography of snakes is quite complex (which is a pretty "duh" statement, if you think about it!).
September 5, 2018
I went to MOMA today to hear a gallery talk about Brancusi, who is the subject of a temporary exhibition there. None of the works on display, all of which are the museum's own holdings, resembled Cycladic sculptures in the slightest, and the art educator who conducted the talk did not mention the influence of Cycladic art on Brancusi's work. I was beginning to think that I had totally missed the boat on this one.
When I got back home, I googled "Influence of Cycladic art on modern artists," and two references, including the Times, noted its influence on Picasso, Modigliani (where the influence is, perhaps, most obvious - but Modigliani, I learned, studied sculpture with Brancusi) - and Brancusi himself! So I feel vindicated!
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