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White Temple and [Anu] ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq.
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White Temple and [Anu] ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq.
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Description
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Title
White
Temple
and
[Anu]
ziggurat
,
Uruk
(modern
Warka)
,
Iraq
.
Date
3200-3000 BCE?
Cultural Context
Near Eastern
Iraqi
Middle Eastern
Style/Period
Sumerian
Mesopotamian
Near Eastern
Theme
Architecture (object genre)
Buildings
Religious buildings
Ceremonial structures
Temples
Ziggurats
Ruins
Exterior views
Eye-level views
Deserts
Children (people by age group)
Adults
Costume (mode of fashion)
Headscarves
Headcloths (headgear)
Headgear
Robes (main garments)
Subject
Architecture
Buildings
Temples
Religious facilities
Ruins
Deserts
Children
Adults
Clothing & dress
Headgear
Robes
Description
"The
outstanding
preserved
example
of
early
Sumerian
temple
architecture
is
the
5,000-year-old
White
Temple
at
Uruk
, the
home
of
Gilgamesh
.
Usually
only
the
foundations
of
early
Mesopotamian
temples
can
still
be
recognized
. The
White
Temple
is
a
rare
exception
.
Sumerian
builders
did
not have
access
to
stone
quarries
and
instead
formed
mud
bricks
for the
superstructures
of their
temples
and
other
buildings
.
Almost
all
these
structures
have
eroded
over
the
course
of
time
. The
fragile
nature
of the
building
materials
did
not,
however
,
prevent
the
Sumerians
from
erecting
towering
works
,
such
as the
Uruk
temple
,
several
centuries
before
the
Egyptians
built
their
stone
pyramids
. This
says
a
great
deal
about
the
Sumerians'
desire
to
provide
monumental
settings
for the
worship
of their
deities
.
[…]
Enough
of the
Uruk
complex
remains
to
permit
a
fairly
reliable
reconstruction
drawing
. The
temple
(whose
white-washed
walls
lend
it
its
modern
nickname)
stands
on
top
of a
high
platform
, or
ziggurat
,
40
feet
above
street
level
in the
city
center
. A
stairway
on the
far
side
, not
shown
,
leads
to the
top
but
does
not
end
in
front
of any of the
temple
doorways
,
necessitating
two
or
three
angular
changes
in
direction
. This
'bent-axis'
approach
is
the
standard
arrangement
for
Sumerian
temples
, a
striking
contrast
to the
linear
approach
the
Egyptians
preferred
for their
temples
and
tombs
.
[…]
Like
other
Sumerian
temples
, the
corners
of the
White
Temple
are
oriented
to the
cardinal
points
of the
compass
. The
building
,
probably
dedicated
to
Anu
, the
sky
god
[…]
,
is
of
modest
proportions
(61
x
16
feet)
. By
design
,
it
did
not
accommodate
large
throngs
of
worshipers
but
only
a
select
few
, the
priests
and
perhaps
the
leading
community
members
. The
temple
has
several
chambers
. The
central
hall
, or
cella
, was
set
aside
for the
divinity
and
housed
a
stepped
altar
. The
Sumerians
referred
to their
temples
as
'waiting
rooms,'
a
reflection
of their
belief
that the
deity
would
descend
from the
heavens
to
appear
before
the
priests
in the
cella
. How or if the
Uruk
temple
was
roofed
is
uncertain.
"
(Excerpt
,
pp.33-34)
Location Depicted
Erech (Extinct city)
Uruk (Extinct city)
Warka, Tall al- (Iraq)
Iraq
Measurements
White Temple: 61 x 16 feet
Work Type
Architecture
Buildings
Temples
Religious facilities
Ziggurats
Source
Kleiner, Fred S., and Christin J. Mamiya. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005. (fig.2-1, p.32)
Rights
Photo credit/reproduced in Kleiner courtesy: © Nik Wheeler/Corbis.
Digital Publisher
University of Louisville Department of Fine Arts/Allen R. Hite Art Institute Visual Resources Center
Format
image/jpeg
Digital File Name
VRC
327-03.jpg
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