Capital of a Column


Capital of a Column 

  
  I chose this piece from Persia called the Capital of a Column. This piece really caught my eye because I thought that the idea of two front halves of the same animal would have a meaning, story, or had to be some kind of symbol for something. This piece's importance was to show power or the depiction of power, this piece was said to sit on top of a beam to support a wooden roof 30 to 40 feet in the air, as you can see in the picture that is what the divot is for. In the video that I watched for this piece it was said that pieces of work like this were used to intimidate the enemy or outsiders including Egypt and Greece. This particular piece was most likely to be placed in  or somewhere near the king's temple or throne to show that he was of higher riches and of higher power, basically it was used to make others feel small and powerless around the king. this piece was made of stone which is not normal for the location it was discovered, most of the architecture in this era was made of a clay substance which was then fired to create the temples seen in mainly Greece. The bull heads or the piece shown in the picture were made of carved and chipped stone which had to be imported from nearby mountains which broke the stereotype of architecture in the area. This piece relates to this time frame because showing your power, your riches, and being the biggest or having the biggest was very important to show who ruled the land. Having the biggest was a way to show power which made those in the lower class fear them. I noticed a trend in artwork from this era to be very symbolic of different things whether it be for power, spirituality, or even for basic communication purposes. This is definitely one of the most interesting time periods because of how creative and innovative they were with the little materials and resources they had to work with.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 6, 2020 at 7:43 PM

    Marissa,
    I enjoyed reading your blog about Persia’s architecture called the Capital of a Column. A couple things I believe that worked well for your post was to first include the photograph of your subject, and to go into a background discussion of what it’s purpose likely served during that time. That is pretty interesting that it was made out of stone, unique on its own because rest of their territory structures were made from other materials such as clay. Even the choice of animal, the ox is seen to be a very masculine, strong and territorial creature. What was the Persian culture mostly concerned with- was it obtaining riches or focused on bodily youth in the afterlife similar to how the Egyptians lived? One thing that could have improved your discussion blog would be to include a date in which this piece was used, the time era of which Persian empire.
    -Autumn Fink

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  2. A lexSeptember 6, 2020 at 9:57 PM

    Persian architecture's themes of power create an interesting way of understanding imagery. I too would have expected a story behind it, and learning its true meaning was very interesting. I would, however, like to know more about why the statue meant power to the people of this time and not just see it as a decoration in the kings palace. I also wonder what the common practices for Persian architecture were during this time frame as that may even give some insight as to why the ox as a statement of power on the column.

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    Replies
    1. makaylaSeptember 12, 2020 at 10:48 PM

      I loved your post, with the vanity of the king I would have expected a story line and reasoning for why they did this. I wonder if it was passed down to other kingdoms and bloodlines through out the family or even if the king received complaints on how it felt.

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    2. Emily SnyderOctober 4, 2020 at 9:59 PM

      I enjoyed reading about this piece of art! I find it really interesting that they would use two heads of a bull to show their rank or how wealthy they are. The symbols that are used to symbolize wealth and power are a lot different to those symbols of today and I feel like that it also something interesting to ponder.

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  3. Amanda SantistevanOctober 11, 2020 at 8:59 PM

    Hi Marissa, I like your post about the Capital of a column. I think it is especially interesting that the purpose of this art work was supposed to intimidate people and make them feel powerless to their leader. Usually art work is meant to show power of the piece not of someone else. Very informative!

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  4. Jeremy VelascoOctober 23, 2020 at 12:26 PM

    I like the amount of symbolism that this piece has and also its sort of multi-functionality. From first glance it looks to be a sort of statue. The ox of bull is a large, intimedating creature and sybolizes strength. This piece also functions as an architectural work, used to support large amounts of weight. At the same time, this piece represents weath and power. I think its cool how one piece f art can represent so many different things.

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