Etruscan And Roman Art

The piece of art that I have chosen for this blog is the She-Wolf. It is from 500 BCE with 15th or 16th century additions. I feel that this piece is very unique because of the way the wolf is portrayed. She looks almost sickly because of how skinny she is and the fact that her ribcage is fully visible. It is quite a contrast to her heavy milk filled teats. This is considered one of the most famous symbols of Rome. This is the legendary wolf who nourished and saved the city's founder Romulus and his brother Remus. According to the Roman legend the twin sons were fathered by the Roman god Mars and a mortal woman. The twins were left at the bank of the river to die by their evil uncle. The She-Wolf found the twins andnursed them instead of her own pups. When the twins grew up they decided to build a city where the She-Wolf had rescued them.

This piece I feel has a lot of similarity to the Egyptian God Anubus. Both pieces have animals portraying human like qualities. Both are considered to have a higher being status. Anubus is a more important and has a bigger role than the She-Wolf. But they do credit the birth of the city to the She-Wolf. I feel like this statue can also portray the saying of "man's best friend", because the She-Wolf is rescuing the twins and that is not something that a beast would do. And I think it is very interesting that even back in those days there was still somewhat of a bond between canines and humans. That bond was taken as far as to credit a city and the lives of the leaders to the heroism of the She-Wolf.

Chapter 4 Aegean Art

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For this blog I chose the Dagger Blade With Lion Hunt. It is probably a pretty rare piece of metal work for that time era. The dagger is actually made of bronze and was found in a grave called Shaft Grave IV, Grace Circle A, Mycenae, Greece. To form the decoration of the dagger the artist cut shapes out of different colored metals such as copper, silver and gold. He then inlaid them into the bronze blade adn addded detail in niello. It was decorated to display the wealth of a ruling elite. Niello is still a common method of metal decoration. It is powdered nigellum which is a black alloy of lead, silver, and copper with sulfur. It was then rubbed into very fine engraved lines in the objects being decorated. It then is fused to the surrounding metal with heat. The lines appear to be black drawings.

I think this form of art on blades is very popular with a lot of hunting knives that are made for display or hunting. The picture I have included is a modern day hunting blade and it can be used as a display or in the hunt. I could not find out for sure if the technique that was used to get those lines was called niello but it sure looks like it is. It has a lot of fine lines that make the blade look very exquisite. And through history their has been many different swords and knives with various types of designs from other metals to precious jewels. The sword posted above is an example of one that is built for display and contains a bunch of precious jewels.

I have always found egyptian culture to be very interesting. The piece I will be talking about is the pectoral of Senusret II. This piece is a chest ornament found in the tomb of Princess Sithathoryunet. The reason I find this piece so intriguing is the elaborate materials and design that was used for this piece. The chest ornament was made of gold with inlaid semi-precious stones. It has two Horus falcons that perch on it's base and above their heads is a pair of coiled cobras. Their is a scarab beetle and also their is the heiroglyph khepri which is a symbol of Ra and rebirth. The heiroglyohics of this chest piece once decoded means "May the sun god give eternal life to Senusret II."

This piece seems very similar and flashy to a lot of the chain necklaces that are worn by people today. Although they do not always have the same meaning as this partricular necklace, a lot of them wear the necklaces that are equally or even more elaborate in order to demonstrate wealth and power. In the picture I have included is 50 cent a rapper who has become extremely rich and succesful from his music and you can tell that he is demonstrating that through his necklace and bracelet. The egyptians did the same thing but it was more royalty than anything else.

Blog #2-Chapter 1

This piece of art seemed extremely interesting to me. I did some research about it online and came across the fact that it has been classified first as a male and then as a female. But no distinction has been claimed for sure. Some feel that it is a person wearing a lion mask. I feel that this piece has significant symbolic meaning between the link between animals and humans. It shows how animals played a big part of the everyday life of people during that era. It seems like this figure could have represented a god or some kind of symbolism of status. As for it's significance in todays society I would say that in some cultures this could still probably be viewed as a symbol of power. The lion itself just brings about thoguhts of power, it is considered to be the king of the jungle. This could have represented a ruler at the time or possibly a hunt that was successful.

I incorporated the Bob Marley picture because I feel that their is a symbolic power that he and his music represent. This photo of his head and the lions head made me realize an immediate connection with the ancient art piece. Although his music was powerful his symbolism for the lion I don't think represented power as much as a king ruling with peace and tranquility. And this art piece could have represented a king that ruled in such a way.

Blog #1 5 Images

These images are a pretty fair depiction of my life right now. I am currently a student as San Jose state University in my final year as a marketing major. I had previously attended West Valley for a couple years. During my duration their I played water polo for two of the three years I was there. During those two years we won the junior college state championships both years. I now am currently playing for SJSU club water polo team. It is a club team so it is a little more relaxed and fun environment, it also does not require the time commitment that a NCAA team would require. After transfering to SJSU from west valley I realized that I was missing a few classes from my GE requirements. So this semester I am taking six classes total with four at SJSU and two at West Valley.

The beach scene is one of the most significant pictures on this blog. I grew up on the beach and have been in the water since I was very young. I also have a tattoo of a beach scene mural that I just got about six months ago. Although lately I have not been able to make it out there as much because of my very busy schedule; the beach will always be a part of my life. The Bob Marley picture also kind of ties in with the beach in the fact that his music represents peace, unity, and tranquillity. And he also happens to be one of my favorte artists. I believe that his music and the beach represent a peaceful tranquil setting that can be a very beneficial escape for someone who has a very hectic schedule.

Lastly the corvette picture; I wish I could say that is the car I drive but it is actually represents what I am currently saving up for. Ever since I was little I have wanted a corvette, every year and model I think has it's own special qualities. But the new ones are the nicest yet in my opinion. I am currently trying to save up to buy this as a graduation present to myself.