Art of the First Cities

New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003. Folio in black color illus DJ, xxiv, 540 pages, chiefly color illustrations (some b&w), 31 cm. Extremely mild rubbing to spine foot, faint soiling to front board-rear edge, exceedingly gentle rubbing to rear corners, less than quarter inch soiling mark to front free endpaper, binding is tight, bright pages, price sticker to sunned DJ spine, extremely gentle rubbing to DJ corners, pale soiling to rear DJ, else near fine(+) in near fine(+) DJ. in near fine dust-jacket. Hardcover. ISBN: 1588390438

DJ protected in archival mylar sleeve. **A large, heavy book. Extra shipping charges may apply for international & expedited orders. Please inquire.** This handsomely illustrated book highlights one of the most important and creative periods in the history of art: a time marked by the appearance of the city states of the Sumerians, the citadel of Troy, the splendid royal tombs at Ur, and the monumental cities at Mohenjodaro and Harappa. The volume examines the cultural achievements of these first urban societies, placing them in a historical context. Topics covered include the emergence of the first city states, the birth of written language, and trade and cultural interconnections between the ancient Near East and outlying areas. More than five hundred works of art, including sculpture, jewelry, vessels, weapons, cylinder seals, and tablets executed in a wide variety of materials such as stone, metal, clay, ivory, and semiprecious stones are included. The insightful texts are written by leading scholars in the field. Contents: Art of the first cities: the third millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus /; Joan Aruz --; Uruk and the formation of the city /; Hans J. Nissen --; Art of the early city-states /; Donald P. Hansen --; Proto-Elamite period /; Holly Pittman --; Fara /; Joachim Marzahn --; Excavations in the Diyala region /; Karen L. Wilson --; Stone sculpture production /; Jean-Francois de Lapérouse --; Nippur /; Jean M. Evans --; Tello (ancient Girsu) /; Béatrice André-Salvini --; Metalworking techniques /; Jean-Francois de Lapérouse --; Al Ubaid /; Paul Collins.; Kish /; Paul Collins --; Royal tombs of Ur /; Julian Reade --; Tomb of Puabi /; Paul Collins --; Great Death Pit at Ur /; Julian Reade --; Mari and the Syro-Mesopotamian world /; Jean-Claude Margueron --; Treasure of Ur from Mari /; Nadja Cholidis --; Ebla and the early urbanization of Syria /; Paolo Matthiae --; Tell Umm el-Marra /; Glenn M. Schwartz --; Tell Banat /; Anne Porter, Thomas McClellan --; Art of the Akkadian Dynasty /; Donald P. Hansen --; Lost-wax casting /; Jean-Francois de Lapérouse.; Tell Mozan (ancient Urkesh) /; Giorgio Buccellati, Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati --; Tell Brak in the Akkadian period /; Jean M. Evans --; Art and interconnections in the third millennium B.C. /; Joan Aruz --; Egypt and the Near East in the third millennium B.C. /; James P. Allen --; Aegean and western Anatolia: social forms and cultural relationships /; Claus Reinholdt --; Early Bronze Age jewelry hoard from Kolonna, Aigina /; Claus Reinholdt --; Troy /; Eleni Drakaki --; Poliochni and the civilization of the northeastern Aegean /; Lena Papazoglou-Manioudaki.; Central Anatolian plateau: the tombs of Alaca Höyük /; Oscar White Muscarella --; North Caucasus /; Elena Izbitser --; Maikop (Oshad) Kurgan /; Yuri Piotrovsky --; Novosvobodnaya /; Yuri Piotrovsky --; Susa: beyond the Zagros Mountains /; Paul Collins --; Gulf: Dilmun and Magan /; D.T. Potts --; Copper alloys and metal sources /; Jean-Francois de Lapérouse --; Tell Abraq /; Paul Collins --; Island of Tarut /; Paul Collins --; "Intercultural style" carved chlorite objects /; Joan Aruz --; Pathways across Eurasia /; Maurizio Tosi, C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky.; Altyn-depe /; Yuri Piotrovsky --; Gonur-depe /; Elisabetta Valtz Fino --; Indus civilization /; Jonathan Mark Kenoyer --; Baluchistan /; Paul Collins --; Cities of the Indus Valley /; Paul Collins --; Beads of the Indus Valley /; Jonathan Mark Kenoyer --; Approaching the divine: Mesopotamia art at the end of the third millennium B.C. /; Jean M. Evans --; Rediscovery of Gudea statuary in the Hellenistic period /; Béatrice André-Salvini --; Earliest scholastic tradition /; Piotr Michalowski --; Uruk and the world of Gilgamesh /; Beate Salje.; Mesopotamian legacy: origins of the Genesis tradition /; Ira Spar. Cities and towns, Ancient Art -- Exhibitions.