Welcome to The Memorial Art Gallery!The Gallery is an art museum, a special place where works of art

from many times and places are collected, cared for, and displayed.

The Memorial Art Gallery has nearly 1,000 works of art on view,from cultures around the world; some as old as 5,000 years!

We are always happy to welcome school groups! When you come to the Gallery…

We have a special bus-friendly entrance just for school tours!

Trained tour guides called docents (DOE-sents) willmeet you at the door and show you around the Gallery.

The main entrance of the Memorial Art Gallery, as viewed from University Avenue.

.Students disembark at the School Tour Entrance, on the north side of

the Memorial Art Gallery’s main building.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Your docent willshare interesting information,

answer your questions, andhelp you look at and

learn about the art

that you see around you!

Did you know . . . ? Learning how to look at a work of art is a lot like learning to read.

Memorial Art Gallery

Passport to the Past

An Introduction to the Cultures and Art of the Eastern Hemisphere

as represented in the collections of The Memorial Art Gallery

Where in the World . . . ? The Eastern Hemisphere

Indian Ocean

When . . . ? A Memorial Art Gallery Timeline

What do “BCE” and “CE” mean?BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era) refer to  the same time periods as the more traditional BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, which means “The Year of our Lord”).

The Ancient Middle East

Tribute Bearer from PersepolisPersian, ca. 358—338 BCE, 44.1

Master of Animals Finial Iranian, 799—700 BCE, 2007.35

Horse Bit with Cheekpieces in the Form of Winged Sphinxes

Iranian, 1100—700 BCE, 48.39

Worshipper Bearing an Animal Offering Mesopotamian, ca. 1800s BCE, 45.60

The ancient Middle East nurtured some of the world’s earliest cultures and civilizations.People attracted by the region’s rich river flood plains, wide grasslands, barren deserts, and forested mountains developed cooperative societies, in both fortified cities and nomadic clan groups.

Pyxis, Syrian, 899—700 BCE, 49.14

Cuneiform Tablet with CaseSumerian, Ur III, 2049 BCE, Clay; 54.58.4.1-2

Sphinx, Ptolemaic Period (332 BCE—30 CE)51.307

New Year’s Bottle, Saite Period

(664—525 BCE), 51.200

The God Horus as a Falcon, Saite Period (664—525 BCE), 53.44King Ny-user-ra, 2390—2360 BCE

Old Kingdom, Dynasty, 5 42.54

Ancient Egypt

The powerful Egyptian civilization reached its heightbetween 2649 and1070 BCE. The arts of stone-carving, metalwork, and pottery all supported and recorded the Egyptians’ daily lives, religious practices, and funerary beliefs.

Relief from the Tomb of Metetu, ca. 2400—2250 BCE Old Kingdom, 73.64

Inner Coffin of Pa-debehu-Aset, Ptolemaic Period (332—30 BCE) 2000.11.2

Standing Figure of the Finance Minister Maya, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18

(1550—1295 BCE), ca. 1330 BCE

51.200

Ancient China

Tomb Tile with Tiger, Winged Horses, and Phoenixes, 1—299 CE, 42.16

Ceremonial Food Vessel, Type Gui, 1000s—early 900s BCE, 42.15

Horse, 600s—900s CE, Tang Dynasty, 30.26

Court Musicians from a Tomb, 600s—early 700s CETang Dynasty (618—907 CE), 31.2

Early Chinese artists developed sophisticated pottery and bronze work for ceremonial and status objects.Elaborate burials with decorative and symbolic vessels and figuresdemonstrate a belief in the afterlife and the influence of ancestors on the lives and fortunes of living family members.

Funerary Urn,ca. 2700—2000 BCE, 99.56

Harness Ornament with Two Ibexes,Mongolian, Ordos Culture

(2nd—1st centuries BCE), 73.66

Ancient Greece

The Bronze Age cultures of Greece, Carthage, and Etruria vied for control of the Mediterranean Sea. Greek culture spread through colonization and trade, but also because these neighboring , and often competing, cultures admired and adopted Greek art forms and customs.

Kraters with Chariot Procession, Mycenaean, 1275—1225 BCE, 51.203-204

Grave Stele, 300s BCE, 36.54

Black Figure Kylix with Dionysian Revelers, 500s BCE, 29.91

Gold Wreath of Oak Leaves, ca. 300 BCE, 99.57

Corinthian Helmet, late 600s BCE, 2008.70

Protome, 450—425 BCE, 88.5

Red Figure Pelike, 400s BCE, 29.89

Figure of a Woman (Tanagra Type),

323—90 BCE, 66.14

Votive Head ofa Woman,

Etruscan,300—1 BCE,

47.14

Cinerary Urn with Reclining Figure,Etruscan, 200—100 BCE, 44.49a-b

Cinerary Urn,Carthaginian, 700s BCE25.42

The God Mars as a Warrior

Etruscan, , 400s BCE,53.41

Hercules, Etruscan, 400s BCE, 53.41

Bucchero Ware Oinochoe(Pitcher),

Etruscan, 400—301 BCE,51.179

Askos in the Form of a Horse, Carthaginian, before 146 BCE, 25.41

Bombylios (Baby Feeder), Carthaginian, before 146 BCE, 25.51

Oil Lamp, Carthaginian, before 146 BCE, 20.75

Carthaginians and Etruscans

The Bronze Age cultures of Greece, Carthage, and Etruria vied for control of the Mediterranean Sea. Greek culture spread through colonization and trade, but also because these neighboring , and often competing, cultures admired and adopted Greek art forms and customs.

ANCIENT ROME

Height of the Roman Empire, 27 BCE—192 CEFrom the administrative, religious, and commercial capital of Rome, successive imperial dynasties spread Roman political, military, and artistic influence tocreate the greatest empire the world had seen.

Togatus, 1—99 CE, 73.146

Commemorative Coin of the Emperor Constantine,

307—334 CE, 95.25

Sarcophagus with Portrait Medallion, 250—274 CE, 49.72

Fresco Fragment with Cupid Holding a Mask,

from Pompeii, before 79 CE, 28.75 Transport Amphora, 27 BCE - 96 CE44.51

Denarius of Lucius Sempronius Pitio,

Republican, 148 BCE, 95.34Obverse: the goddess Roma

Double-headed Perfume Flasks, ca. 200—400 CE, 28.68.1-2

Mosaic Floor Panel with Head of Tethys, Made in Antioch, Syria, 200s CE, 46.39

Medieval Europe

Console with Doubting ThomasFrench, early 1200s; 49.76

B

Much of medieval Europe came under the influence of Christianity.The arts of this period reflect Christian beliefs and practices, as the Catholic Church controlled cultural and political centers including Rome, Constantinople, and Paris.

Baptismal Font with Symbols of the 4 Evangelists and 4 Angels, ca. 1200Northern Italian; 49.5

Medieval Europe, ca. 1200

Mourner’s Niche from the Tomb of

Philip the Bold, Jean de Marville,

Netherlandish(active 1366 - 1389)

49.51

Madonna and Child with Saints Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Peter and Dominic, Nardo di Cione, Italian (active 1343 - d. 1365/66 ); 57.4

Châsse (Reliquary) with Scenes from the Life of St. Stephen,

French, 1220—1230; 49.20 Mourner’s Niche from the Tomb of Philip the Bold,

Jean de Marville, Netherlandish(active 1366 - 1389); 49.51

Leaf from a Breviary, ca. 1375French; probably made in Paris; 37.56Crucifixion with God the Father,

Giovanni del Biondo, Italian (active 1356—1399, 51.26

Medieval Islamic World

Section of a Qur’an endowed by Sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri, Cairo, Egypt, ca. late 1400s CE); 51.350

The Islamic faith spread from western Arabia to encompass much of the medieval world.The spread of Islamic empires created art forms that reflect local traditions as well as Islamic ideals of decorative scripts and floral patterns.

Calligraphic Frieze with Inscription from the Qur’an, North Indian, 1400s CE, 2009.8

Lusterware Bowl with Seated Figures, Iranian, 1200s52.11

Ghiordes Prayer RugTurkish, 28.459

Plate, Turkish, 1500s CE, 79.91

Kubachi Ware Tile Iranian, 1500s CE;

26.2009L

Leaf from a Manuscriptof Poetry,

Iranian, 1600s CE; 28.317

Sgraffito Ware VesselSharif Al-Abwami, Egyptian,

1300s CE; 51.350

Medieval East Asia

Bodhisattva Guanyin on Mt. Potola, Chinese, early 1200s, 42.21

Head of a Buddha, Thai, 1350—1757, 30.33

Head of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara,

Cambodian, 1000s—1100s 36.4

The God GanesaThai, 1300s, 81.10

Bodhisattva Kannon, Japanese, 1100s, 74.83

Powerful Mongol rulers from northern China united huge areas of medieval Asia. Mongol rule established a relative peace, allowing east-west trade to thrive. Religious tolerance encouraged the spread of beliefs and images along these routes as well, inspiring unique regional art forms.

Shadow Puppet (Wayang Kulit) of PuntadéwaJavanese, late 1700s, 37.16

Partial Armor made for the Dukesof Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel,

German, ca. 1562; 2006.57Portrait of a Boy of the

Bracciforte Family of Piacenza, Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli, Italian

(ca. 1505 - ca. 1569); 76.13

The Renaissance in Europe

The European Renaissance was a period of social, educational, and financial change.Interests in science, trade, and discovery opened up opportunities for a newly rich merchant class. They took advantage of wealth and leisure to support the arts.

Europe ca. 1500

St. Margaret with a Donor, Vrancke van der Stockt,

Flemish (bef. 1420– c. 1495)44.15 Saint James,

French, late 1400s, 94.49

Conversion of Saint Paul, Francesco Ubertini,. Italian (1494?--1557),

1530—35; 54.2

Marriage Chest (Minnekastchen)German, late 1400s, 2008.2

Wedding Cutlery Set with Case in the Form of a Fish

French, ca. 15502010.9

SubSaharan Africa

The unique traditional cultures of Africa share common artistic traits. Despite modern religious and cultural influences, African arts display imaginative use of natural materials, a respect for the physical and spiritual environment, and unique ways of displaying identity and social status.

Champion-Cultivator Staff, Senufo Culture, Côte d’Ivoire71.64

Crest MaskYaka Culture, D.R. Congo72.54

Twin Figures (Ere Ibeji)Yoruba Culture, Nigeria65.9.1-2

Crest Mask (Lipiko), ca. 1950—60Makonde Culture, Mozambique2006.71Crest Mask: Antelope

(Chi Wara), MaleBamana Culture, Mali69.107

Fertility Doll (Akuaba)Asante Culture, Ghana67.31

StoolAsante Culture, Ghana62.24

Helmet Mask (Waniougo)Senufo Culture, Côte d’Ivoire

70.22

Helmet Mask (Sowei)Mende Culture, Sierra Leone72.52

Oceania

Abelam Culture, Papua New GuineaYam Mask, 4.78

Era River Region, Papua New Guinea

Spirit Board (Gope),87.84

Arambak Culture, Papua New Guinea

Hook Figure (Yipwon), 70.82

Middle Sepik River Region, Papua New Guinea

Body Mask, 73.138

Iatmul Culture, Papua New GuineaMask, 77.158

Traditional Pacific islander cultures spread across thousands of miles of ocean.Utilizing locally available materials such as raffia grasses, wood, natural dyes and pigments, shells and boar tusks, the arts of the Pacific Islands display a range of spiritual beliefs that connect closely with the natural environment.

Austral Islander,Ceremonial Canoe Paddle, 53.31

Papua

Influence of Asia:The Silk Road

A 5,000-mile network of trade routes known as the Silk Road connected the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia. Caravans of pack animals carried luxury goods such as silks, spices, and porcelain to the west, returning to the east with horses, glass vessels, and carpets.

African Trade Routes

Many highly organized states existed in Africa long before the European colonial period. They maintained lucrative Saharan trade routes for gold, slaves, and kola nuts from the south, exchanged for salt, glass trade beads, and cowrie shells from the north. Many of these goods passed on to Europe and the Islamic East.

Spread of Religions (via trade routes!)

The major world religions of today — Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam —spread via missionaries, traders, and travelers, as well as warfare and colonization.