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The Most Beautiful Blue: Crafting Lions, Glaze, and Monument in Babylon, Susa, and Beyond

Name: The Most Beautiful Blue: Crafting Lions, Glaze, and Monument in Babylon, Susa, and Beyond
Start: 2019-12-11T09:00:00-05:00
End: 2019-12-11T12:45:00-05:00
Location: Katie Murphy Amphitheatre

December 11, 2019 at 9:00 am - 12:45 pm

Coloured glazed terracotta brick panel depicting striding lions from Babylon (Iraq). Neo-Babylonian Period, reign of Nebuchadnezzar II 604-562 BC. This panel belonged to the tiled decorated walls either side of the Processional Way in Babylon which was 3280 ft (1km) long. It led from the temple of Marduk, through the Ishtar Gate to the temple of Akitu. The lion is the is associated with the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. T processional Way played a key role in the New Year festival which was held in the spring equinox. Babylonian Gods were believed to leave their temples on this day and visit the god Marduk in his temple in Babylon. Kings like Nebuchanezzar would have played an important role in this procession and they aside their regal regalia for the procession and recited “negative confessions” as they preceded down the Processional way. Inv Ao 21118, The Louvre Museum, Paris. — Coloured glazed terracotta brick panel depicting striding lions from Babylon (Iraq). Neo-Babylonian Period, reign of Nebuchadnezzar II 604-562 BC. Inv Ao 21118, The Louvre Museum, Paris.

A group of distinguished experts and scholars introduce and discuss aspects of the rediscovery, preservation, and presentation of ancient Near Eastern glazed brick facades dating from the 6th to 4th centuries BCE. Speakers include Noemi Dauce (Louvre, Abu Dhabi), Alireza Khounani (New York City), Sonja Radujkovic, and Stefan Simon (Berlin), and May-Sarah Zessin (Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main). The program concludes with a hands-on practice session on blue materials provided by Kremer Pigments.

The program is supported by the History of Art Department.

This event is free and open to the public; please click here to RSVP.

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