Art of Urartu

Urartian art was heavily influenced by neighboring Assyria, and despite the obvious stylistic differences was long considered a branch of Assyrian art. Urartian art is characterized by 1) a style following its canon more rigorously than in other cultures of the Ancient East, 2) preference for ornaments rather than representational scenes of life, and 3) the practice of copying old examples instead of improving them. As a result, the style of Urartian craftsmen remained unchanged for several centuries and was gradually simplified. Urartian art was relatively poorly characterized until the 1950s, when major archeological work was started at the ancient Urartian cities Teishebaini and Erebuni and many Urartian cuneiform tablets were deciphered. ==Bronze statuettes==

Although Urartian masters were capable of producing large bronze statue, not even fragments of any have been found so far. Literature mentions that Assyrians, while looting the city of Musasir, removed a bronze statue of King Argishti I weighing 60 talents (about 1,8 tons). Small bronze objects of art were exclusively made for the king's palace and are divided into three groups: throne decorations, ornaments on copper cauldrons and, rarely, statuettes of Urartian gods. Throne decorations Between 1877 and 1885, local treasure hunters sold a few small bronze fragments to several European museums. These fragments later turned out to be parts of one and the same Urartian king's throne. They were cast in bronze into a mold and then gilded by wrapping in thin gold sheets. The fragments are currently preserved in the British Museum, Hermitage, Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art and in private collections in Paris and Brussels. Boiler decorations Cauldron decorations are the best-preserved objects of Urartian bronze and therefore were used in the early 20th century to identify the Urartian style in art. Some Urartian bronze figures were removed from the boilers and re-used by other nations to decorate new vessels. Statuettes of gods Only three bronze statuettes depicting Urartian deities have been preserved. One, possibly of the god Ḫaldi, is stored in the British Museum, and two others are in the History Museum of Armenia (copy in the Erebuni Museum, Yerevan, see image). == Weapons ==

Helmets Numerous Urartian helmets have been recovered, more than 20 alone during the excavations of Teishebaini. Royal ceremonial helmets did not differ in shape from simple combat helmets but contained engraved images. Shields A few decorative bronze Urartian shields have been found near Van (they are stored in the British Museum and Berlin museums) and 14 were excavated at Karmir Blur. They have diameters ranging between 70 and 100 cm and were not made for combat, as judged from the thinness of the metal and the character of the handles. All these shields contain concentric circles of lions and bulls which were designed so that no figure would appear upside down. The images were first stamped and then engraved with various instruments. The Assyrian king Sargon II described six golden Urartian shields, which were looted in Musasir, weighing 6.5 kg each. They have not been recovered thus far. Quivers Only three royal Urartian quivers are known, all found during the excavations of Teishebaini. They are made of bronze and contain images of Urartian warriors. Belts Poorly preserved remains of Urartian mail of Argishti I were excavated at Teishebaini. Jewelry Jewelry of Urartu had two gradations: ornaments made of precious metals and stones for the king and his family, and their simplified bronze versions used by the rich. Many jewelry items were also used as amulets. Annals of the Assyrian king Sargon II mention vast amounts of Urartian jewelry items made of silver and gold which were taken from Musasir in 714 BC. although the reliefs of the Assyrian king Sargon II depicting the Urartian city of Musasir clearly show large statues. Wood and bone A few art items made of bone were found, mostly broken to parts, such as the bone combs excavated near Teishebaini. The only preserved example of wooden art of Urartu is the horse which was attached to some larger wooden item. Unlike many other Urartian cities, Erebuni was not burnt but left without a fight and then abandoned; this helped preserve its murals. Cylinder seals Many features of Urartian art were preserved in the neighboring countries after the fall of Urartu in the 6th century BC. Observations by Boris Piotrovsky suggest that decoration and production techniques of Scythian belts and scabbards were borrowed from Urartu. Urartu used cylinder seals similar to those from other ancient states of the Ancient Middle East. They depicted the moon, stars, religious images and sometimes hunting scenes. ==References==