, c.24,000–26,000BP
Prehistoric periods Europe The earliest undisputed examples of sculpture belong to the
Aurignacian culture, which was located in Europe and southwest Asia and active at the beginning of the
Upper Paleolithic. As well as producing some of the earliest known
cave art, the people of this culture developed finely crafted stone tools, manufacturing pendants, bracelets, ivory beads, and bone-flutes, as well as three-dimensional figurines. The 30 cm tall
Löwenmensch found in the Hohlenstein Stadel area of Germany is an
anthropomorphic lion-human figure carved from
woolly mammoth ivory. It has been dated to about 35–40,000BP, making it, along with the
Venus of Hohle Fels, the oldest known uncontested examples of sculpture. Much surviving
prehistoric art is small portable sculptures, with a small group of female
Venus figurines such as the
Venus of Willendorf (24–26,000BP) found across central Europe. The
Swimming Reindeer of about 13,000 years ago is one of the finest of a number of
Magdalenian carvings in bone or antler of animals in the
art of the Upper Paleolithic, although they are outnumbered by engraved pieces, which are sometimes classified as sculpture. Two of the largest prehistoric sculptures can be found at the
Tuc d'Audobert caves in France, where around 12–17,000 years ago a masterful sculptor used a spatula-like stone tool and fingers to model a pair of large bison in clay against a limestone rock. With the beginning of the
Mesolithic in Europe figurative sculpture greatly reduced, and remained a less common element in art than relief decoration of practical objects until the Roman period, despite some works such as the
Gundestrup cauldron from the
European Iron Age and the Bronze Age
Trundholm sun chariot.
Ancient Near East From the
ancient Near East, the over-life sized stone
Urfa Man from modern
Turkey comes from about 9,000 BCE, and the
'Ain Ghazal Statues from around 7200 and 6500 BCE. These are from modern
Jordan, made of lime plaster and reeds, and about half life-size; there are 15 statues, some with two heads side by side, and 15 busts. Small clay figures of people and animals are found at many sites across the Near East from the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic, and represent the start of a more-or-less continuous tradition in the region. File:Loewenmensch2.jpg|
Löwenmensch, from
Hohlenstein-Stadel, now in Ulmer Museum,
Ulm,
Germany, the oldest known
anthropomorphic animal-human statuette,
Aurignacian era, c.35–40,000BP File:Adorant Geissenkloesterle Blaubeuren.jpg|
Adorant from the Geißenklösterle cave,
Germany, c.35–40,000BP File:MUT-9846.jpg|
Wild horse from the Vogelherd cave,
Germany, c.33–35,000BP File:Venus-de-Laussel-vue-generale-noir.jpg|
Venus of Laussel c.27,000BP, an Upper Palaeolithic carving, Bordeaux museum, France File:Speerschleuder LaMadeleine.jpg|
Creeping Hyena, c.12–17,000BP,
mammoth ivory, found in
La Madeleine, France File:GLAM Ice Age 238.jpg|
Swimming Reindeer c.13,000 BP, female and male swimming reindeer – late
Magdalenian period, found at Montastruc, Tarn et Garonne, France File:Urfa man.jpg|
Urfa Man, in the
Şanlıurfa Museum; sandstone, 1.80 meters, File:Stone statue, late Jomon period.JPG|A
Jōmon dogū figure, 1st millennium BCE, Japan File:Solvognen-00100.jpg|The
Trundholm sun chariot, perhaps 1800–1500 BCE; this side is
gilded, the other is "dark".
Ancient Near East with its impression on clay;
serpopards and eagles, Uruk Period, 4100–3000 BCE The
Protoliterate period in
Mesopotamia, dominated by
Uruk, saw the production of sophisticated works like the
Warka Vase and
cylinder seals. The
Guennol Lioness is an outstanding small
limestone figure from
Elam of about 3000–2800 BCE, part human and part lioness. A little later there are a number of figures of large-eyed priests and worshippers, mostly in alabaster and up to a foot high, who attended temple
cult images of the deity, but very few of these have survived. Sculptures from the
Sumerian and
Akkadian period generally had large, staring eyes, and long beards on the men. Many masterpieces have also been found at the Royal Cemetery at
Ur (c. 2650 BCE), including the two figures of a
Ram in a Thicket, the
Copper Bull and a bull's head on one of the
Lyres of Ur. From the many subsequent periods before the ascendency of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 10th century BCE, Mesopotamian art survives in a number of forms:
cylinder seals, relatively small figures in the round, and reliefs of various sizes, including cheap plaques of moulded pottery for the home, some religious and some apparently not. The
Burney Relief is an unusually elaborate and relatively large (20 x 15 inches, 50 x 37 cm)
terracotta plaque of a naked winged goddess with the feet of a bird of prey, and attendant owls and lions. It comes from the 18th or 19th century BCE, and may also be moulded. Stone
stelae,
votive offerings, or ones probably commemorating victories and showing feasts, are also found from temples, which unlike more official ones lack inscriptions that would explain them; the fragmentary
Stele of the Vultures is an early example of the inscribed type, and the Assyrian
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III a large and solid late one. The conquest of the whole of Mesopotamia and much surrounding territory by the Assyrians created a larger and wealthier state than the region had known before, and very grandiose art in palaces and public places, no doubt partly intended to match the splendour of the art of the neighbouring Egyptian empire. Unlike earlier states, the Assyrians could use easily carved stone from northern Iraq, and did so in great quantity. The Assyrians developed a style of extremely
large schemes of very finely detailed narrative low reliefs in stone for palaces, with scenes of war or hunting; the
British Museum has an outstanding collection, including the
Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal and the
Lachish reliefs showing a campaign. They produced very little sculpture in the round, except for colossal guardian figures of the human-headed
lamassu, which are sculpted in high relief on two sides of a rectangular block, with the heads effectively in the round (and also five legs, so that both views seem complete). Even before dominating the region they had continued the cylinder seal tradition with designs which are often exceptionally energetic and refined. File:Statue Gudea Met 59.2.jpg|One of 18
Statues of Gudea, a ruler around 2090 BCE File:Lilith Periodo de Isin Larsa y Babilonia.JPG|The
Burney Relief,
Old Babylonian, around 1800 BCE File:Sculpted reliefs depicting Ashurbanipal, the last great Assyrian king, hunting lions, gypsum hall relief from the North Palace of Nineveh (Irak), c. 645-635 BC, British Museum (16722368932).jpg|Part of the
Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, c. 640 BCE,
Nineveh Ancient Egypt ,
Bust of Nefertiti, 1345 BCE,
Egyptian Museum of Berlin The
monumental sculpture of ancient Egypt is world-famous, but refined and delicate small works exist in much greater numbers. The Egyptians used the distinctive technique of
sunk relief, which is well suited to very bright sunlight. The main figures in reliefs adhere to the same figure convention as in painting, with parted legs (where not seated) and head shown from the side, but the torso from the front, and a standard set of proportions making up the figure, using 18 "fists" to go from the ground to the hair-line on the forehead. This appears as early as the
Narmer Palette from Dynasty I. However, there as elsewhere the convention is not used for minor figures shown engaged in some activity, such as the captives and corpses. Other conventions make statues of males darker than females ones. Very conventionalized portrait statues appear from as early as Dynasty II, before 2,780 BCE, and with the exception of the
art of the Amarna period of
Ahkenaten, and some other periods such as Dynasty XII, the idealized features of rulers, like other Egyptian artistic conventions, changed little until after the Greek conquest. Egyptian
pharaohs were always regarded as deities, but other deities are much less common in large statues, except when they represent the pharaoh
as another deity; however the other deities are frequently shown in paintings and reliefs. The famous row of four colossal statues outside the
main temple at Abu Simbel each show
Rameses II, a typical scheme, though here exceptionally large. Small figures of deities, or their animal personifications, are very common, and found in popular materials such as pottery. Most larger sculpture survives from
Egyptian temples or tombs; by Dynasty IV (2680–2565 BCE) at the latest the idea of the
Ka statue was firmly established. These were put in tombs as a resting place for the
ka portion of the soul, and so we have a good number of less conventionalized statues of well-off administrators and their wives, many in wood as Egypt is one of the few places in the world where the climate allows wood to survive over millennia. The so-called
reserve heads, plain hairless heads, are especially naturalistic. Early tombs also contained small models of the slaves, animals, buildings and objects such as boats necessary for the deceased to continue his lifestyle in the afterworld, and later
Ushabti figures. File:Narmer Palette, Egypt, c. 3100 BC - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC09726.JPG|
Facsimile of the
Narmer Palette, c. 3100 BCE, which already shows the canonical Egyptian profile view and proportions of the figure File:King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and queen.jpg|
Menkaura (Mycerinus) and queen, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, 2490–2472 BCE. The formality of the pose is reduced by the queen's arm round her husband File:GD-EG-Caire-Musée120.JPG|Wooden tomb models, Dynasty XI; a high administrator counts his cattle File:Tuthankhamun Egyptian Museum.jpg|
Tutankhamun's mask, c. 1323 BCE,
Egyptian Museum File:BM, AES Egyptian Sulpture ~ Colossal bust of Ramesses II, the 'Younger Memnon' (1250 BC) (Room 4).jpg|
The Younger Memnon ,
British Museum File:Egypte louvre 066.jpg|
Osiris on a
lapis lazuli pillar in the middle, flanked by
Horus on the left, and
Isis on the right, between 874 and 850 BCE,
Louvre File:Ka Statue of horawibra.jpg|The
ka statue provided a physical place for the ka to manifest.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo File:Block statue Pa-Akh-Ra CdM.jpg|
Block statue of Pa-Ankh-Ra, ship master, bearing a statue of
Ptah.
Late Period, c. 650–633 BCE, Cabinet des Médailles
Europe Ancient Greece ,
ancient Greek bronze sculpture, 5th century BCE, close up head detail The first distinctive style of
ancient Greek sculpture developed in the Early Bronze Age
Cycladic period (3rd millennium BCE), where marble figures, usually female and small, are represented in an elegantly simplified geometrical style. Most typical is a standing pose with arms crossed in front, but other figures are shown in different poses, including a complicated figure of a harpist seated on a chair. The subsequent
Minoan and
Mycenaean cultures developed sculpture further, under influence from Syria and elsewhere, but it is in the later
Archaic period from around 650 BCE that the
kouros developed. These are large standing statues of naked youths, found in temples and tombs, with the
kore as the clothed female equivalent, with elaborately dressed hair; both have the "
archaic smile". They seem to have served a number of functions, perhaps sometimes representing deities and sometimes the person buried in a grave, as with the
Kroisos Kouros. They are clearly influenced by Egyptian and Syrian styles, but the Greek artists were much more ready to experiment within the style. During the 6th century Greek sculpture developed rapidly, becoming more naturalistic, and with much more active and varied figure poses in narrative scenes, though still within idealized conventions. Sculptured
pediments were added to
temples, including the
Parthenon in Athens, where the remains of the pediment of around 520 using figures in the round were fortunately used as infill for new buildings after the Persian sack in 480 BCE, and recovered from the 1880s on in fresh unweathered condition. Other significant remains of architectural sculpture come from
Paestum in Italy,
Corfu,
Delphi and the
Temple of Aphaea in
Aegina (much now in
Munich). Most Greek sculpture originally included at least some colour; the
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, has done extensive research and recreation of the original colours. File:Head figurine Spedos Louvre Ma2709.jpg|Cycladic statue 2700–2300 BCE. Head from the figure of a woman, H. File:Goulandris Master - Cycladic Female Figurine - Walters 23253.jpg|Cycladic Female Figurine, , high File:Athens Bull Rhyton 020911.jpg|Mycenae, 1600−1500 BCE. Silver rhyton with gold horns and rosette on the forehead File:Marble statue of a kouros (youth) MET DT263.jpg|Lifesize
New York Kouros, –580 BCE,
Metropolitan Museum of Art File:028MAD Sphinx.jpg|The "
Naxian Sphinx" from
Delphi, 570–560 BCE, the figure high File:ACMA 679 Kore 1.JPG|
Peplos Kore, c. 530 BCE,
Athens,
Acropolis Museum Classical , which originally decorated the
Parthenon, c. 447–433 BCE There are fewer original remains from the first phase of the Classical period, often called the
Severe style; free-standing statues were now mostly made in bronze, which always had value as scrap. The Severe style lasted from around 500 in reliefs to about 480 in statues, and soon after to about 450. The relatively rigid poses of figures relaxed, and asymmetrical turning positions and oblique views became common, and deliberately sought. This was combined with a better understanding of anatomy and the harmonious structure of sculpted figures, and the pursuit of naturalistic representation as an aim, which had not been present before. Excavations at the
Temple of Zeus, Olympia since 1829 have revealed the largest group of remains, from about 460, of which many are in the
Louvre. The "High Classical" period lasted only a few decades from about 450 to 400, but has had a momentous influence on art, and retains a special prestige, despite a very restricted number of original survivals. The best known works are the
Parthenon Marbles, traditionally (since
Plutarch) executed by a team led by the most famous ancient Greek sculptor
Phidias, active from about 465–425, who was in his own day more famous for his colossal
chryselephantine Statue of Zeus at Olympia (c. 432), one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, his
Athena Parthenos (438), the cult image of the
Parthenon, and
Athena Promachos, a colossal bronze figure that stood next to the Parthenon; all of these are lost but are known from many representations. He is also credited as the creator of some life-size bronze statues known only from later copies whose identification is controversial, including the
Ludovisi Hermes. The High Classical style continued to develop realism and sophistication in the human figure, and improved the depiction of drapery (clothes), using it to add to the impact of active poses. Facial expressions were usually very restrained, even in combat scenes. The composition of groups of figures in reliefs and on pediments combined complexity and harmony in a way that had a permanent influence on Western art. Relief could be very high indeed, as in the Parthenon illustration below, where most of the leg of the warrior is completely detached from the background, as were the missing parts; relief this high made sculptures more subject to damage. The Late Classical style developed the free-standing female nude statue, supposedly an innovation of
Praxiteles, and developed increasingly complex and subtle poses that were interesting when viewed from a number of angles, as well as more expressive faces; both trends were to be taken much further in the Hellenistic period.
Hellenistic , early 2nd century were very popular as ornaments in the home The
Hellenistic period is conventionally dated from the death of
Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, and ending either with the final conquest of the Greek heartlands by
Rome in 146 BCE or with the final defeat of the last remaining successor-state to Alexander's empire after the
Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, which also marks the end of
Republican Rome. It is thus much longer than the previous periods, and includes at least two major phases: a "Pergamene" style of experimentation, exuberance and some sentimentality and vulgarity, and in the 2nd century BCE a classicising return to a more austere simplicity and elegance; beyond such generalizations dating is typically very uncertain, especially when only later copies are known, as is usually the case. The initial Pergamene style was not especially associated with
Pergamon, from which it takes its name, but the very wealthy kings of that state were among the first to collect and also copy Classical sculpture, and also commissioned much new work, including the famous
Pergamon Altar whose sculpture is now mostly in Berlin and which exemplifies the new style, as do the
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (another of the Seven Wonders), the famous
Laocoön and His Sons in the
Vatican Museums, a late example, and the bronze original of
The Dying Gaul (illustrated at top), which we know was part of a group actually commissioned for Pergamon in about 228 BCE, from which the
Ludovisi Gaul was also a copy. The group called the
Farnese Bull, possibly a 2nd-century marble original, is still larger and more complex, Hellenistic sculpture greatly expanded the range of subjects represented, partly as a result of greater general prosperity, and the emergence of a very wealthy class who had large houses decorated with sculpture, although we know that some examples of subjects that seem best suited to the home, such as children with animals, were in fact placed in temples or other public places. For a much more popular home decoration market there were
Tanagra figurines, and those from other centres where small pottery figures were produced on an industrial scale, some religious but others showing animals and elegantly dressed ladies. Sculptors became more technically skilled at representing facial expressions conveying a wide variety of emotions, as well as portraiture of individuals, across different ages and races. The reliefs from the Mausoleum are rather atypical in that respect; most work was free-standing, and group compositions with several figures to be seen in the round, like the
Laocoon and the Pergamon group celebrating victory over the Gauls became popular, having been rare before. The
Barberini Faun, showing a
satyr sprawled asleep, presumably after drink, is an example of the moral relaxation of the period, and the readiness to create large and expensive sculptures of subjects that fall short of the heroic. After the conquests of Alexander
Hellenistic culture was dominant in the courts of most of the Near East, and some of
Central Asia, and increasingly being adopted by European elites, especially in Italy, where
Greek colonies initially controlled most of the South. Hellenistic art, and artists, spread very widely, and was especially influential in the expanding Roman Republic and when it encountered Buddhism in the easternmost extensions of the Hellenistic area. The massive so-called
Alexander Sarcophagus found in
Sidon in modern Lebanon, was probably made there at the start of the period by expatriate Greek artists for a Hellenized Persian governor. The wealth of the period led to a greatly increased production of luxury forms of small sculpture, including
engraved gems and cameos, jewellery, and gold and silverware. File:Reggio calabria museo nazionale bronzi di riace.jpg|The
Riace Bronzes, very rare bronze figures recovered from the sea, c. 460–430 File:Hermes and the infant Dionysus by Praxiteles.jpg|
Hermes and the Infant Dionysos, possibly an original by
Praxiteles, 4th century File:Italia del sud, due statuette femminili dolenti, 350-300 ac. ca.JPG|Two elegant ladies, pottery figurines, 350–300 File:Bronze statuette of a horse MET DP120125.jpg|
Bronze Statuette of a Horse, late 2nd – 1st century BCE
Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Nike of Samothrake Louvre Ma2369 n4.jpg|
The Winged Victory of Samothrace, ,
Louvre File:Venus de Milo Louvre Ma399 n4.jpg|
Venus de Milo, –100 BCE,
Greek, the
Louvre File:Laocoön and his sons group.jpg|
Laocoön and His Sons, Greek, (Late
Hellenistic), perhaps a copy, between 200 BCE and 20 CE,
white marble,
Vatican Museum File:0 Apollon du Belvédère - Cortile Ottagono - Museo Pio-Clementino - Vatican (2).JPG|
Leochares,
Apollo Belvedere, –140 CE. Roman copy after a Greek bronze original of 330–320 BCE. Vatican Museums
Europe after the Greeks Roman sculpture , CE 113, with scenes from the
Dacian Wars state Greco-Roman style on the , 13 BCE Early Roman art was influenced by the art of Greece and that of the neighbouring
Etruscans, themselves greatly influenced by their Greek trading partners. An Etruscan speciality was near life size tomb effigies in
terracotta, usually lying on top of a
sarcophagus lid propped up on one elbow in the pose of a diner in that period. As the expanding
Roman Republic began to conquer Greek territory, at first in Southern Italy and then the entire Hellenistic world except for the
Parthian far east, official and
patrician sculpture became largely an extension of the Hellenistic style, from which specifically Roman elements are hard to disentangle, especially as so much Greek sculpture survives only in copies of the Roman period. By the 2nd century BCE, "most of the sculptors working at Rome" were Greek, often enslaved in conquests such as that of
Corinth (146 BCE), and sculptors continued to be mostly Greeks, often slaves, whose names are very rarely recorded. Vast numbers of Greek statues were imported to Rome, whether as booty or the result of extortion or commerce, and temples were often decorated with re-used Greek works. A native Italian style can be seen in the tomb monuments, which very often featured portrait busts, of prosperous middle-class Romans, and
portraiture is arguably the main strength of Roman sculpture. There are no survivals from the tradition of masks of ancestors that were worn in processions at the funerals of the great families and otherwise displayed in the home, but many of the busts that survive must represent ancestral figures, perhaps from the large family tombs like the
Tomb of the Scipios or the later mausolea outside the city. The famous bronze head supposedly of
Lucius Junius Brutus is very variously dated, but taken as a very rare survival of Italic style under the Republic, in the preferred medium of bronze. Similarly stern and forceful heads are seen on coins of the Late Republic, and in the Imperial period coins as well as busts sent around the Empire to be placed in the
basilicas of provincial cities were the main visual form of imperial propaganda; even
Londinium had a near-colossal statue of
Nero, though far smaller than the 30-metre-high
Colossus of Nero in Rome, now lost. The Romans did not generally attempt to compete with free-standing Greek works of heroic exploits from history or mythology, but from early on produced historical works in relief, culminating in the great
Roman triumphal columns with continuous narrative reliefs winding around them, of which those commemorating
Trajan (CE 113) and
Marcus Aurelius (by 193) survive in Rome, where the ("Altar of Peace", 13 BCE) represents the official Greco-Roman style at its most classical and refined. Among other major examples are the earlier re-used reliefs on the
Arch of Constantine and the base of the
Column of Antoninus Pius (161),
Campana reliefs were cheaper pottery versions of marble reliefs and the taste for relief was from the imperial period expanded to the sarcophagus. All forms of luxury small sculpture continued to be patronized, and quality could be extremely high, as in the silver
Warren Cup, glass
Lycurgus Cup, and large cameos like the
Gemma Augustea,
Gonzaga Cameo and the "
Great Cameo of France". For a much wider section of the population, moulded relief decoration of
pottery vessels and small figurines were produced in great quantity and often considerable quality. After moving through a late 2nd-century "baroque" phase, in the 3rd century, Roman art largely abandoned, or simply became unable to produce, sculpture in the classical tradition, a change whose causes remain much discussed. Even the most important imperial monuments now showed stumpy, large-eyed figures in a harsh frontal style, in simple compositions emphasizing power at the expense of grace. The contrast is famously illustrated in the
Arch of Constantine of 315 in Rome, which combines sections in the new style with
roundels in the earlier full Greco-Roman style taken from elsewhere, and the
Four Tetrarchs () from the new capital of
Constantinople, now in Venice.
Ernst Kitzinger found in both monuments the same "stubby proportions, angular movements, an ordering of parts through symmetry and repetition and a rendering of features and drapery folds through incisions rather than modelling... The hallmark of the style wherever it appears consists of an emphatic hardness, heaviness and angularity—in short, an almost complete rejection of the classical tradition". This revolution in style shortly preceded the period in which
Christianity was adopted by the Roman state and the great majority of the people, leading to the end of large religious sculpture, with large statues now only used for emperors. However, rich Christians continued to commission reliefs for sarcophagi, as in the
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, and very small sculpture, especially in ivory, was continued by Christians, building on the style of the
consular diptych. File:Museo archeologico di Firenze, coperchio di sepolcro muliebre da Tuscania, terracotta con tracce di policromia III sec. d.c.JPG|
Etruscan sarcophagus, 3rd century BCE File:Capitoline Brutus Musei Capitolini MC1183 02.jpg|The "
Capitoline Brutus", dated to the 3rd or 1st century BCE File:Statue-Augustus.jpg|
Augustus of Prima Porta, statue of the emperor
Augustus, 1st century CE.
Vatican Museums File:Tomba dei decii, dalla via ostiense, 98-117 dc..JPG|Tomb relief of the Decii, 98–117 CE File:Claudius Pio-Clementino Inv243.jpg|Bust of
Emperor Claudius, , (reworked from a bust of emperor
Caligula), It was found in the so-called Otricoli basilica in
Lanuvium, Italy,
Vatican Museums File:COMMODE HERCULE.jpg|
Commodus dressed as
Hercules, , in the late imperial "baroque" style File:Venice – The Tetrarchs 03.jpg|
The Four Tetrarchs, , showing the new anti-classical style, in
porphyry, now
San Marco, Venice File:Great Cameo of France CdM Paris Bab264 white background.jpg|The
cameo gem known as the "
Great Cameo of France", , with an
allegory of
Augustus and his family
Early Medieval and Byzantine , Scottish or Anglo-Saxon,
St Ninian's Isle Treasure, , ,
Cologne, Germany, the first great example of the revival of large sculpture The
Early Christians were opposed to monumental religious sculpture, though Roman traditions continued in portrait busts and
sarcophagus reliefs, as well as smaller objects such as the consular diptych. Such objects, often in valuable materials, were also the main sculptural traditions (as far as is known) of the civilizations of the
Migration period, as seen in the objects found in the 6th-century burial treasure at
Sutton Hoo, and the jewellery of
Scythian art and the hybrid Christian and
animal style productions of
Insular art. Following the continuing Byzantine tradition,
Carolingian art revived ivory carving in the West, often in panels for the
treasure bindings of grand
illuminated manuscripts, as well as
crozier heads and other small fittings.
Byzantine art, though producing superb ivory reliefs and architectural decorative carving, never returned to monumental sculpture, or even much small sculpture in the round. However, in the West during the
Carolingian and
Ottonian periods there was the beginnings of a production of monumental statues, in courts and major churches. This gradually spread; by the late 10th and 11th century there are records of several apparently life-size sculptures in
Anglo-Saxon churches, probably of precious metal around a wooden frame, like the
Golden Madonna of Essen. No Anglo-Saxon example has survived, and survivals of large non-architectural sculpture from before the year 1000 are exceptionally rare. Much the finest is the
Gero Cross, of 965–970, which is a
crucifix, which was evidently the commonest type of sculpture;
Charlemagne had set one up in the
Palatine Chapel in Aachen around 800. These continued to grow in popularity, especially in Germany and Italy. The
runestones of the
Nordic world, the
Pictish stones of Scotland and possibly the
high cross reliefs of Christian Great Britain, were northern sculptural traditions that bridged the period of Christianization. File:Byzantine ivory 801.jpg|
Archangel Ivory, 525–550,
Constantinople File:Saint Remigius binding Medieval Picardie Museum.jpg|Late
Carolingian ivory panel, probably meant for a book-cover File:Triptych Harbaville Louvre OA3247 recto.jpg|The
Harbaville Triptych,
Byzantine ivory, mid-10th century
Romanesque '', 1166, the first large hollow casting of a figure since antiquity, 1.78 metres tall and 2.79 metres long '' in
Cologne Cathedral Beginning in roughly 1000 A.D., there was a rebirth of artistic production in all Europe, led by general economic growth in production and commerce, and the new style of
Romanesque art was the first medieval style to be used in the whole of Western Europe. The new cathedrals and pilgrim's churches were increasingly decorated with architectural stone reliefs, and new focuses for sculpture developed, such as the
tympanum over church doors in the 12th century, and the inhabited
capital with figures and often narrative scenes. Outstanding abbey churches with sculpture include in France
Vézelay and
Moissac and in Spain
Silos. Romanesque art was characterised by a very vigorous style in both sculpture and painting. The capitals of columns were never more exciting than in this period, when they were often carved with complete scenes with several figures. The large wooden
crucifix was a German innovation right at the start of the period, as were free-standing statues of the enthroned Madonna, but the
high relief was above all the sculptural mode of the period. Compositions usually had little depth, and needed to be flexible to squeeze themselves into the shapes of capitals, and church typanums; the tension between a tightly enclosing frame, from which the composition sometimes escapes, is a recurrent theme in Romanesque art. Figures still often varied in size in relation to their importance portraiture hardly existed. Objects in precious materials such as ivory and metal had a very high status in the period, much more so than monumental sculpture — we know the names of more makers of these than painters, illuminators or architect-masons. Metalwork, including decoration in
enamel, became very sophisticated, and many spectacular shrines made to hold relics have survived, of which the best known is the
Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral by
Nicholas of Verdun. The bronze
Gloucester candlestick and the
brass font of 1108–17 now in Liège are superb examples, very different in style, of metal casting, the former highly intricate and energetic, drawing on manuscript painting, while the font shows the Mosan style at its most classical and majestic. The bronze doors, a triumphal column and other fittings at
Hildesheim Cathedral, the
Gniezno Doors, and the doors of the
Basilica di San Zeno in
Verona are other substantial survivals. The
aquamanile, a container for water to wash with, appears to have been introduced to Europe in the 11th century, and often took fantastic
zoomorphic forms; surviving examples are mostly in brass. Many wax impressions from impressive seals survive on charters and documents, although Romanesque coins are generally not of great aesthetic interest. The
Cloisters Cross is an unusually large
ivory crucifix, with complex carving including many figures of
prophets and others, which has been attributed to one of the relatively few artists whose name is known,
Master Hugo, who also illuminated manuscripts. Like many pieces it was originally partly coloured. The
Lewis chessmen are well-preserved examples of small ivories, of which many pieces or fragments remain from
croziers, plaques,
pectoral crosses and similar objects. File:Renier de Huy JPG0.jpg|
Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège,
Baptism of Christ, 1107–1118 File:02 Basilique Ste-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay - Tympan.jpg|The tympanum of
Vézelay Abbey,
Burgundy, France, 1130s File:Cathedral of Ourense (Spain).jpg|
Facade, Cathedral of
Ourense 1160, Spain File:Apóstoles del Pórtico de la Gloria.jpg|
Pórtico da Gloria,
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela,
Galicia, Spain, –13th centuries
Gothic The Gothic period is essentially defined by
Gothic architecture, and does not entirely fit with the development of style in sculpture in either its start or finish. The facades of large churches, especially around doors, continued to have large typanums, but also rows of sculpted figures spreading around them. The statues on the Western (Royal) Portal at
Chartres Cathedral () show an elegant but exaggerated columnar elongation, but those on the south
transept portal, from 1215 to 1220, show a more naturalistic style and increasing detachment from the wall behind, and some awareness of the classical tradition. These trends were continued in the west portal at
Reims Cathedral of a few years later, where the figures are almost in the round, as became usual as Gothic spread across Europe. In Italy
Nicola Pisano (1258–1278) and his son
Giovanni developed a style that is often called
Proto-Renaissance, with unmistakable influence from Roman sarcophagi and sophisticated and crowded compositions, including a sympathetic handling of nudity, in relief panels on their
Siena Cathedral Pulpit (1265–68),
Pulpit in the Pisa Baptistery (1260), the
Fontana Maggiore in
Perugia, and Giovanni's
pulpit in Pistoia of 1301. Another revival of classical style is seen in the
International Gothic work of
Claus Sluter and his followers in
Burgundy and
Flanders around 1400. Late Gothic sculpture continued in the North, with a fashion for very large wooden sculpted altarpieces with increasingly virtuoso carving and large numbers agitated expressive figures; most surviving examples are in Germany, after much iconoclasm elsewhere.
Tilman Riemenschneider,
Veit Stoss and others continued the style well into the 16th century, gradually absorbing Italian Renaissance influences. Life-size tomb effigies in stone or
alabaster became popular for the wealthy, and grand multi-level tombs evolved, with the
Scaliger Tombs of
Verona so large they had to be moved outside the church. By the 15th century there was an industry exporting
Nottingham alabaster altar reliefs in groups of panels over much of Europe for economical parishes who could not afford stone retables. Small carvings, for a mainly lay and often female market, became a considerable industry in Paris and some other centres. Types of ivories included small devotional
polyptychs,
single figures, especially of the Virgin, mirror-cases, combs, and
elaborate caskets with scenes from Romances, used as engagement presents. The very wealthy collected extravagantly elaborate jewelled and enamelled metalwork, both secular and religious, like the
Duc de Berry's
Holy Thorn Reliquary, until they ran short of money, when they were melted down again for cash. File:Chartres2006 077.jpg|West portal of
Chartres Cathedral () File:Chartres cathedral 023 martyrs S TTaylor.JPG|South portal of
Chartres Cathedral (–1220) File:Reims6.jpg|West portal at
Reims Cathedral,
Annunciation group File:Pisa.Baptistery.pulpit02.jpg|
Nicola Pisano,
Nativity and
Adoration of the Magi from the
Pulpit in the Pisa Baptistery File:Bamberger Dom-Bamberger Reiter.JPG|The
Bamberg Horseman 1237, near life-size stone
equestrian statue, the first of this kind since
antiquity. File:French - Casket with Scenes of Romances - Walters 71264 - Top.jpg|Lid of the
Walters Casket, with the
Siege of the Castle of Love at left, and
jousting. Paris, 1330–1350 File:Siege castle love Louvre OA6933.jpg|
Siege of the Castle of Love on a mirror-case in the
Louvre, 1350–1370; the ladies are losing. File:Pietà Naumburg Cathedral 01a.jpg|Central German
Pietà, 1330–1340 File:Dijon mosesbrunnen4.jpg|
Claus Sluter,
David and a
prophet from the
Well of Moses File:Holy Thorn Reliquary base.jpg|Base of the
Holy Thorn Reliquary, a
Resurrection of the Dead in gold, enamel and gems File:English - Resurrection - Walters 27308.jpg|Section of a panelled altarpiece with
Resurrection of Christ, English, 1450–1490,
Nottingham alabaster with remains of colour File:Rothenburg ob der Tauber 2011 St Jakob 002.JPG|Detail of the
Last Supper from
Tilman Riemenschneider's
Altar of the Holy Blood, 1501–1505,
Rothenburg ob der Tauber,
Bavaria Renaissance ,
Pietà, 1499 , The
Tomb of Pope Julius II, , with statues of
Rachel and
Leah on the left and right of his
Moses Renaissance sculpture proper is often taken to begin with the famous competition for the doors of the
Florence Baptistry in 1403, from which the trial models submitted by the winner,
Lorenzo Ghiberti, and
Filippo Brunelleschi survive. Ghiberti's doors are still in place, but were undoubtedly eclipsed by his second pair for the other entrance, the so-called
Gates of Paradise, which took him from 1425 to 1452, and are dazzlingly confident classicizing compositions with varied depths of relief allowing extensive backgrounds. The intervening years had seen Ghiberti's early assistant
Donatello develop with seminal statues including his
Davids in marble (1408–09) and bronze (1440s), and his
Equestrian statue of Gattamelata, as well as reliefs. A leading figure in the later period was
Andrea del Verrocchio, best known for his
equestrian statue of
Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice; his pupil
Leonardo da Vinci designed an equine sculpture in 1482
The Horse for
Milan, but only succeeded in making a clay model which was destroyed by French archers in 1499, and his other ambitious sculptural plans were never completed. The period was marked by a great increase in patronage of sculpture by the state for public art and by the wealthy for their homes; especially in Italy, public sculpture remains a crucial element in the appearance of historic city centres. Church sculpture mostly moved inside just as outside public monuments became common. Portrait sculpture, usually in busts, became popular in Italy around 1450, with the
Neapolitan Francesco Laurana specializing in young women in meditative poses, while
Antonio Rossellino and others more often depicted knobbly-faced men of affairs, but also young children. The portrait
medal invented by
Pisanello also often depicted women; relief
plaquettes were another new small form of sculpture in cast metal. Michelangelo was an active sculptor from about 1500 to 1520, and his great masterpieces including his
David,
Pietà,
Moses, and pieces for the
Tomb of Pope Julius II and
Medici Chapel could not be ignored by subsequent sculptors. His iconic David (1504) has a
contrapposto pose, borrowed from classical sculpture. It differs from previous representations of the subject in that David is depicted before his battle with Goliath and not after the giant's defeat. Instead of being shown victorious, as Donatello and Verocchio had done, David looks tense and battle ready. File:Ghiberti-porta.jpg|
Lorenzo Ghiberti, panel of the
Sacrifice of Isaac from the
Florence Baptistry doors;
oblique view here File:Cantoria Della Robbia OPA Florence 6.jpg|
Luca della Robbia, detail of
Cantoria, ,
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence File:Florence - David by Donatello.jpg|
Donatello,
David ,
Bargello Museum,
Florence File:Firenze.PalVecchio.Donatello.JPG|
Donatello,
Judith and Holofernes, ,
Palazzo Vecchio,
Florence File:Francesco Laurana pushkin.jpg|
Francesco Laurana, female bust (cast) File:Verrochioorsanmichelle.jpg|
Verrocchio,
Doubting Thomas, 1467–1483,
Orsanmichele,
Florence File:'David' by Michelangelo Fir JBU005 denoised.jpg|
Michelangelo,
David, ,
Galleria dell'Accademia,
Florence File:'Dying Slave' Michelangelo JBU001.jpg|
Michelangelo,
Dying Slave,
Mannerist ,
Mercury and Psyche Northern Mannerist life-size bronze, made in 1593 for
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. As in painting, early Italian
Mannerist sculpture was very largely an attempt to find an original style that would top the achievement of the
High Renaissance, which in sculpture essentially meant Michelangelo, and much of the struggle to achieve this was played out in commissions to fill other places in the
Piazza della Signoria in Florence, next to Michelangelo's
David.
Baccio Bandinelli took over the project of
Hercules and Cacus from the master himself, but it was little more popular than it is now, and maliciously compared by
Benvenuto Cellini to "a sack of melons", though it had a long-lasting effect in apparently introducing relief panels on the
pedestal of statues for the first time. Like other works of his, and other Mannerists, it removes far more of the original block than Michelangelo would have done. Cellini's bronze
Perseus with the head of Medusa is certainly a masterpiece, designed with eight angles of view, another Mannerist characteristic, but is indeed mannered compared to the
Davids of Michelangelo and Donatello. Originally a goldsmith, his famous gold and enamel
Salt Cellar (1543) was his first sculpture, and shows his talent at its best. As these examples show, the period extended the range of secular subjects for large works beyond portraits, with mythological figures especially favoured; previously these had mostly been found in small works. Small bronze figures for collector's
cabinets, often mythological subjects with nudes, were a popular Renaissance form at which
Giambologna, originally
Flemish but based in Florence, excelled in the later part of the century, also creating life-size sculptures, of which two joined the collection in the Piazza della Signoria. He and his followers devised elegant elongated examples of the
figura serpentinata, often of two intertwined figures, that were interesting from all angles. File:Fontainebleau escalier roi.jpg|
Stucco overdoor at
Fontainebleau, probably designed by
Primaticcio, who painted the oval inset, 1530s or 1540s File:Persee-florence.jpg|
Benvenuto Cellini,
Perseus with the head of Medusa, 1545–1554 File:Samson slaying a philistine.jpg|
Giambologna,
Samson Slaying a Philistine, about 1562 File:Giambologna raptodasabina.jpg|
Giambologna,
Rape of the Sabine Women, 1583, Florence, Italy, 13' 6" (4.1 m) high,
marble Baroque and Rococo ,
Apollo and Daphne in the
Galleria Borghese, 1622–1625 In Baroque sculpture, groups of figures assumed new importance, and there was a dynamic movement and energy of human forms— they spiralled around an empty central vortex, or reached outwards into the surrounding space. Baroque sculpture often had multiple ideal viewing angles, and reflected a general continuation of the Renaissance move away from the relief to sculpture created in the round, and designed to be placed in the middle of a large space—elaborate fountains such as Bernini's
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Rome, 1651), or those in the
Gardens of Versailles were a Baroque speciality. The
Baroque style was perfectly suited to sculpture, with
Gian Lorenzo Bernini the dominating figure of the age in works such as
The Ecstasy of St Theresa (1647–1652). Much Baroque sculpture added extra-sculptural elements, for example, concealed lighting, or water fountains, or fused sculpture and architecture to create a transformative experience for the viewer. Artists saw themselves as in the classical tradition, but admired
Hellenistic and later Roman sculpture, rather than that of the more "Classical" periods as they are seen today. The
Protestant Reformation brought an almost total stop to religious sculpture in much of Northern Europe, and though secular sculpture, especially for portrait busts and
tomb monuments, continued, the
Dutch Golden Age has no significant sculptural component outside goldsmithing. Partly in direct reaction, sculpture was as prominent in
Roman Catholicism as in the late Middle Ages. Statues of rulers and the nobility became increasingly popular. In the 18th century much sculpture continued on Baroque lines—the
Trevi Fountain was only completed in 1762.
Rococo style was better suited to smaller works, and arguably found its ideal sculptural form in
early European porcelain, and interior decorative schemes in wood or plaster such as those in French domestic interiors and
Austrian and Bavarian pilgrimage churches. File:Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon - Louis XIV 1.jpg|Bust of
Louis XIV, 1686, by
Antoine Coysevox File:Francesco Mochi Santa Verónica 1629-32 Vaticano.jpg|Saint Veronica by
Francesco Mochi (1640),
Saint Peter's Basilica File:Perseus Andromeda Puget Louvre MR2076.jpg|
Pierre Paul Puget,
Perseus and Andromeda, 1715,
Musée du Louvre File:Bustelli Liebesgruppe Der gestörte Schläfer BNM.jpg|
Franz Anton Bustelli,
Rococo Nymphenburg Porcelain group
Neo-Classical : ''
Psyche Revived by Love's Kiss'', 1787 The
Neoclassical style that arrived in the late 18th century gave great emphasis to sculpture.
Jean-Antoine Houdon exemplifies the penetrating portrait sculpture the style could produce, and
Antonio Canova's nudes the idealist aspect of the movement. The Neoclassical period was one of the great ages of public sculpture, though its "classical" prototypes were more likely to be Roman copies of Hellenistic sculptures. In sculpture, the most familiar representatives are the Italian
Antonio Canova, the Englishman
John Flaxman and the Dane
Bertel Thorvaldsen. The European neoclassical manner also took hold in the United States, where its pinnacle occurred somewhat later and is exemplified in the sculptures of
Hiram Powers. File:Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) MET DT2883.jpg|
Jean-Antoine Houdon,
Bust of Benjamin Franklin, 1778,
Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Jasão e o Velo de ouro - Bertel Thorvaldsen - 1803.jpg|
Bertel Thorvaldsen:
Jason and the Golden Fleece (1803) File:Badger church - Jane and Henrietta Browne.jpg|
John Flaxman, Memorial in the church at
Badger, Shropshire, File:The Greek Slave.jpg|
Hiram Powers, 1851,
The Greek Slave,
Yale University Art Gallery Asia Greco-Buddhist sculpture and Asia of the
Buddha, 1st–2nd century CE,
Gandhara Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of
Greco-Buddhism, a cultural
syncretism between the
Classical Greek culture and
Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the
conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, and the Islamic conquests of the 7th century CE. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the strong idealistic realism of Hellenistic art and the first representations of the Buddha in human form, which have helped define the artistic (and particularly, sculptural) canon for Buddhist art throughout the Asian continent up to the present. Though dating is uncertain, it appears that strongly Hellenistic styles lingered in the East for several centuries after they had declined around the Mediterranean, as late as the 5th century CE. Some aspects of Greek art were adopted while others did not spread beyond the Greco-Buddhist area; in particular the standing figure, often with a relaxed pose and one leg flexed, and the flying cupids or victories, who became popular across Asia as
apsaras. Greek foliage decoration was also influential, with Indian versions of the
Corinthian capital appearing. The origins of Greco-Buddhist art are to be found in the Hellenistic
Greco-Bactrian kingdom (250–130 BCE), located in today's
Afghanistan, from which Hellenistic culture radiated into the
Indian subcontinent with the establishment of the small
Indo-Greek kingdom (180–10 BCE). Under the
Indo-Greeks and then the
Kushans, the interaction of Greek and Buddhist culture flourished in the area of
Gandhara, in today's northern Pakistan, before spreading further into India, influencing the art of
Mathura, and then the
Hindu art of the
Gupta empire, which was to extend to the rest of South-East Asia. The influence of Greco-Buddhist art also spread northward towards
Central Asia, strongly affecting the art of the
Tarim Basin and the
Dunhuang Caves, and ultimately the sculpted figure in China, Korea, and Japan. File:GandharaDonorFrieze2.JPG|Gandhara frieze with devotees, holding
plantain leaves, in purely Hellenistic style, inside
Corinthian columns, 1st–2nd century CE.
Buner,
Swat, Pakistan.
Victoria and Albert Museum File:WindGod2.JPG|Fragment of the wind god
Boreas,
Hadda, Afghanistan. File:Demetrius I MET coin.jpg|Coin of
Demetrius I of Bactria, who reigned circa 200–180 BCE and invaded Northern India File:Bouddha Hadda Guimet 181171.jpg|
Stucco Buddha head, once painted, from
Hadda, Afghanistan, 3rd–4th centuries File:PoseidonGandhara.JPG|Gandhara
Poseidon (
Ancient Orient Museum) File:PharroAndArdoxsho.jpg|The Buddhist gods
Pancika (left) and
Hariti (right), 3rd century,
Takht-i-Bahi, Pakistan File:Taller Buddha of Bamiyan before and after destruction.jpg|
Taller Buddha of Bamiyan, , in 1963 and in 2008 after they were dynamited and destroyed in March 2001 by the
Taliban in Afghanistan
China Guanyin, wood and pigment, 11th century,
Northern Song dynasty Chinese ritual bronzes from the
Shang and
Western Zhou dynasties come from a period of over a thousand years from , and have exerted a continuing influence over
Chinese art. They are cast with complex patterned and
zoomorphic decoration, but avoid the human figure, unlike the huge figures only recently discovered at
Sanxingdui. The spectacular
Terracotta Army was assembled for the tomb of
Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China from 221 to 210 BCE, as a grand imperial version of the figures long placed in tombs to enable the deceased to enjoy the same lifestyle in the afterlife as when alive, replacing actual sacrifices of very early periods. Smaller figures in pottery or wood were placed in tombs for many centuries afterwards, reaching a peak of quality in
Tang dynasty tomb figures. The tradition of unusually large pottery figures persisted in China, through Tang
sancai tomb figures to later Buddhist statues such as the near life-size set of
Yixian glazed pottery luohans and later figures for temples and tombs. These came to replace earlier equivalents in wood. Native Chinese religions do not usually use cult images of deities, or even represent them, and large religious sculpture is nearly all Buddhist, dating mostly from the 4th to the 14th century, and initially using Greco-Buddhist models arriving via the
Silk Road. Buddhism is also the context of all large portrait sculpture; in total contrast to some other areas, in medieval China even painted images of the emperor were regarded as private. Imperial tombs have spectacular avenues of approach lined with real and mythological animals on a scale matching Egypt, and smaller versions decorate temples and palaces. Small Buddhist figures and groups were produced to a very high quality in a range of media, as was relief decoration of all sorts of objects, especially in metalwork and
jade. In the earlier periods, large quantities of sculpture were cut from the living rock in pilgrimage cave-complexes, and as outside
rock reliefs. These were mostly originally painted. In notable contrast to
literati painters, sculptors of all sorts were regarded as artisans and very few names are recorded. From the
Ming dynasty onwards, statuettes of religious and secular figures were produced in
Chinese porcelain and other media, which became an important export. File:Liu Ding.jpg|A bronze
ding from late
Shang dynasty (13th century–10th century BCE) File:Chinese tomb guardian 300 BC.jpg|A tomb guardian usually placed inside the doors of the tomb to protect or guide the soul,
Warring States period, File:Soldier Horse.JPG|Lifesize calvalryman from the
Terracotta Army,
Qin dynasty, File:Gold monster.jpg|Gold stag with eagle's head, and ten further heads in the antlers. An object inspired by the art of the Siberian Altai mountain, possibly
Pazyryk, unearthed at the site of Nalinggaotu,
Shenmu County, near
Xi'an,
China. Possibly from the "Hun people who lived in the prairie in Northern China". Dated to the 4th-3rd century BCE, File:Nswag, dinastia han, figurina dipinta di danzatrice.jpg|Tomb figure of dancing girl,
Han dynasty (202 BCE—220 CE) File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - bronze cowrie container.jpg|Bronze
cowrie container with
yaks, from the
Dian Kingdom (4th century BCE – 109 BCE) tradition of the
Western Han File:Wei-Maitreya.jpg|
Northern Wei dynasty Maitreya (386–534) File:China Pferd und Pferdeknecht Linden-Museum.jpg|
Tang dynasty tomb figure in
sancai glaze pottery, horse and groom (618–907) File:Mahayanabuddha.jpg|Seated
Buddha,
Tang dynasty c. 650. File:Song-Bodhisattva1.jpg|A wooden
Bodhisattva from the
Song dynasty (960–1279) File:Chinese - Cup with Dragon Handles - Walters 42250 - Profile.jpg|
Chinese jade Cup with Dragon Handles,
Song dynasty, 12th century File:Bodhisattva Guanyin from Nantoyōsō Collection.jpg|
Guanyin Bodhisattva in
Blanc de Chine (Dehua porcelain), by
He Chaozong,
Ming dynasty, early 17th century File:Man blowing conch (Wanli Reign Period).JPG|Blue underglaze statue of a man with his pipe,
Jingdezhen porcelain, Ming
Wanli period (1573–1620) File:China - Beijing 12 - lion outside the Tibetan Monastery (134036069).jpg|A
Chinese guardian lion outside
Yonghe Temple, Beijing,
Qing dynasty,
Japan , ,
Nara,
Japan Towards the end of the long
Neolithic Jōmon period, some
pottery vessels were "flame-rimmed" with extravagant extensions to the rim that can only be called sculptural, and very stylized pottery
dogū figures were produced, many with the characteristic "snow-goggle" eyes. During the Kofun period of the 3rd to 6th century CE,
haniwa terracotta figures of humans and animals in a simplistic style were erected outside important tombs. The arrival of Buddhism in the 6th century brought with it sophisticated traditions in sculpture, Chinese styles mediated via Korea. The 7th-century
Hōryū-ji and its contents have survived more intact than any East Asian Buddhist temple of its date, with works including a
Shaka Trinity of 623 in bronze, showing the historical Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas and also the
Guardian Kings of the Four Directions.
Jōchō is said to be one of the greatest Buddhist sculptors not only in
Heian period but also in the history of Buddhist statues in Japan. Jōchō redefined the body shape of Buddha statues by perfecting the technique of "yosegi zukuri" (寄木造り) which is a combination of several woods. The peaceful expression and graceful figure of the Buddha statue that he made completed a Japanese style of sculpture of Buddha statues called "Jōchō yō" (Jōchō style, 定朝様) and determined the style of Japanese Buddhist statues of the later period. His achievement dramatically raised the social status of
busshi (Buddhist sculptor) in Japan. In the
Kamakura period, the
Minamoto clan established the
Kamakura shogunate and the
samurai class virtually ruled Japan for the first time. Jocho's successors, sculptors of the
Kei school of Buddhist statues, created realistic and dynamic statues to suit the tastes of samurai, and Japanese Buddhist sculpture reached its peak.
Unkei,
Kaikei, and
Tankei were famous, and they made many new Buddha statues at many temples such as
Kofuku-ji, where many Buddha statues had been lost in wars and fires. Almost all subsequent significant large sculpture in Japan was Buddhist, with some
Shinto equivalents, and after Buddhism declined in Japan in the 15th century, monumental sculpture became largely architectural decoration and less significant. However sculptural work in the decorative arts was developed to a remarkable level of technical achievement and refinement in small objects such as
inro and
netsuke in many materials, and metal '''' or
Japanese sword mountings. In the 19th century there were export industries of small bronze sculptures of extreme virtuosity, ivory and porcelain figurines, and other types of small sculpture, increasingly emphasizing technical accomplishment. File:Clevelandart 1984.68.jpg|'Flame-style' vessel, Neolithic
Jōmon period; ; earthenware with carved and applied decoration; height: 61 cm, diameter: 55.8 cm File:Dogu Miyagi 1000 BCE 400 BCE.jpg|
Dogū with "snow-goggle" eyes, 1000–400 BCE File:Arte giapponese, nobile haniwa, VI sec.JPG|6th-century
haniwa figure File:Horyu-ji14s3200.jpg|Kongo Rishiki (Guardian Deity) at the Central Gate of
Hōryū-ji File:Taishakuten Śakra, Tō-ji.jpg|Taishakuten
Śakra, 839,
Tō-ji File:Kofukuji Hokuendo Muchaku Unkei.jpg|Muchaku by
Unkei, 1212,
Kōfuku-ji, National Treasure File:Tsuchiya Yasuchika - Tsuba with a Rabbit Viewing the Autumn Moon - Walters 51163.jpg|
Tsuba sword fitting with a "Rabbit Viewing the Autumn Moon", bronze, gold and silver, between 1670 and 1744 File:Izumiya Tomotada - Netsuke in the Form of a Dog - Walters 711020 - Three Quarter.jpg|Izumiya Tomotada,
netsuke in the form of a dog, late 18th century File:Eagle, By Suzuki Chokichi Suzuki 鈴木長吉「鷲置物」.jpg|Eagle by Suzuki Chokichi, 1892,
Tokyo National Museum Indian subcontinent terracotta relief, 5th century CE, of
Krishna Killing the Horse Demon
Keshi The first known
sculpture in the Indian subcontinent is from the
Indus Valley civilization (3300–1700 BCE), found in sites at
Mohenjo-daro and
Harappa in modern-day
Pakistan. These include the famous
small bronze female dancer and the so-called
Priest-king. However, such figures in bronze and stone are rare and greatly outnumbered by pottery figurines and stone seals, often of animals or deities very finely depicted. After the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization there is little record of sculpture until the Buddhist era, apart from a hoard of copper figures of (somewhat controversially) from
Daimabad. Thus the great tradition of Indian monumental sculpture in stone appears to begin, relative to other cultures, and the development of Indian civilization, relatively late, with the reign of
Asoka from 270 to 232 BCE, and the
Pillars of Ashoka he erected around India, carrying his edicts and topped by famous sculptures of animals, mostly lions, of which six survive. Large amounts of figurative sculpture, mostly in relief, survive from Early Buddhist pilgrimage stupas, above all
Sanchi; these probably developed out of a tradition using wood that also embraced
Hinduism. The pink sandstone Hindu,
Jain and Buddhist sculptures of
Mathura from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE reflected both native Indian traditions and the Western influences received through the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, and effectively established the basis for subsequent Indian religious sculpture. though the
Elephanta Caves are probably slightly later. Later large-scale sculpture remains almost exclusively religious, and generally rather conservative, often reverting to simple frontal standing poses for deities, though the attendant spirits such as apsaras and
yakshi often have sensuously curving poses. Carving is often highly detailed, with an intricate backing behind the main figure in high relief. The celebrated bronzes of the
Chola dynasty (–1250) from south India, many designed to be carried in processions, include the iconic form of
Shiva as
Nataraja, with the massive granite carvings of
Mahabalipuram dating from the previous
Pallava dynasty. File:Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro.jpg|The "
Dancing Girl" of
Mohenjo-daro, 3rd or 2nd millennium BCE (replica) File:Asokanpillar-crop.jpg|
Ashoka Pillar,
Vaishali,
Bihar, File:Didarganj_Yakshi_statue_in_the_Bihar_Museum.jpg|
Didarganj Yakshi. Uncertain date, but it has the fine Mauryan polish associated with
Mauryan art File:Column, Sanchi.jpg|
Stupa gateway at
Sanchi, or perhaps earlier, with densely packed reliefs File:Buddha from Sarnath.jpg|Buddha from
Sarnath, 5th–6th century CE File:Elephanta Caves Trimurti.jpg|The Colossal
trimurti at the
Elephanta Caves File:Ellora cave16 001.jpg|Rock-cut temples at
Ellora File:Shrine with Four Jinas (Rishabhanatha (Adinatha), Parshvanatha, Neminatha, and Mahavira) LACMA M.85.55 (1 of 4).jpg|
Jain shrine with
Rishabhanatha,
Parshvanatha,
Neminatha, and
Mahavira, 6th century File:NatarajaMET.JPG|Hindu,
Chola period, 1000 File:The Hindu deity Vishnu - Indian Art - Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.jpg|Typical medieval frontal standing statue of
Vishnu, 950–1150 File:Khajuraho8.jpg|
Khajuraho Temple File:WLA lacma Celestial Nymph ca 1450 Rajasthan.jpg|Marble Sculpture of female
yakshi in typical curving pose, ,
Rajasthan File:Natarajartemple1.jpg|
Gopuram of the
Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram,
Tamil Nadu, densely packed with rows of painted statues File:ജലഗന്ധേശ്വരർ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിലെ ദ്വാരപാലകശില്പം.JPG|Sculpture of Guardian at the entrance of the Mandapam of Sri Jalagandeeswarar Temple, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
South-East Asia The sculpture of the region tends to be characterised by a high degree of ornamentation, as seen in the great monuments of Hindu and Buddhist
Khmer sculpture (9th to 13th centuries) at
Angkor Wat and elsewhere, the enormous 9th-century Buddhist complex at
Borobudur in
Java, and the Hindu monuments of
Bali. Both of these include many reliefs as well as figures in the round; Borobudur has 2,672 relief panels, 504 Buddha statues, many semi-concealed in openwork
stupas, and many large guardian figures. at
Wat Traimit – the largest solid gold sculpture in the world,
Bangkok, Thailand In Thailand and Laos, sculpture was mainly of
Buddha images, often gilded, both large for temples and monasteries, and small figurines for private homes. Traditional sculpture in
Myanmar emerged before the
Bagan period. As elsewhere in the region, most of the wood sculptures of the Bagan and Ava periods have been lost. Traditional
Anitist sculptures from the Philippines are dominated by Anitist designs mirroring the medium used and the culture involved, while being highlighted by the environments where such sculptures are usually placed on. Christian and Islamic sculptures from the Philippines have different motifs compared to other Christian and Islamic sculptures elsewhere. In later periods Chinese influence predominated in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and more wooden sculpture survives from across the region. File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Reliëf op de Borobudur TMnr 20025652.jpg|Relief sculpture from
Borobudur temple,
Indonesia, –830 File:Borobudur - Buddha Statue - 035 Dhyana Mudra, Amitabha (11679385166).jpg|
Vairocana Buddha from
Borobudur temple, Indonesia, –830 File:Mindanao Burial Pottery - 32843892691.jpg|One of the
Anitist Maitum anthropomorphic pottery from Sarangani, Philippines – 370 AD File: Bodhisattava Avalokiteshvara, Chaiya Art พระอวโลกิเตศวรโพธิสัตว์ ศิลปะไชยา 01.jpg |Bronze
Avalokiteshvara of Chaiya torso from
Chaiya,
Southern Thailand,
Srivijayan art, File:Muzium Negara KL67.JPG|Bronze
Avalokiteshvara from Bidor, Perak,
Malaysia, -9th century File:Filippine, provincia di agusan, immagine hindu, statuetta in oro massiccio, xiii secolo.jpg|The
Anitist Agusan image from Agusan del Sur, Philippines, 9th-10th century File:Cambogia, visnu, dintorni di prasat rup arak, stile din kulen, 800-875 ca. 02.JPG|
Vishnu from Prasat Rup Arak, Kulen,
Khmer art,
Cambodia, –875 File:Mindanao Bangsamoro Islamic Art - 24556378753.jpg|An
Anitist sarimanok sculpture from Lanao, Philippines File:Buraq sculpture from Mindanao Philippines.jpg|An Islamic sculpture of a
buraq, southern Philippines File:Jayavarman VII Guimet 90508 2.jpg|Head of
Jayavarman VII, Khmer art, Cambodia, File:Ananda Temple - Bagan, Myanmar 20130209-03.jpg|Buddha in
Ananda Temple,
Bagan,
Myanmar, File:Fronton Guimet 240907 3.jpg|Stone bas-relief of
apsaras from
Bayon temple, Cambodia, File:Prajnaparamita Java Side Detail.JPG|
Prajnaparamita Singhasari art,
East Java, Indonesia, File:Wat Si Chum in Sukhothai.jpg|
Phra Achana, Wat Si Chum, Big Buddha image in
Sukhothai, Thailand, File:Buddhaimage7.JPG|"the Buddha calling the earth to witness", The Buddha's hands are in the
bhūmisparsa mudrā (subduing Māra) position. Ho Phra Kaeo temple,
Vientiane,
Laos Islam Islam is
famously aniconic, so the vast majority of sculpture is
arabesque decoration in relief or openwork, based on vegetable motifs, but tending to geometrical abstract forms. In the very early
Mshatta Facade (740s), now mostly in
Berlin, there are animals within the dense arabesques in high relief, and figures of animals and men in mostly low relief are found in conjunction with decoration on many later pieces in various materials, including metalwork, ivory and ceramics. Figures of animals in the round were often acceptable for works used in private contexts if the object was clearly practical, so medieval Islamic art contains many metal animals that are
aquamaniles,
incense burners or supporters for fountains, as in the stone lions supporting the famous one in the
Alhambra, culminating in the largest medieval Islamic animal figure known, the
Pisa Griffin. In the same way, luxury
hardstone carvings such as dagger hilts and cups may be formed as animals, especially in
Mughal art. The degree of acceptability of such relaxations of strict Islamic rules varies between periods and regions, with
Islamic Spain, Persia and India often leading relaxation, and is typically highest in courtly contexts. File:Mschatta-Fassade (Pergamonmuseum).jpg|The
Mshatta Facade, from a palace near
Damascus, 740s File:Arte islamica, ippogrifo, XI sec 02.JPG|The
Pisa Griffin, 107 cm high, probably 11th century File:Turquoise epigraphic ornament MBA Lyon A1969-333.jpg|Part of a 15th-century ceramic panel from
Samarkand with white calligraphy on a blue
arabesque background. File:Dagger horse head Louvre OA7891.jpg|
Mughal dagger with hilt in
jade, gold,
rubies and
emeralds. Blade of
damascened steel inlaid with gold.
Africa early 20th centuries,
Art Institute of Chicago. Female (left) and male Vertical styles Historically, with the exception of some monumental Egyptian sculpture, most African sculpture was created in wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than a few centuries ago; older pottery figures are found from a number of areas.
Masks are important elements in the art of many peoples, along with human figures, often highly stylized. There is a vast variety of styles, often varying within the same context of origin depending on the use of the object, but wide regional trends are apparent; sculpture is most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the
Niger and
Congo rivers" in West Africa. Direct images of deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular are or were often made for religious ceremonies; today many are made for tourists as "airport art". African masks were an influence on European
Modernist art, which was inspired by their lack of concern for naturalistic depiction. The
Nubian
Kingdom of Kush in modern Sudan was in close and often hostile contact with Egypt, and produced monumental sculpture mostly derivative of styles to the north. In West Africa, the earliest known sculptures are from the
Nok culture which thrived between 500 BCE and 500 CE in modern Nigeria, with clay figures typically with elongated bodies and angular shapes. Later West African cultures developed bronze casting for reliefs to decorate palaces like the famous
Benin Bronzes, and very fine naturalistic royal heads from around the
Yoruba town of
Ife in terracotta and metal from the 12th–14th centuries.
Akan goldweights are a form of small metal sculptures produced over the period 1400–1900, some apparently representing
proverbs and so with a narrative element rare in African sculpture, and royal regalia included impressive gold sculptured elements. Many West African figures are used in religious rituals and are often coated with materials placed on them for ceremonial offerings. The
Mande-speaking peoples of the same region make pieces of wood with broad, flat surfaces and arms and legs are shaped like cylinders. In Central Africa, however, the main distinguishing characteristics include heart-shaped faces that are curved inward and display patterns of circles and dots. Populations in the
African Great Lakes are not known for their sculpture. Christian imagery decorated churches during the Asksumite period and later eras. For instance, at
Lalibela, life-size
saints were carved into the Church of Bet Golgotha; by tradition these were made during the reign of the
Zagwe ruler
Gebre Mesqel Lalibela in the 12th century, but they were more likely crafted in the 15th century during the
Solomonic dynasty. However, the
Church of Saint George, Lalibela, one of several examples of
rock cut architecture at Lalibela containing intricate carvings, was built in the 10th–13th centuries as proven by archaeology. File:Ancient Figurine, National Museum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2130296832).jpg|Stone statue from
Addi-Galamo,
Tigray Province, 6th–5th century BCE File:Axumite Jar Spout (2822628227).jpg|A jar spout from the early
Kingdom of Aksum File:ET Axum asv2018-01 img37 Stelae Park.jpg|The
Obelisk of Axum, 4th century CE File:Ethiopian - Processional Cross - Walters 542889.jpg|A
processional cross,
Zagwe dynasty, 12th century File:Bet Golgotha.jpg|One of the seven life-size
saints carved into the wall of the Church of Bet Golgotha,
Lalibela, 15th century (traditionally believed to have been made during the reign of
Gebre Mesqel Lalibela) Beyond pottery items, the Kerma culture also made furniture that contained sculptures, such as gold cattle hoofs as the legs of beds. File:Dipper National Museum Sudan.jpg|A ceramic jug of the
Kerma culture File:Shabti of King Taharqa.jpg|A
shabti of the
Nubian King
Taharqa, from a
pyramid of
Nuri, Sudan,
Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, 690–664 BCE File:Anlamani-Statue-CloseUpOfHead MuseumOfFineArtsBoston.png|Statue of the
Kushite Pharaoh
Aspelta,
Napata period (c. 620–580 BCE) File:Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe-114985.jpg|Column and elephant - part of the temple complex in
Musawwarat es-Sufra, 3rd century BCE File:Prince Arikankharer Slaying His Enemies, Meroitic, beginning of first century AD, sandstone - Worcester Art Museum - IMG 7535.JPG|Traces of paint on a relief depicting Prince
Arikhankharer smiting his enemies, from the
Meroitic period of the
Kingdom of Kush, early 1st century CE File:Amanitore bust.jpg|Relief of a ruler, a
Candace of Meroë named
Kandake Amanitore, 1st century CE
The Americas Sculpture in present-day
Latin America developed in two separate and distinct areas,
Mesoamerica in the north and
Peru in the south. In both areas, sculpture was initially of stone, and later of
terracotta and metal as the civilizations in these areas became more technologically proficient. The
Mesoamerican region produced more monumental sculpture, from the massive block-like works of the
Olmec and
Toltec cultures, to the superb low
reliefs that characterize the
Mayan and
Aztec cultures. In the Andean region, sculptures were typically small, but often show superb skill.
Pre-Columbian File:WLA metmuseum Olmec Baby Figure.jpg|
Olmec Baby Figure 1200–900 BCE File:WLA metmuseum Olmec Jadeite Mask 3.jpg|Olmec Jadeite Mask 1000–600 BCE File:San Lorenzo Monument 3.jpg|
Olmec Colossal Head No. 3 1200–900 BCE File:Harvestermountainlord.jpg|
La Mojarra Stela 1 2nd century CE File:Teotihuacán - Chalchiuhtlicue.jpg|Chalchiuhtlicue from Teotihuacán 200–500 CE File:Teotihuacan mask Branly 70-1999-12-1.jpg|
Teotihuacan mask 200–600 CE File:Teotihuacan-Temple of the Feathered Serpent-3035.jpg|Teotihuacan- Detail of the Temple of the
Feathered Serpent 200–250 CE File:Funerary Urn from Oaxaca.jpg|A
funerary urn in the shape of a "bat god" or a jaguar,
Oaxaca, 300–650 CE File:Moche portrait ceramic Quai Branly 71.1930.19.162 n2.jpg|
Moche portrait vessel with
stirrup spout, Peru, 100 BCE–700 CE File:K'inich Janaab Pakal I.jpg|
K'inich Janaab Pakal I of
Palenque, Maya, 603–683 CE File:Ahkal Mo' Naab III.jpg|Ahkal Mo' Naab III Of Palenque, 8th century CE File:Palenque Relief.jpg|Upakal K'inich 8th century CE, Palenque File:Jaina Island type figure, Art Institute.jpg|
Jaina Island type figure (Mayan) 650–800 CE File:Remojadas - Lachendes Gesicht 1.jpg|
Classic Veracruz culture face 600–900 CE File:Atlante-Tollan-Xicocotitlan-Hidalgo Mexico.JPG|Atlante from
Tula, File:Double Headed Turquoise Serpent.jpg|
Double-headed serpent,
Turquoise, red and white mosaic on wood,
Aztec (possibly)
Mixtec, –1521,
North America panel, from
reredos in Cristo Rey Church,
Santa Fe, New Mexico, ,
Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, cast in 1922 from a
mixed-media sculpture modeled –80, Bronze, partly tinted, with cotton In
North America, wood was sculpted for
totem poles, masks, utensils,
War canoes and a variety of other uses, with distinct variation between different cultures and regions. The most developed styles are those of the
Pacific Northwest Coast, where a group of elaborate and highly stylized formal styles developed forming the basis of a tradition that continues today. In addition to the famous totem poles, painted and carved
house fronts were complemented by carved posts inside and out, as well as mortuary figures and other items. Among the
Inuit of the far north, traditional carving styles in ivory and soapstone are still continued. The arrival of European Catholic culture readily adapted local skills to the prevailing
Baroque style, producing enormously elaborate
retablos and other mostly church sculptures in a variety of hybrid styles. The most famous of such examples in Canada is the altar area of the
Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, which was carved by peasant
habitant labourers. Later, artists trained in the Western academic tradition followed European styles until in the late 19th century they began to draw again on indigenous influences, notably in the Mexican baroque grotesque style known as
Churrigueresque. Aboriginal peoples also adapted church sculpture in variations on
Carpenter Gothic; one famous example is the
Church of the Holy Cross in
Skookumchuck Hot Springs, British Columbia. The history of
sculpture in the United States after Europeans' arrival reflects the country's 18th-century foundation in
Roman republican civic values and
Protestant Christianity. Compared to areas colonized by the Spanish, sculpture got off to an extremely slow start in the British colonies, with next to no place in churches, and was only given impetus by the need to assert nationality after independence. American sculpture of the mid- to late-19th century was often classical, often romantic, but showed a bent for a dramatic, narrative, almost journalistic realism. Public buildings during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century often provided an architectural setting for sculpture, especially in relief. By the 1930s the
International Style of architecture and design and
art deco characterized by the work of
Paul Manship and
Lee Lawrie and others became popular. By the 1950s, traditional sculpture education would almost be completely replaced by a
Bauhaus-influenced concern for
abstract design.
Minimalist sculpture replaced the figure in public settings and architects almost completely stopped using sculpture in or on their designs. Modern sculptors (21st century) use both classical and abstract inspired designs. Beginning in the 1980s, there was a swing back toward figurative public sculpture; by 2000, many of the new public pieces in the United States were figurative in design. File:Mount Rushmore Closeup 2017.jpg|
Gutzon Borglum and his son,
Lincoln Borglum,
Mount Rushmore, 1927–1941. L–R,
George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson,
Theodore Roosevelt, and
Abraham Lincoln. File:Robert Gould Shaw Memorial - detail.jpg|
Robert Gould Shaw Memorial by
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1884–1897, plaster version File:Beaumont Tower - Lee Lawrie, sculptor.jpg|
Lee Lawrie,
The Sower, 1928
Art Deco relief on
Beaumont Tower,
Michigan State University File:Lincoln statue, Lincoln Memorial.jpg|
Daniel Chester French,
Abraham Lincoln (1920) in the
Lincoln Memorial,
Washington, D.C. File:Tlingit K'alyaan Totem Pole August 2005.jpg|The ''K'alyaan'' Totem Pole of the
Tlingit Kiks.ádi Clan, erected at
Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives lost in the 1804
Battle of Sitka File:The Broncho Buster MET DP361132.jpg|
Frederic Remington,
The Bronco Buster, 1895, cast 1918. Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Dancer and Gazelles - Manship.jpg|
Paul Manship,
Dancer and Gazelles, 1916,
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC File:The Scout by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.jpg|
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney,
Buffalo Bill - The Scout, 1924, commemorating
Buffalo Bill in
Cody, Wyoming ==Moving toward modern art==