The fifth in a five volume series. Volume V deals with small collections of ivories found at Fort Shalmaneser and tries to place them in their positions before the final assault and looting on the palace.

Accompanying CD-ROM contains the photographs in the book ... "as greyscale JPEG files ... A quicktime contact sheet is included in each folder ... Also included are iView Media Pro catalogues of all photographs in any particular folder."--Page 6

Utilizing a variety of ancient sources, including cuneiform texts, images and archaeological finds, Luxury and Legitimation explores how the collecting of luxury objects contributed to the formation of royal identity in one of the world's oldest civilizations, ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Allison Thomason makes a significant and timely contribution to the subjects of collecting and material culture studies by bringing a new understanding to the political, cultural and social institutions of an important pre-Classical, non-Western civilization.

Provides a broad view of the history and current state of scholarship on the art of the ancient Near East This book covers the aesthetic traditions of Mesopotamia, Iran, Anatolia, and the Levant, from Neolithic times to the end of the Achaemenid Persian Empire around 330 BCE. It describes and examines the field from a variety of critical perspectives: across approaches and interpretive frameworks, key explanatory concepts, materials and selected media and formats, and zones of interaction. This important work also addresses both traditional and emerging categories of material, intellectual perspectives, and research priorities. The book covers geography and chronology, context and setting, medium and scale, while acknowledging the diversity of regional and cultural traditions and the uneven survival of evidence. Part One of the book considers the methodologies and approaches that the field has drawn on and refined. Part Two addresses terms and concepts critical to understanding the subjects and formal characteristics of the Near Eastern material record, including the intellectual frameworks within which monuments have been approached and interpreted. Part Three surveys the field’s most distinctive and characteristic genres, with special reference to Mesopotamian art and architecture. Part Four considers involvement with artistic traditions across a broader reach, examining connections with Egypt, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean. And finally, Part Five addresses intersections with the closely allied discipline of archaeology and the institutional stewardship of cultural heritage in the modern Middle East. Told from multiple perspectives, A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art is an enlightening, must-have book for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of ancient Near East art and Near East history as well as those interested in history and art history.

A single-authored two-volume work which makes no claims to comprehensiveness, but selectively treats periods and areas usually studied in universities (treatment of Egypt is brief because of the availability of studies of Egyptian history at all levels). It is intended as an introduction to ancient Near Eastern history, to the main sources used for reconstructing societies and political systems, and to some historical problems and scholarly debates. The area discussed extends from Turkey (Anatolia) and Egypt in the west through the Levant (which includes Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria west of the Euphrates) to Mesopotamia into Iran. Volume I covers c.3000 BC to c.1200 BC; volume II, 1200 BC to 330 BC. The author is a Reader in Ancient History at University College London. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

The Furniture from Tumulus MM, The Gordion Wooden Objects, volume 1, is a study of the furniture from the largest tomb at Gordion, Turkey, excavated in 1957 by the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The tomb dates to the eighth century BC and is thought to be the burial of the great Phrygian king Midas or his father. The objects, initially misunderstood, are now identified as nine tables, two serving stands, two stools, a chair, and an open log coffin. Three pieces are ornately carved and inlaid with religious symbols and complex geometric motifs. The wooden objects from Gordion are now recognized as the most important collection of well preserved wooden artifacts excavated from the Near East. Included in this volume are new photographs, reconstruction drawings, and eight scientific/technical appendices. Contributors include: Harry Alden, Burhan Aytuğ, Mary W. Ballard, Robert A. Blanchette, Roland Cunningham, Laure Dussubieux, Patrick E. McGovern, Benjamin Held, Walter Hopwood, Joseph Koles, Lynn E. Roller, Krysia Spirydowicz. "...this work goes well beyond a typical site-specific object catalogue and makes important contributions to a wide range of scholarly fields, both technical and conceptual, from textile and wood analysis to anthropological and religious studies." Elizabeth P. Baughan, University of Richmond “The book succeeds in its main aims of making available every scrap of information about the finds, and it illuminates form, techniques, and function in a most convincing and stimulating manner.” Catherine M. Draycott, Courtauld Institute of Art