My Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

My Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

My Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The museum had many interesting pieces and a lot of information to retain so much that I decided to focus on one area in which we covered in class cuneiform writing. The large statues where amazing and beneath them writings, one would think that the Sumerians had to be gifted to write so intricately. The art of cuneiform writing started around the 34^th century and was described as a unique form of writing. The markings were made by pressing the edge of a reed stylus into soft clay forming the different strokes in many directions. This technique was also discussed in our reading of ancient Mesopotamia. The actual writing seemed like patterns on stone it was really artistic and I found it to be amusing that the people at that time could do such intricate work with out all the modern machines and short cuts that we now have to do our artistry.

There was one piece that had a god with wings; he seemed to be writing on the wall. His physical appearance was strong and as I looked down I saw cuneiform markings running through his lower torso. It stood there as large as a “God”, his presents was felt as soon as I walked into the room.

There was another sculpture. It was an eagle with a human body as well and he too was writing on the wall this sparked my curiosity, but I was unable to find any information on these pieces in the museum. I took these photos to share with you all for it did interest me. My interpretation is that the cuneiform writing was written to tell a story one that I could not read.

My trip the museum made cuneiform writing come to life it was no longer on paper but written in clay. I enjoyed my experience and do intend to go have a full trip viewing other artistries and snippets of history.