Art

Depicting animals in art played a prominent role in the art history of ancient Near East, Early Christian and Islamic Art. It was very common to use animal figures as themes in these arts. The widely used animal figures were lion, horse, bull and sheep. Lets see in detail how the animal themes were used in the above mentioned arts.

Animal Theme in Ancient Near Eastern Architecture
In the ancient Near East, the civic rulers integrated civic designs into the buildings, gateways and sculptures. For discussion, lets take an example of a specific near eastern art that was a gift of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., 1932. It is the human-headed winged lion called lamassu, the colossal gateway figure at the palace of Assurnasirpal II, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Kalhu (present-day Nimrud, Iraq). 883-859 BCE. The art work is made of alabaster with a height of 10 feet 3  inches. The structure is now showcased at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Stokstad 25).

It was actually a gateway figure that combined the features of a man, a bull, an eagle and a God. Popularly known as lemassus, it has a mans bearded head, a bulls powerful body, an eagles wings and a Gods horned headdress. The figure was designed in such a way that one can view it from the front or from the sides. To support these views, the creature was made to contain five legs.  When one looks from the front, it seems as if the figure is static with two forelegs placed together. In contrast to it, the side view of the figure shows it vigorously striding.

The fiery lamassus was designed as a manifestation of the power of the ruler they defend. The way they structured its powerful arms and placed them in a prominent location reflects domination in the architecture. Also, the detailed depiction of the creatures beards, feathers, and jewels shows the boundless wealth of the era. The art piece was considered to be an inspiration of civic pride as well as fear. Almost all the art works of the ancient Near East had a great political mission.

The Role of Animal Figures in Early Christian Art
Animals played an important role in the early Christian art. Sheep appears in most of the Christian art works that have an animal theme. A lamb was a symbol of sacrifice during the early Christian era. It is still considered to be a symbolism of Christs sacrifice on the cross as Lamb of God.  In many of the Christian art pieces, you could see a flock of sheep as a representation of the apostles or all Christians who are taken care of by their Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ (Stokstad 238). The authors of New Testament Gospels, Evangelists were linked to the creatures including Saint Matthew (man), Saint Mark (lion), Saint Luke (Ox) and Saint John (eagle).

Another animal figure that one can find in this kind of art is horse. The depiction of the animal in the Old Testament was linked to the prophets Elias and Eliseus followed by mythical powerful horses. In context to the four riders of Apocalypse, horses were meant to be followers of death. It was believed that death rides on a horse. To prove this fact in Christian art, one can show the example of a miniature from an ancient missal showcased at the Diocesan Museum, Zagreb. The art portrays St. George on a powerful horse slays the dangerous dragon and liberates the princess (Skrobonja 104). The art work is a perfect example of how animals were considered prominent in ancient Christian art.

Animal figures in Islamic Art
The people of Islam used to include Islamic art even in the objects that they use in day to day life. One such object is a beautiful textile piece having elephant and camel images from Khurasan, Persia (Iran). It is made of dyed silk with the largest fragment measuring 94 x 52 cm. It is now present at Musee du Louvre, Paris. The art employs a technique and design hailing from Sassanian Persia and also have inscribed kufic scripts within. It is just one example of several spectacular textiles artistically designed in Islamic culture. In the cited example, one could see two elephants facing each other, resembling the theme from the ancient near east (Stokstad).

Animal figures appeared in mosaics, paintings and sculpture of the ancient art. There were also mythic creatures such as lamassus and griffins. Animal themes were an integral part of the Near East, Early Christian and Islamic Art. Near eastern architecture had animal figures with a political taste. Sheep figures were prominent in early Christian Art. In the Islamic Art, animal figures are imprinted even in the household objects.