Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300141432 ISBN 13: 9780300141436

Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008

Synopsis

This important volume describes the extraordinary art created in the second millennium B.C. for royal palaces, temples, and tombs from Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia to Cyprus, Egypt, and the Aegean.  Objects of the highest artistry reflect the development of a sophisticated trade network throughout the eastern Mediterranean region and the resulting fusion of Near Eastern, Aegean, and Egyptian cultural styles.

The impact of these far-flung connections is documented in the precious materials sent to royal and temple treasuries and, most dramatically, in objects discovered on merchant shipwrecks off the shores of southern Anatolia. The history of the period and the artistic creativity fostered by interaction among the powers of the ancient Near East, both great and small, are discussed by an international group of scholars in essays and entries on the more than 350 objects included in the exhibition, continuing the fascinating story begun in the landmark catalogue Art of the First Cities (2003).

About this title

About the Author:

Joan Aruz is Curator in Charge and Kim Benzel and Jean Evans are Assistant Curators in the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Review:

“. . . an impressive volume . . . The text is erudite and the subjects examined in depth, while the photographs superbly show the stunning art works . . . the publishers are to be congratulated on producing such a sumptuous volume.” —  Bill Spence, Gazette and Herald (Ryedale and Scarborough)
(Bill Spence Gazette and Herald (Ryedale and Scarborough) 2009-02-18)

About this edition

• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0300141432
• ISBN 13: 9780300141436
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 548
• Editor: Aruz Joan, Benzel Kim, Evans Jean M.