The Stele of Hammurabi - Essay Example

King Hammurabi was a Babylonian leader in the 18th Century BC. He was a brave ruler who enlarged his territorial boundaries by conquering adjacent cities and regions to build a strong empire, under single rule. He got support from some of his neighbours to the south that helped hi conquer Mesopotamia. The size of this empire expanded with citizens from diverse backgrounds, hence the need to establish rule of law to guide their actions to avoid societal conflicts. Upon consolidating his rule, he discovered that lawlessness was rampant in his land, there were economic inequalities among his people, and all these made him form a group of scribes and professionals. These people came up with judgements to govern their actions, and aid in solving community disputes. The creation of these laws elevated Babylon’s stature as a civilized society governed by conscience and rule of law (Steadman & Jennifer, p. 7). This paper investigates the political, cultural, historical and artistic context of The Stele of Hammurabi, to establish its presence in time and place in the kingdom; it further evaluates different approaches to the study of art in ancient times, before modern scholars developed art curriculum and content. Lastly, it applies the issues and arguments got from excerpt by Arnold Hauser (The philosophy of Art History), to the major themes drawn from object analysis. Thesis statement Artistic value of objects made before 1400 BC was not appreciated; they made artwork for functional reasons, their artistic elements came by default as modern day art experts discover them many generations later. Analysis The Stele of Hammurabi made by the Babylonians is comparable to a constitution, which acts as supreme document that states how a country is governed. As a constitution is printed and copies handed to the public to familiarize with the provisions therein, he made the sculpture and set it at a public place so that everyone could see. This means that if you go against the law, then it is out of ignorance, and therefore deserves punishment. The engravers did not anticipate the artistic value of the sculpture content, their minds were fixated on the functional aspect of the writings therein, Stele analysis ended on the content of the law stated. It was not set in the open as a statue or symbol representing individuals or objects, but was placed openly so the public can read it and internalize the laws. Understanding the excerpt In the excerpt from The Philosophy of Art History by Arnold Hauser, the window is given two values; first, it is an opening that connects the person inside an enclosure to the outside environment. Others people will look at it and appreciate the artistic value it expresses, from the pane design, types of glasses used, and quality of work employed in the frame. Artwork then acts as an intermediary between persons and experiences, which differ in kind and intensity. The transparent window acts as an opening to the rest of the world, artists can then continue staring at windows when appreciating its designs, but their true function remains giving an outside view. Babylonians used the Stele of Hammurabi as a template for engraving judgements, in the present time; a constitution is typed in a computer and printed. They then use different designs of paper and ink to give it the official look. The sculpture was not appreciated artistically, they could not notice the fine Hammurabi carvings, and the well arranged engraved law statements. The context of Stele of Hammurabi The setting in time was 18th Century BC, during King Hammurabi’s 42 year rule of Babylon. Soon after getting into power, he consolidated his army and took them to battle with neighbouring rival forces. He stretched Babylonian borders from Tigris, to Persian Gulf in the south. He was also credited with introducing order to commercial transactions for example, law of contracts which protected the rights of both parties when they enter into a contract of any form. The Code of Hammurabi was discovered by French and Egyptian scientists on a trip to Persia in 1901, the Hittites stole it from the Babylonians but they left on the way it as they fled. The head of expedition, Father Vincent Scheil, translated the contents of the writings to understandable language (Richardson, p. 62-64). Historical: The sculpture takes us back to historical times when people used stones as a writing surface, it reveals developments calligraphy, and the expanding modes of expression as civilization spread among humans. Unearthing the object gave some answers on how the rule of law, entrenched in a constitution, was introduced. Historical gods and religions are also exposed by the discovery of the sculpture and subsequent ones. In the code, Hammurabi pledges his loyalty to god Marduk, he also advises future leaders of the land to follow on his footsteps. According to history, after the curse mentioned in the Bible, regions split and established its own systems and made their gods to symbolize spirituality. They prayed and offered sacrifices to them in exchange for good fortunes in war and harvests. Marduk was the Babylonian god, and the Greek had Zeus. Artistic: The object in itself is an art piece; engraving and sculpture work are a component of art’s curriculum. The scientists took it to an art museum, in France, so that artists and other art lovers could have a look at it, and give it an artistic value. The stone is 8 feet tall, meaning it took a lot of time and patience for the piece to come up. Artists are the ones known to dedicate their time wholly to ensure quality work (Besserat, p. 31). Its qualities were not appreciated as citizens viewed it as an object of punishment; this is because the main objective of the ruling class introducing this law was to outline punishments to various common offences that were rampant in that society. The artistic value was intrinsic, only to be realised by experts centuries later. Cultural: Contents of the code shows the cultural life of Babylonians, the society was divided between the poor and the rich, and so the main aim of introducing the constitution was to redistribute wealth. Their basic occupation was farming; it was the backbone of the society as many low class citizens, who formed the majority of the population, were employed in farms. To deal with economic inequalities, sharecropping was introduced to scale up food production. The code changed Babylonian culture; women were given more space to express themselves, be involved in decision making, and were also given property ownership rights. The former system restricted women participation in governance, their ability was restricted to the kitchen. Political: Hammurabi amassed political power in his empire by stating, in law that his authority comes from the Babylonian gods. This is still a huge political problem in some not fully democratic countries, as presidents amend constitutions wilfully to extend their stay in power. The code brought a governance structure to the land, with establishment of a judicial system headed by elders. Hammurabi was a celebrated lawgiver, and his legacy is still preserved in many judicial buildings in the form of statues. He introduced healthcare provision to the public; criminal justice system was introduced to check on lawlessness, he did this by introducing punishments for economic and social crimes. He also raised the status of women in the society by expanding their access to opportunities. Autocratic rule was used in wrestling power from the people and using it for the benefit of ruling class. Public service appointments were not through a popular vote as decisions were made by the king and his council. However, the king through introduction of law provided a major step in introducing rule of law and democratic processes. Conclusion The Stele of Hammurabi was not originally intended to be an art piece, but the carving at the top and incorporation of good writing style, with a preface before the text body qualifies it as a good design work. Back then, art was not established as a profession, and had no curriculum like other disciplines that a bit developed. However, their social activities and the objects they made were expressions of art, without them noticing. According to writing history, initial attempts to jot words down was done by engraving words and symbols on stones. It later advanced to scrolls which also led to discovery of ink as a writing medium, centuries later, paper was discovered which is still used to date. Works cited Richardson, M. E. J.. A comprehensive grammar to Hammurabi's Stele. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2008. Print Besserat, Denise. When writing met art: from symbol to story. 1. ed. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2007. Print Steadman, Sharon R., and Jennifer C. Ross. Agency and identity in the ancient Near East: new paths forward. London: Equinox Pub., 2010. Print Read More