Persian Bull Capital 02
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Persian Bull Capital 02
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Persian Bull Capital. Susa, Achaemenid Empire, 500 BC. Vertical crop.
Vertical cropped view of the colossal capitals from one of the thirty-six monumental columns which supported the roof of the apadana at Susa. These capitals show the typical Achaemenid art of combining elements from different civilizations to form a coherent stylistic ensemble.
When Darius the Great succeeded Cyrus, he chose Susa as the administrative capital of his unified empire. Darius designed a complex on three natural terraces overlooking the city from the north. He built a royal palace in the Mesopotamian tradition, onto which opened a vast audience hall, a Persian apadana. This was a hypostyle (columned) hall, 109 meters square.
The 36 columns of the hall stood 63 ft high. Each consisted of a square base inscribed with the name of the king, and a fluted shaft in the Ionian style, surmounted by three successive elements: a basket-like ensemble of palm-fronds borrowed from Egypt, an arrangement of double volutes with rosettes taken from the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, and above this the foreparts of two kneeling bulls, back to back. The beam rested in the gap between the necks of the animals. This pair of bull protomes reproduces an old Mesopotamian motif symbolizing the cosmic equilibrium. This capital was carved from a veined gray limestone brought to the plain of Susa from the Zagros Mountains.
Darius’s foundation charter for the city tells us it was Greek and Lydian stonemasons who carved these columns. The model they worked from was created by Persian architects, who deliberately – and most probably by royal command – combined several styles to demonstrate the unification of the different parts of the empire. This capital is typical Achaemenid. It was collaboration with Greek architects which allowed this column-based architecture to reach such a point of development and make possible the construction of buildings on a hitherto unexampled scale.
More amazing images from Ancient Civilizations one copy-paste away at https://weston-westmoreland.pixels.com/collections/ancient+civilizations
Weston Westmoreland
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November 8th, 2020
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