HIST 304  ·  Stephenson  ·  Assignment 2

Object Analysis Exam

An in-class exam in Week 13, worth 30% of your final grade. Choose one object from Table A and one object from Table B. You will write two analyses, worth 50 marks each (100 marks in total).

Every object in Table A has been discussed in class and featured in a lecture. All objects in Table B are in the collection of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Before the exam, visit the museum and undertake your own independent research on your chosen Table B object.

Instructions

Assignment 2  ·  Week 13

Two object analyses — 100 marks total — 30% of your final grade

Table A analysis
50 marks
Table B analysis
50 marks
Total
100 marks

What you'll do

Complete two separate object analyses in class in Week 13: choose one object from Table A: International Collections and one object from Table B: Walters Art Museum. Each analysis is worth 50 marks, for a total of 100 marks. Together, the two analyses are worth 30% of your final grade. We will do this after our class visit to the Walters.

You can choose which object to analyse from each table, and you will have plenty of time to study and prepare both objects at home. Be ready to write about both chosen objects on the day.

Exam conditions

You may not bring notes to the exam or use connected devices in class — unless you have a specific accommodation, of course.

Preparation

We will model an object analysis in class on several occasions in advance of the exam, and you will see a rubric for the types of things you might wish to say in the “Begin Here” folder on Blackboard.

“Is the trip to the Walters mandatory?”

Please do go, but we can't go during class, as the museum is not open then. You will have a class off in lieu of time spent on the visit. I won't demand to see a ticket or a photo of you standing next to a Dionysiac sarcophagus — unless I do.

Table A

International collections — choose one object for your Table A analysis (50 marks).

# Period and date Object Location Key themes
1 Minoan / Bronze Age1600–1450 BCE “Prince of the Lilies” frescoReconstructed Prince of the Lilies fresco from Knossos Knossos
Heraklion: fresco record		 Palace culture, Minoan religion, ritual
2 Mycenaean / Bronze Age16th century BCE Mask of AgamemnonGold funerary mask known as the Mask of Agamemnon National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Ministry of Culture: mask record		 Elite burial, social hierarchy, identity, funerary ritual
3 Mycenaean / Bronze Age13th century BCE Linear B: Pylos “Tripod tablet” PY Ta641Linear B tablet PY Ta 641, with signs and vessel drawings National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Ministry of Culture: tablet record		 Bureaucracy, palace economy, early Greek language
4 Dark Age / Geometricc. 750–735 BCE Large funerary kraterLarge Geometric funerary krater with mourning and procession scenes Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
The Met: krater record		 Funerary ritual, hero, transition from Bronze Age collapse
5 Classical / Colonial360–340 BCE Apulian red-figure vase: Hades & PersephoneAltamura krater showing its painted Underworld sceneFunerary Vessel with an Underworld Scene. From Altamura; attributed to the Circle of the Lycurgus Painter. Naples, National Archaeological Museum (81666)
Naples vase: illustrated guide (PDF)
Getty: images and analysis of the Naples vase		 Colonization, myth, funerary imagery, diaspora
6 Classical / Athenian447–432 BCE Parthenon (temple & sculptural program)The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis Athens / British Museum casts
Acropolis Museum: Parthenon Gallery
British Museum: Parthenon sculptures		 Civic identity, religious ritual, civic art, political symbolism

Table B

Walters Art Museum, Baltimore — choose one object for your Table B analysis (50 marks).

# Period and date Object Accession no. Key themes
7 Minoan / Bronze Age16th century BCE Intaglio with Two Bulls RecliningAgate seal engraved with two reclining bullsWalters: object 42.402 42.402 Minoan imagery, seals, status, exchange
8 Dark Age / Geometric720–710 BCE Amphora with Funerary ScenesGeometric amphora with funerary scenesWalters: object 48.2231 48.2231 Funerary ritual, mourning, gender, social display
9 Early Classical / Syracusan478–472 BCE Silver tetradrachm of SyracuseBoth faces of the Syracusan tetradrachm, showing the chariot and ArethusaWalters: object 59.515 59.515 Coinage, silver and labour, civic identity, Syracuse and the wider Greek world
10 Classical / Athenianc. 475–450 BCE Pyxis with MaenadsWhite-ground pyxis decorated with maenadsWalters: object 48.2019 48.2019 Dionysiac ritual, women, myth, painted pottery
11 Classical / AthenianLate 5th century BCE Funeral Stele with a Woman and ChildMarble funerary stele with a seated woman and her childrenWalters: object 23.176 23.176 Women and family, mourning, funerary commemoration
12 HellenisticLate 4th–3rd century BCE Carved ivory head of AlexanderCarved ivory head of Alexander the GreatWalters: object 71.493 71.493 Hellenistic kingship, royal imagery, identity, luxury materials