“Nuzi Viewed from Urkesh, Urkesh Viewed from Nuzi: Stock Elements and Framing Devices in Northern Syro-Mesopotamia,”
Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians 8, pp. 247-268.
The rich Urkesh’s glyptics allows us to make comparisons with other sites in the same region, mostly with Tell Brak (probably ancient Nagar); furthermore, a later influence in stylistic features (mostly for what concerns stock elements and framing devices) can be retraced with Nuzi paintings.
After a description of the Royal Palace of Urkesh (previously identified as the Royal Storehouse), mostly from Building AK, and of the main glyptic features at Mozan [for which see in detail Seals of the king, Seals of the queen and Seals of courtiers], the author moves to discuss peculiar motifs attested on Urkesh’s sealings, such as the combat scenes, analysing specifically the geometric figures or motifs (quoting sealings A5.180, A5.178, A1q.1048.9, A1.500+, A1.380, A5q704.1 and A5153+), describing their main features (see specifically on pp. 263-264) and comparing them with later relief scenes from Mari (dating to Early Dynastic/Old Akkadian period) and from later Nuzi (15th century BC) and with seal impressions from Tell Brak (mostly, that what M. Mallowan had called ‘EDIII style distinctive of Brak’, attesting the use of filler motifs composed of dots), coming from ‘pre-Akkadian rubbish’.
Given the lack of any painting evidence from Urkesh, the author tries in the end of the paper to reconstruct (by comparison with other sites) a possible ‘Urkesh painting style‘: “In my reconstruction of a hypothetical third-millennium Urkesh painting (which I think is not specific to Urkesh but rather could be found throughout the northern area symbolized by the two poles of Urkesh and Nuzi), I have tried to project back from the Nuzi composition and iconographic motifs onto what is now known from the seal impressions of Akkadian Urkesh/Mozan and Nagar/Brak (Fig. 14). There are two assumptions behind this suggestion. The first is that wall paintings and seals may share similar stylistic and iconographic features. This is supported by the recurrence of stock elements and of special framing devices in both art forms, and is based, for the wall paintings, only on the later evidence from Nuzi. The second assumption is that seals might occasionally be a representation of scenes which are also shown on wall paintings […] (Fig. 10)” (p. 265).
The final statements are devoted to the question of Hurrian ethnicity of Urkesh’s inhabitants (attested by many features, most of all, language and onomastics), cleverly stressing how “attempting to attribute art, or indeed any aspect of material culture, to a specific ethnic group needs to be approached with a great deal of caution and with theoretical awareness” (p. 266).
Back to top: Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati 1996