Stephen's Global Art Blog

 The Dome of the Rock Qubbat al-Sakhra, otherwise known as the Dome of the Rock, is an Islamic structure constructed in the early days of the creation of Islam, and is considered to be one of the first buildings constructed by the religion. The building is located in what would be known as Old Jerusalem, and is located upon the highest point in the region. The Dome of the Rock was completed in the year 691 AD, some 60 years after the death of the prophet Mohammad. In between these two points in time, Islam there was warfare between the first early Arab armies, and the Holy City of Jerusalem. The Arabic armies won this conflict, and then constructed the Dome of the Rock. The exact purpose of the building is unknown, as it was not used as a mosque, but there is deep religious significance to the building. There is a rock at the center of the building, for which the building received its namesake, and is believed to have been the rock that Abraham would have sacrificed his son Isaac o...

The Francois Vase        The Francois Vase is a vase found fragmented in an Etruscan tomb by Allessandro Francois, hence the name of the vase. While the fragments were found in the tomb, the vase itself was constructed in Athens, Greece. The reasoning for finding the vase so far from its original creation point was that the Athenian art was considered to be in great demand in the region. The purpose of the vase itself was to serve as a vase used for mixing wine and water, however the increased size of the vase allowed for the entire vase to be covered in paintings. This was customary, as these mixing vases would be used by high society figures for gatherings or other public events to serve wine mixed with water. It is possible this vase was used in Athens, and then gifted in a funeral, where it then found itself in the Etruscan tomb. The man who painted the vase, Kleitias, was incredibly detailed in his work, which depicted many historical and mythological events, al...

The Rosetta Stone https://smarthistory.org/the-rosetta-stone/      The Rosetta Stone is a large piece of granodiorite with writing covering the entire front surface of the stone. It was made in the Ptolemaic period of Egypt. This stone has great significance, both at the time it was created, and currently. It is covered in religious text, that at the time was used for ceremonies, but now currently, is used to translate hieroglyphics. The stone itself is rather large, and consisting entirely of rock is rather heavy. The words around the rock seems to have change languages due to the difference in shapes of the writing. If you look closely, you can pick out 3 different formats of writing, all in a different language. This is likely what lead to many of the translations being created. The piece of stone pictured is fractured and broken, as it was once part of a much larger piece. The fractures around the stone do not seem to be smooth, or orderly, and this cuts off much of t...