Art history timeline

  • Period: 1766 BCE to 1122 BCE

    Shang Dynasty

  • 560 BCE

    Birth of Siddhartha

  • 500 BCE

    Vedic

  • Period: 400 BCE to 600

    Spread of Buddhism

  • Period: 300 BCE to 100

    Great Stupa at Sanchi

    Madhya Pradesh, India
    Buddhist; Maurya, late Sunga Dynasty
    c. 300 B.C.E.-100 C.E. Stone masonry, sandstone on dome
  • Period: 273 BCE to 232 BCE

    Maurya Dynasty

  • 221 BCE

    Shi Huangdi becomes emperor

  • Period: 221 BCE to 206 BCE

    Qin Dynasty

  • Period: 221 BCE to 209 BCE

    Terra cotta warriors

    Qin Dynasty.
    c. 221-209 B.C.E.
    Painted terra cotta
    Founded the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.E.)
    Legalism - harsh rule, unquestioned devotion to the king
    Ascended to throne at age 13 - immediately began to plan burial & underground palace
  • 2

    Hinduism

    c. 2nd Cent. BCE
  • 11

    Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja)

    Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja)
    Hindu
    India (Tamil Nadu)
    Chola Dynasty
    c. 11th century C.E.
    Cast bronze
  • Period: 206 to 579

    Han Dynasty

  • Period: 400 to 800

    Buddah

    Pilgrims could circumambulate around the legs
    Destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 - act of iconoclasm
  • Period: 400 to 600

    Gold and jade crown

    Three Kingdoms Period
    Silla Kingdom, Korea
    Fifth to sixth century C.E.
    Metalwork
  • Period: 618 to 907

    Tang Dynasty

  • Period: 631 to 632

    The Kaaba

    Most holy shrine in Islam Hajj - spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca (5th pillar) Multiple renovations
    Granite masonry, covered with silk curtain and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread
  • 632

    Death of Muhammad

  • Period: 640 to 660

    Islam spreads to Egypt and North Africa

  • Period: 691 to 692

    Dome of the Rock

    Located on Temple Mount
    Holy site to Jews, Christians & Muslims
    Where Adam was created and buried
    Believed to be where Abraham almost sacrificed son Isaac
  • Period: 700 to

    Nan Madol

    Pohnpei, Micronesia
    Saudeleur Dynasty
    Basalt boulders and prismatic columns
    Constructed on a lagoon and surrounded
    by water and man made canals
    Nan Mandol was built on a coral reef a the edge of a mangrove swamp
  • 743

    Todai-ji

    Todai-ji
    Nara, Japan
    743 C.E.; rebuilt c. 1700
    Wood with ceramic-tile roofing
    10 year period of struggles for political authority, smallpox epidemics, and rebellion
    Reaffirmed Buddhist faith
    Made Buddhism national religion of Japan
  • Period: 800 to 1400

    Jayavarman VII as Buddha

    Bayon Temple has 54 towers, each has 4 faces
  • Period: 960 to 1279

    Song Dynasty

  • Period: 1000 to 1400

    Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe

    Shona peoples
    Coursed granite blocks
    Entrances wide enough for entrance/exit in a single file line
    No evidence the purpose was defensive
    Likely intended as a show of authority
  • Period: 1100 to

    Moai on platform

    Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
    c. 1100-1600 C.E.
    Volcanic tuff figures on basalt base
    Means “statue”
    Represents sacred ancestors
    887 in total
  • Period: 1279 to 1366

    Yuan Dynasty

  • 1351

    The David Vases

    The David Vases
    Yuan Dynasty, China
    1351 C.E.
    White porcelain with cobalt-blue underglaze
    Dedicated for a Daoist temple in Xingyuan, China Named after Sir Percival David - collector who purchased them
  • Period: 1368 to

    Ming Dynasty

  • Period: 1500 to

    Wall plaque, from Oba’s palace

    Had a classed society, with a king (Oba) at the top
    Depicted importance by size
    Surrounded by his attendees
  • Period: to

    Taj Mahal

    Taj Mahal - “crown palace” Mausoleum for his favorite wife - Mumtaz Mahal (died giving birth to their 14th child)
  • Period: to

    Qing Dynasty

  • Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool)

    Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool)
  • Period: to

    Staff God

    Rarotonga, Cook Islands, central Polynesia
    Late 18th to early 19th century C.E.
    Wood, tapa, fiber, and feathers
    It was a gift of the New Zealand Government, 1992.
    It is rare because many rakau atua were destroyed by missionaries when the people of Rarotonga embraced Christianity in the 19th century.
  • Period: to

    ‘Ahu ‘ula (feather cape)

    Hawaiian
    Late 18th century C.E.
    Feathers and fiber
    Worn and made ONLY by Hawaiian male nobility
    Kalani’opu’u (high chief)
    Believed humans were descendents of gods
  • Period: to

    Female deity

    Nukuoro, Micronesia
    Made of wood
    Carved, wooden female figures had this name.
    Depicted dietes of Nukuoro (fame)
  • Period: to

    Ikenga (shrine figure)

    Igbo peoples (Nigeria)
    made of wood
    Figures dedicated to men’s strength
    Mediated between spiritual and material worlds
  • Period: to

    Female (Pwo) mask

    Created by the Chokwe People (early 20th century).
    Worn by men only.
    Used at festivals (entertainment).
  • Period: to

    Lukasa (memory board)

    Used to orally tell the history in Luba culture
    Mnemonic device
    Used to recount history in the context of spiritual rituals
  • Period: to

    Reliquary figure (byeri)

    Dualism - balance of opposing elements
    Calm expression/flexed muscles
    Infant head/adult body (fertility)
  • Period: to

    Navigation chart

    Marshall Islands, Micronesia
    wood and fiber
    Navigators would memorize the charts before going on journeys
    The charts were not taken on the journeys
    They don’t indicate distances between the islands
  • Period: to

    Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as the Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji

    Katsushika Hokusai
    1830-1833 C.E.
    Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper
    Produced to be sold as souvenirs - affordable to the middle class
  • Period: to

    Hiapo (tapa)

    Tapa or bark cloth, freehand painting
    Used as offerings to gain work opportunities, food, and mark special days/occasions
  • Tamati Waka Nene

    Tamati Waka Nene
    Maori (Nga-ti-toa tribe)
    Auckland National Art Gallery
    1890 C.E.
    Oil on canvas
    40.1’’ x 33.1’’
    Tamati Waka Nene was the chief and important war leader in his tribe (Ngati Hao people)
    Converted to the Wesleyan faith (methodist Christian denomination)