Les Ivoires Phéniciens: 2000 Ans d’Art en Orient

Les Ivoires Phéniciens: 2000 Ans d’Art en Orient

The Phoenician Ivories: 2000 Years of Art in the Orient

By Fady Stephan

Les ivoires anciens de Canaan et de Proto-Phénicie; Fin du monopole égyptien sur les ivoires à Canaan et en Proto-Phénicie; Période noire pour les ivoires; Renaissance et âge d’or des ivoires phéniciens; Les ivoires phéniciens à l’époque persane; Mutation des ivoires phéniciens.

Language: French
ISBN: N/A
1996, paperback, 264 pages, 9.5 x 7.0 inches

KEYWORDS

Histoire antique, Phénicie, Canaan, Proto-Phénicie; Fin du monopole égyptien sur les ivoires à Canaan, Proto-Phénicie, ivoires, Orient,

Common terms and phrases

ajouré Alalakh artistes assyriens avant notre ère Baalat bas-relief Beyrouth boites à fard bouquetins Bronze Byblos Canaan cananéenne canard chambre coiffé coiffure d’Ahiram d’éléphant d’or d’Ugarit date décor déesse disque solaire dynastie Echt Egypte égyptien figure fleur de lotus fouilles fragments griffon groupe Hathor Hazaël hittite IBIDEM incrustés inscriptions ivoires ivoires de Megiddo ivoires de Samarie ivoires phéniciens ivoires trouvés ivories IXe siècle Kalhu Kamid el-Loz Kaslik l’art phénicien l’Egypte Lakish Layard Liban lion lot d’ivoires lotus Mallowan Max Mallowan Megiddo Mertzenfeld millénaire modèle égyptien motifs ornés Palais Nord-Ouest Palestine palmette panneaux papyrus pattes personnage pharaon Phénicie Photographie des archives pièces d’ivoire Pierre Montet plaques provenant pyxide R.D. Barnett Ramsès III René Dussaud représentant ronde-bosse royale Salmanasar Samarie Sargon scène sculptée Sidon siècle avant J.C. spécimens sphinx sphinx ailés statuette style Syria Syrie Syriens taureau temple tête de femme Thoutmès Thoutmès III trône Ugarit Ugaritica uraeus VIIIe siècle visage

This Book is in French.

Les Ivoires Phéniciens: 2000 Ans d’Art en Orient (The Phoenician Ivories: 2000 Years of Art in the Orient), is a book in French about the Phoenician ivories. It is the second book that the Holy Spirit University, in Kaslik, Lebanon has published in the field of Phoenician studies. The first was Grammaire Phénicienne by Albartus van den Branden, 1969.

The Phoenicians, a Semitic race, are in fact the Canaanites who, about 7,000 years ago, inhabited the area now known as Lebanon and Syria. Some of their main cities were Tyre, Sidon, Arqad, Aradus, Byblos, Berytus, and Ugarit. Their main colonies were Carthage (in Tunisia), Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearic Isles, Cyprus, and Gades (in Spain).

The Phoenician people mystified historians and archaeologists for although they had developed the first alphabet, they left so few written records of their history. We have learned much of what we know about this enigmatic people from the writings of other people who came in contact with them. The other source of information is the archaeological diggings, especially in Byblos. Among the discoveries that teach us about the Phoenicians are the artifacts made of ivory. The Phoenicians were great artists of luxury items fashioned from ivory. They imported the raw material of animal tusks from Egypt, Africa and India.

The book Les Ivoires Phéniciens: 2000 Ans d’Art en Orient gives a condensed, analytical, and informative view of the ivories of Byblos, Sidon, Beisan, Kamid El-Loz, Ugarit, Megiddo, Saqqara, Samarie, Arslan-Tash, Karlsruhe, Khorsabad, Nimroud, and Ur, among others. Besides the ivories, the author describes the sites and the archaeological excavations; the techniques, influences, and the motifs; and the inscriptions on the artifacts.  The book reveals the craftsmanship, artistic genius, and exquisite taste of this bygone celebrated civilization.

According to Les Ivoires Phéniciens, the Phoenician ivories discovered in Egypt, Malta, Cyprus, Carthage, Spain, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and other places include female accessories such as cosmetic implements, boxes, combs, and handles for fans; decorative, artistic and sacred items such as human and animal figurines, mythological creatures, plant life; ceremonial or hunting scenes and soldiers on march; and furniture such as thrones, chairs, beds. Some of these items are embellished with enamel, gold leaf, or inlaid stones, all of which enhance their beauty and worth. 

Among the most impressive pieces are the birth of Horus, the Sun God of Egypt; the Sphinx; a statue of the Queen of Ugarit who has been called “the Mona Lisa of Nimroud”; and the bed headboards of Hazaël in Arslan-Tash and of Salamine in Cyprus. Some of the worked ivory pieces were signed with the names of the artist or owner in Phoenician, Aramaic, Greek and Cypriot syllabic. The author concludes that because the Phoenicians placed their own personal and distinct flair in ivory design, art historians are able to recognize their work anywhere.  This is an absorbing and valuable reference work for those interested in Phoenician studies, the ancient Near East, early art and commerce.