The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the world's great museums, presenting over 5000 years of art from around the world. It is the largest art museum, and the most visited; in the United States; the fourth largest art museum in the world; and the fifth most visited museum of any kind. All students of History at the Mount should be familiar with its riches. This essay involves a visit to the Met and basic research on Art and History. You will choose a work of art (architecture, painting; sculpture, jewelry; household objects, furniture, a vase, a sarcophagus…) — any item of interest to you in the collections dealing with the ancient world. You may start your work browsing online at the Metropolitan Museum of Art database of all the items in its collection, or just go there and let your eyes/interests guide you. The Essay has 2 Parts (50 points per part, 10 points maximum for each number below) I. Personal 1. Describe the work you chose as best you can — start with the details. Observe it carefully (materials, form, shape, colors, medium, etc.),
- Give brief background on the civilization/culture it is from. What year(s) or century? Explain (if possible and to the extent you can, how was it used, who used it, and/or who created this work). 3. Using the textbook (or other reference) as background, explain how the work you have chosen exhibits characteristics of that particular ancient culture — how is its style, its outlook on the world, its use, typical for this period? 4. Explain why you choose this item and what interested you most about it. 5. Take and attach a Museum Selfie with the Essay (or e-mail it to me) II. Scholarly 1. On JSTOR. do a search and locate a scholarly article having to do with the item you chose (book reviews are acceptable). This can be about that particular item, about those who made it (that craft), about that kind of item in general, those who bought it, where it was made (be creative about the search, you may not get an exact match).