Hieratic scale
Representing more important figures as larger, regardless of spatial logic. Used throughout Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Composite view
Showing head and legs in profile, eyes and shoulders frontal — a convention that presents the "most informative" view of each body part simultaneously.
Register
Horizontal band organizing figures in a composition. Lower registers often indicate lower status or earlier time.
Ka
Ancient Egyptian concept of the life force or soul that lives on after death. Egyptian funerary art served the ka's needs in the afterlife.
Frontality
Figures shown facing directly forward with no body twist. Associated with Egyptian canon, formal portraits, and symbolic (non-realistic) representation.
Mastaba
Flat-topped rectangular mud-brick tomb for Egyptian nobility; the precursor to the pyramid. Contains burial chambers below and offering chapel above ground.
Hypostyle hall
A large interior space with a roof supported by many columns. Classic feature of Egyptian temples — e.g., Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak.
Pylon gateway
Monumental trapezoidal entrance gate to an Egyptian temple complex. Often carved with relief scenes of the pharaoh smiting enemies.
Amarna style
Distinctive un-idealized, expressionistic style under Pharaoh Akhenaten. Elongated skulls, soft torsos, naturalistic family scenes — reversed after his death.
Nemes headdress
Striped cloth headdress worn by Egyptian pharaohs, pulled tight across the forehead with side flaps. Seen on Tutankhamun's funerary mask.
Uraeus
Rearing cobra emblem on the front of the pharaoh's crown, symbolizing divine authority and protection. Present on Tutankhamun's funerary mask.
Book of the Dead
Ancient Egyptian funerary text with spells and instructions to help the deceased navigate the afterlife. The Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer is an illuminated page from this text.
Weighing of the Heart
Egyptian funerary ceremony where the deceased's heart is weighed against the feather of Ma'at (truth). A heart heavier than the feather meant the soul was devoured. Depicted in Hu-Nefer papyrus.
Cuneiform
Wedge-shaped script pressed into clay tablets; the earliest writing system. Used in Mesopotamia by Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians.
Ziggurat
Massive stepped Mesopotamian temple platform made of mud-brick, serving as the earthly dwelling of a deity. Distinguished from Egyptian pyramids by stepped exterior and temple at summit.
Apotropaic
Designed to ward off evil. The Lamassu at Assyrian palace gates functioned apotropaically — protecting the king from supernatural threats.
Votive figure
A figure placed in a temple to pray continuously on behalf of the donor. Mesopotamian votive figures (Tell Asmar) have oversized eyes for perpetual vigilance before the deity.
Archaic smile
Slight upward curve of lips in Greek sculpture c. 600–480 BCE — a stylistic convention, not an emotional expression. Disappears with the Classical period.
Kouros / Kore
Archaic Greek standing nude male (kouros) or clothed female (kore) sculpture. Used as votive offerings, grave markers, or cult statues.
Contrapposto
Weight shift to one leg, creating opposite tilts in hips and shoulders and an S-curve through the body. Originated in Classical Greek sculpture, signals naturalism.
Lost-wax casting (cire perdue)
Bronze-casting technique: a wax model is coated in clay, wax is melted out, and molten bronze poured in. Allows hollow casting and fine naturalistic detail — used for the Riace Warriors.
Wet drapery
Carved fabric clinging to the body as though wet, revealing the form beneath. A Hellenistic convention conveying movement and sensuality — prominent in the Nike of Samothrace.
Optical refinements
Subtle curvatures and adjustments in the Parthenon to counteract optical illusions — the stylobate curves upward, columns lean slightly inward, and corner columns are thicker.
Entasis
Slight convex bulge in the shaft of a Greek column, correcting the illusion that straight-sided columns look concave from a distance.
Frieze
Horizontal band of relief sculpture on a building, often decorative. The Parthenon frieze depicted the Panathenaic procession along its interior colonnade.
Orders (Doric / Ionic / Corinthian)
Three Greek architectural systems differentiated by column capital design: Doric (plain), Ionic (scroll volutes), Corinthian (acanthus leaves). Romans stacked them decoratively on the Colosseum.
Opus caementicium
Roman concrete made from volcanic pozzolana ash, lime, and aggregate. Stronger and more flexible than stone; enabled vaults, domes, and large unsupported spans.
Oculus
Circular opening at the crown of a dome. The Pantheon's 27-foot oculus is the building's only light source and aligns with astronomical events.
Barrel vault
A continuous semicircular arch forming a tunnel-like ceiling. Used extensively in Roman architecture to cover large spans.
Engaged column
A column attached to a wall and serving a decorative rather than structural purpose. Used on the Colosseum's exterior tiers — the actual structure is supported by arches.
Continuous narrative
A single visual field where the same protagonist appears multiple times to show sequential events. The Column of Trajan spirals with 2,500+ figures in 155 scenes across 23 registers.
Adlocutio
Gesture of a raised arm addressing troops, seen on Augustus of Primaporta. Signals military leadership and authority.
Verism
Hyper-realistic style in Roman portraiture that emphasized wrinkles, warts, and signs of age — projecting experience, gravitas, and Republican virtue.
Horror vacui
"Fear of empty space" — filling every available surface with figures or ornament. Seen in the Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus and Mesopotamian cylinder seals.