Research Guides: Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Art

Art Reading List

Art of Mesopotamia by Zainab Bahrani
ISBN: 9780500292754
Publication Date: 2016
Explores structures and objects, as well as the techniques artists used, and how they connect with the beliefs and practices of ancient peoples.
Persia by Jeffrey Spier
ISBN: 9781606066805
Publication Date: 2022
This exhibition catalog contains a fascinating study of Persia's interactions and exchanges of influence with ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.
Ancient Near Eastern Art in Context: Studies in Honor of Irene J. Winter by Irene Winter
ISBN: 9786611921286
Publication Date: 2007
Topics include palatial and temple architecture, royal sculpture, the role of gender in Sumer, Assyria, Babylonia, Iran, Syria, Urartu, and the Levant from 4000 BCE to modern times.
Art of the First Cities by Joan Aruz
ISBN: 1588390438
Publication Date: 2003
This exhibition catalogue explores artistic achievements within Ancient Mesopotamia and Eastern Asia around 3000 - 2001 BCE.
Seals and Sealing in the Ancient World by Sarah Jarmer Scott
ISBN: 9781107194588
Publication Date: 2018
Covers seal production and use, and sealing practices in the Ancient Near East, Egypt, Ancient South Asia and the Aegean during the 4000 - 1001 BCE
Communities of Style by Marian H. Feldman
ISBN: 9780226105611
Publication Date: 2014
Examines the production and circulation of portable luxury goods throughout the Levant during 1200 - 600 BCE.
Diplomacy by Design by Marian H. Feldman
ISBN: 0226240444
Publication Date: 2006
Focuses on situating works of art during 3300 - 1200 BCE within a social and political context.
I Am Ashurbanipal by Gareth Brereton
ISBN: 9780500480397
Publication Date: 2018
This exhibition catalog highlights the British Museum's collection of Assyrian reliefs.
Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur by Richard L. Zettler
ISBN: 0924171545
Publication Date: 1998
This exhibition catalog highlights Sumerian objects from 3000 - 2001 BCE excavated by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley in the 1930s.
The World Between Empires by Blair Fowlkes-Childs and Michael Seymour
ISBN: 9781588396839
Publication Date: 2019
This exhibition catalog examines the art and architecture of regions that served as major trade routes between the Roman and Parthian Empires from 100 BCE - 250 CE.
Assyria to Iberia by Joan Aruz
ISBN: 9781588395382
Publication Date: 2014
This exhibition catalog showcases an array of objects that reflect the cultural encounters between the Near East and Western Europe from 1000 - 1 BCE.

Notable Museum Collections

Below are a few institutions with sizable Near East collections. Use an internet search engine to find other collections. Search for ancient near east museum collections or something similar to retrieve relevant results.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
From the Department drop-down menu, select "Ancient Near Eastern Art"
National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian)
Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East
The British Museum
Search the collection for individual objects or select "Explore the Galleries" to browse galleries containing objects from the Near East.