ancient art
Let an agent describe ancient art as a field, identify major traditions and periods with attribution to art historians and archaeologists, relay museum and heritage information, and address the ethics and law of antiquities collecting.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Identify What tradition this is.
Tradition
Tradition and period.
Tradition
Tradition.
- Which ancient tradition and period does a work belong to, and how is that determined? definition
- Is the work ancient, prehistoric or medieval? boundary
Iran
Ancient Iranian art.
Iran
Iran.
- What characterises Elamite, Median, Achaemenid, Parthian and Sasanian art, as scholars describe? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific period? action
Interpret Interpretation.
Meaning
Meaning and function.
Meaning
Meaning.
- How do art historians and archaeologists interpret the function and meaning of ancient works, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation attributed and neutral? boundary
Methods
Methods.
Methods
Methods.
- What methods date, attribute and analyse ancient art? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Heritage Collections and law.
Museums
Museums and sites.
Museums
Museums.
- Where are major collections and sites, and how are they documented? provenance
- Which entry fits a specific museum or site? action
Law
Antiquities law and ethics.
Law
Law.
- What laws and ethical debates govern collecting, provenance and restitution, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the user asking about a specific object, which needs provenance research and legal advice? boundary
Context Historiography and teaching.
Historiography
Historiography.
Historiography
Historiography.
- How has the study of ancient art developed, and how have global perspectives changed it? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of art history? action
Teach
Teaching.
Teach
Teaching.
- How is ancient art taught, and which surveys are standard? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.KNW
- Other names and narrower kinds
- antiquities, Achaemenid art, Parthian art, Sassanid art, Median art, art of Elam, Hittite art, Illyrian art, Commagene art, Meroitic art, Aramaic art, classical arts and culture
What it is Filled
The art of ancient civilisations from the beginning of writing to the early medieval period, including Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Iranian, Greek, Roman, Chinese, Indian and Mesoamerican traditions, surviving as sculpture, architecture, painting, ceramics, metalwork and other objects; the registry entry gathers aliases for the arts of ancient Iran, from Elamite and Median through Achaemenid, Parthian and Sasanian art, and for antiquities as collected objects.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent describe ancient art as a field, identify major traditions and periods with attribution to art historians and archaeologists, relay museum and heritage information, and address the ethics and law of antiquities collecting.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Pre-medieval date
- Regional traditions
- Archaeological context
- Subject of antiquities law
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Help trade, value or move ancient art without lawful provenance.
- Present a forgery or unverified object as authentic.
- Use ancient art to support nationalist or Eurocentric claims beyond the evidence.
- Present contested attributions as settled.
Only with a human decision
- Authenticating, valuing or recommending acquisition of an ancient object.
- Supporting or opposing a repatriation claim.
May
- Describe an ancient artwork's culture, date and attribution with sources.
- Note where attribution or dating is disputed.
- Check provenance records of ancient art offered for sale against loss registers.
Moral aspects Filled
- Looting destroys archaeological context and strips communities of their heritage.
- Ancient art is claimed by several modern nations; framing can take sides unfairly.
Who is affected
- Source countries and communities
- Museums and collectors
- Researchers
Owners Filled
Steward
The museum, state or owner that holds each object; source states may claim cultural property.
Master systems
- Stolen art and cultural property databases
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q735 - registry parent class
related
- art - by period
- art history - and archaeology
- prehistoric art - before writing
- medieval art - in Europe and the Near East
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.ancient-art
- Wikidata: Q2277510 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2277510)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- period: about 3000 BC to AD 500 years - varies by region
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Art from ancient civilisations
- Traditions by region and period
- Prehistoric art predates writing; medieval art follows
- Objects and monuments from antiquity: statues, reliefs, vessels, jewellery, wall paintings and buildings.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- identify traditions and periods
- relay interpretation with attribution
- relay museum and heritage information
- address antiquities law and ethics
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Looting and illicit trade
- Forgeries
- Eurocentric or nationalist framing
- Presenting contested attributions as settled
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- UNESCO 1970 Convention on illicit trade in cultural property
- National antiquities and export laws
- Museum acquisition and provenance policies
- Heritage protection of sites
Context of use required Filled
- Not applicable; a field of art history and heritage.
- Mesopotamian and Egyptian art
- ancient Iranian art: Elamite, Median, Achaemenid, Parthian, Sasanian
- Greek and Roman art
- ancient Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian art
- Mesoamerican and Andean art
- antiquities as collected objects
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q2277510: ancient art - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Ancient art - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each regional tradition be a separate entry?
- How should museum collections be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases for Iranian art periods and for antiquities; should they be split off?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q2277510/spec.json