This dissertation looks at the iconography of the natural world as depicted on seals, seal rings, and sealings from Bronze Age Crete, specifically the period from Early Minoan II–Late Minoan IB. Although the landscape of Crete was incredibly diverse during the Bronze Age, the elements included in glyptic iconography, as well as iconography in other media, are exceptionally limited. The goal of this study is to provide a comprehensive and systematic reference for the terminology and iconography of landscape elements depicted in glyptic, and then to provide interpretation for individual elements as well as landscape scenes and settings within the broader scope of glyptic and Cretan iconography. It is concluded that landscapes, both real and imagined, and always heavily translated through the artist and viewer alike, acted as important indicators of status and control, particularly during the height of their depictions in the Middle Minoan II–Late Minoan IB period, a trend seen also in wall paintings and pottery which act as significant parallels for the present study.This study is generally organized into three parts. The first briefly presents the evidence and current understanding of how the landscape of Bronze Age Crete looked and assesses the use of “landscape” in an archaeological study. The second part discusses the identification of various flora, groundlines, and other abiotic elements found in landscape scenes and settings in glyptic with interpretation for their significance and consideration for parallel developments in other media. This section concludes with a catalog and discussion of the different types of landscape scenes/settings. Finally, the concluding chapters consider how landscapes were translated from the natural world to glyptic iconography, how the iconography was then viewed, and what the iconography signified relative to status and power. As a result, this dissertation is both a much-needed reference text and a deeper consideration of the symbiotic relationship between the various functions of seals and their iconography. / Art History

Les représentations architecturales que nous donne à voir la glyptique du Proche-Orient ancien constituent une source primordiale d’informations sur l’art de bâtir dans cette région du IVe au Ier millénaire av. J.-C.,car les édifices, généralement en briques crue, sont la plupart du temps mal conservés. Le but de cette recherche est donc de recenser tous les motifs architecturaux présents sur sceaux ou sur empreintes et de les réunir dans un corpus qui sert de base à une vaste exploration de l’architecture mésopotamienne à travers son iconographie, les bâtiments trouvés en fouille, les formes du pouvoir qu’ils manifestent et l’ethnographie. Notre réflexion s’articulera autour de trois axes. D’une part, nous mènerons une étude analytique consistant à décomposer chaque façade pour évaluer la fiabilité des éléments iconographiques dont elle se compose (ouvertures, décors muraux, toits, etc.) et déterminer s’ils reflètent une réalité architecturale. Cette analyse est fondée sur des comparaisons avec des représentations attestées sur d’autres supports (plaquettes,tablettes, bas-reliefs, maquettes, etc.), mais aussi avec des vestiges architecturaux découverts en fouille et des exemples d’architecture traditionnelle. D’autre part, nous recomposons chaque façade pour établir une typologie formelle, confronter les figurations glyptiques à l’architecture réelle et définir dans quelle mesure nous pourrions les exploiter pour restituer certains monuments, tout ou partie (au moins l’une des élévations,la forme du toit, etc.), mis au jour sur des sites archéologiques. Enfin, face aux lacunes et aux incertitudes concernant la fonction de certains monuments antiques (civile, religieuse ou militaire), les sceaux et les empreintes sur argile, en grand nombre pour certaines périodes, sont susceptibles de nous fournir des éléments de réponse. Ce travail de recherche comprend trois tomes :Tome 1, Texte - Tome 2, Façades iconographiques accompagnées de leur fiche analytique, le tout gravé sur un CD-ROM- Tome 3, Planches. / The architectural features that we can observe in the Near Eastern glyptic constitute an essential source of information on the art of building in this region from the 4th to the 1st millennium BC; because the buildings,usually build in mud brick, are most of the time poorly preserved. The purpose of this research is therefore,to identify all the architectural patterns present on cylinder-seals or on seal impressions and to bring them together in a corpus which will serve as the basis for a broad exploration of the Mesopotamian architecture through its iconography, the buildings found during excavations, the forms of power that they manifested,and the ethnography. Our reflection will revolve around three axes. On the one hand, we will conduct ananalytical study by decomposing each facade in order to assess the reliability of the iconographic elements from which they are composed (openings, wall decorations, roofs, etc.) and determine if they reflect an architectural reality. This analysis is based on comparisons with representations attested on other media (plaques, tablets, reliefs, scale-models, etc.), but also with architectural remains discovered during excavations and examples taken from traditional architecture. On the other hand, we put together each facade to establish a formal typology, confront glyptic representations with actual architecture and define to what extent; we could exploit these results to restore certain monuments, in whole or in part (at least one of the elevations, the shape of the roof, etc.) discovered on archaeological sites. Lastly, in the face of the gaps and the uncertainties concerning the function of some ancient monuments (civil, religious or military), cylinder-seals and seal impressions on clay, found in large numbers for certain periods, are likely to provide us with some answers. This research work consists of three volumes: Volume 1, Text – Volume 2, Iconographicfacades accompanied by their fact sheets (on CD-ROM) – Volume 3, Plates.

This thesis sheds first light on the complex narrative behind the earliest appearance of writing in Europe. A radical new framework of interpretation, recognising art and writing as different ends of a single mode of graphic expression, is applied to the material culture of Early to Middle Bronze Age Crete as a context-conscious alternative to the strict and anachronistic divisions imposed by traditional models. This allows for a novel way of viewing and identifying structures of meaning embedded in otherwise familiar evidence. A comprehensive synthesis of the archaeological evidence for the undeciphered Bronze Age Cretan writing systems is offered, contextualising the thesis and its arguments within a new narrative of mostly autonomous script formation on Crete. Detailed analysis of the material record is started in the Early Bronze Age, where a previously unrecognised system of Prepalatial glyptic iconography is demonstrated to have maintained uniform distribution and presentation for roughly eight centuries, appearing in the exact contexts, and ostensibly fulfilling similar functions, as later writing. This newly identified system is argued to have provided the conceptual background against which later writing emerged. The thesis subsequently discusses the Archanes Script, the first accepted ‘true’ writing to appear west of Egypt, which has been severely understudied and highly ill-understood. Redefining the Archanes Script completely, a first signary is constructed, and new documents discovered. A further chapter argues for the possible existence of other, as of yet unidentified, linear writing systems on Crete. This is followed by a study of the Cretan Hieroglyphic writing system; the unjustified omission of supposedly ‘decorative’ signs in many of its documents is identified, the script’s corpus nearly doubled, and ‘a complete turnaround in the way in which we approach and define Cretan Hieroglyphic’ proposed.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d’étudier la « figure du roi » au travers de documents iconographiques du Bronze Moyen provenant de Syrie et plus particulièrement de la zone du Moyen-Euphrate entre 2000 et 1600 avant J.-C. Notre approche méthodologique qui porte prioritairement sur la partie sigillaire a consisté à établir un corpus des plus exhaustifs possibles des sceaux publiés et inédits. Après l’établissement de celui-ci, nous opérons des comparaisons pour dégager les caractéristiques de la représentation royale. Dans un premier temps, le cadre spatio-temporel retenu pour cette étude est défini. Par la suite, nous effectuons une mise au point sur l’histoire de la question de la représentation royale dans la glyptique syrienne du Bronze Moyen. Le développement qui suit constitue la cible de cette thèse. Les objets qui servent de base à cette étude viennent de vingt cinq sites archéologiques différents. Les sites de Moyen-Euphrate syrien, divisés en deux ensembles : partie nord et partie sud couvrant la zone-clefs de cette thèse, ont été soigneusement étudiés. En suite et afin de mieux définir la « figure du roi » dans l’iconographie, des moyens d’identification ont été décrits. La suite comporte une analyse de toutes les représentations de la figure royale, que nous tentons de définir par type. Le paragraphe présentant chaque modèle est suivi d’un tableau montrant l’aire de diffusion au sein de l’aire géographique concernée. Suit un inventaire des multiples aspects de cette iconographie royale, au sein duquel on distingue des : 1. Modèles dominants: le roi à la masse d’arme, le roi vainqueur, le roi-orant et le roi de type « syrien » que nous tentons de définir.2. Modèles dérivés: le roi-porteur d’offrande, représentation royale avec une divinité féminine, le roi-pharaon de type «égyptien », les cas de la duplication de la figure royale.Par ailleurs, une étude des « personnages incertaines » que nous expliquons est également menée. La présence de multiples divinités aux côtés des rois nous a conduits à en effectuer l’inventaire et à en préciser dans la mesure du possible l’iconographie, le cas échéant à préciser la nature des cultes qui leur étaient rendus. Cependant, des questions importantes, comme la compréhension de certaines réalités telles que la question complexe de la« divinisation ou non du personnage royal », ou les « Dieux politiques » ont été posées. De plus, des problèmes tels que le rite de « kispûm » ou la question de « Dieu de roi » ont été abordés. Parmi nos conclusions les plus importants on souligne : l’aspect régional de l’image du roi en Syrie, le rapport particulier entre l’archéologie et la glyptique ainsi que le fond sacré de l’idéologie royale de l’époque amorrite. Au niveau de l’organisation de cette thèse, notre premier volume est accompagné d’un second volume représentant le catalogne des matériels étudiés (env. quatre cent objets). L’ensemble est complété par deux index et de références bibliographiques. / This doctorate (Ph.D.) research studies the representation of Syrian kingship during the Amorite period (ca. 2000-1600 B.C), essentially through glyptic evidence, supplemented by sculpture, wall paintings, and written sources from the same period.The methodology is anchored in defining a precise iconographic corpus. This step allows revising past conclusions and establishing new identifications for the king’s role in artistic as well as written expressions. A major accomplishment is the identification of objects that derive from clear, stratified archaeological and cultural contexts.After defining the spatial and chronological frame, this study offers a brief review of the twenty-five sites from which the material is assembled. They are located in the Middle-Euphrates valley and divide between those in the northern and southern segments. Characteristics for a “royal figure” are identified and then defended. Iconography permits to distinguish diverse models of the “royal for each of the Syrian regions.The models divide into:1. Main models: the warrior-king, the king-priest, the king of “Syrian” type2. Secondary models: royal officials or the “duplication” of the royal figureIn addition, “miscellaneous figures” are also classified.On the epigraphic level, in this study there is liberal use of information from the archive of Mari as well as of Terqa, discriminating between materials derived from epistolary, religious, political, and administrative documents, as the ruler acts as a priest, dispenser of justice, warrior, or family man. A special chapter is devoted the interrelationship among kings, personal, and state gods. There is also consideration of funerary rituals (kispum) as well as the issue of the deified king.The study takes into consideration the following issues: the royal image of Syrian kings as shown in regional perspective, the connection between glyptic arts and their archeology, and the religious basis of royal ideology during the Amorite period.The dissertation includes a second part in which is catalogued over four hundred iconographic objects or images. Bibliographic references and indexes complete the study.