Online Study Guide Chapter 11

Palaces are the official residences of king, emperors, and high-ranking religious leaders. They are the visual embodiments of the power of the state. Some common traits shared among palaces are their grand size, height, lavish decoration, and prominent displays of art.

We will look at other fantastic animals, and the reasons humans invented them, in Chapter 15, Nature, Knowledge, and Technology.

Figure 11-9, Persepolis, general view, Persia (Iran) c. 559-330 BCE. Achaemenid.

The Achaemenid palace took fifty years to build and was destroyed by Alexander the Great. The Royal Audience Hall once held up to 10,000 guests.

1. Reconstruction drawing of the exterior of the Royal Audience Hall

Figure 11-10, Palace at Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, Mayan culture, 514-784 AD.

The abandoned palace once served as a center for religion, art, and astronomical studies.

1. Palace at Palenque, Mayan, Chiapas, Mexico, AD 514-784

2. Front view of the Palace at Palenque

Figure 11-11, Imperial Throne Room in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Forbidden City, Beijing, China.

The interior of the Imperial Throne Room is lavishly decorated. Symmetry plays an important part in following Confucian and Daosit principles.

1. View exquisite details from the Imperial Throne Room of the Hall of Supreme Harmony

2. Imperial Throne Room

Other Chinese examples of ambitious royal building projects are the Soldiers from Pit 1 (Figure 10.8, page 251) from the tomb of Qin emperor Shi Huangdi, and the Great Wall of China (Figure 11.20, page 292).

Figure 11-12, Hall of Mirrors, Jules Hardouin Mansart and Charles Le Brun, Versailles, France, c. 1680.

The Hall of Mirrors used mirrors, windows, candelabra, and jeweled decorations to produce a dazzling optical effect. Its elaborate style of ornamentation is called the "Louis XIV style." (See also figures 3.9)

1. Panorama of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, from the ChateauVersailles website

At Versailles, Louis XIV stripped the nobility of their power, so they occupied their time in games of romance and intrigue, as in Fragonard's The Swing (Figure 14.24, page 386).

Figure 11-13, Palace Sculpture, Olowe of Ise, at Ikere, Nigeria, Yoruba culture, wood and pigment, 1910-14, 60 7/8" x 13 1/4".

The senior queen stands behind the diminutive king. Yoruba women are revered for their ability to procreate, and the royal line is traced through the female lineage. (See also figure 4.2)

1. The Works of Olowe of Ise

2. Bowl with Figures, sculpture by Olowe of Ise

Seats of Government

As symbols of the state, social and political influences shape the architecture of government buildings.

The Gothic Revival in Western architecture, coinciding with England's nationalist cultural climate, contributed to the design of its Houses of Parliament.

1. Houses of Parliament. Architects Charles Barry and A.W.N. Pugin, 1840-1860.

2. View of the Houses of Parliament

Chartres Cathedral (Figure 9.36, page 233) and the Chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey (Figure 10.17, page 259) are two examples of Gothic architecture, which inspired the design of the Houses of Parliament.

Figure 11-15, Te Papaiouru Marae, Maori Meeting House, Ohinemutu Maori Village, Roturua, North Island, New Zealand, late 19^th century.

The Maori structure serves as a three-dimensional genealogical metaphor. Maori cultures place great importance on genealogy, because it tied them back to powerful ancestors and was the basis for determining land holdings. The meeting house became the body of the ancestor.

1. Maori Meeting House in New Zealand

2. Detail of carved poles from Maori meeting houses

3. Carvings on the wall of a Maori meeting house