Symbol and color in the arts of ancient Sumerian civilization: A semiotic approach

Abstract

Abstract

This study analyzes symbolism and color in Sumerian art as a semiotic system that transcends aesthetic function to serve semantic, cultural, and religious purposes. Sumerian art is among the oldest systems of visual expression in history, closely linked to religious beliefs, the construction of power, and the understanding of the universe.

The theoretical framework is based on semiotics, which studies the relationship between the signifier (visual form) and the signified (meaning). Thus, Sumerian symbols such as the sacred bull, the star, the sacred tree, and composite animals are not understood merely as decorative images but as signs bearing connotations such as power, fertility, divine protection, and cosmic order.

In Sumerian art, color served as a symbolic element complementing the symbol itself. Colors were associated with clear symbolic meanings: blue symbolized holiness and the heavens, red power and life, white purity, black the underworld, and gold immortality and divine authority. Thus, color served to enhance symbolic meaning and define its semantic level

The relationship between symbol and color is one of integration. The symbol forms the core idea, while color determines the nature and intensity of the meaning, making Sumerian artwork a complete visual system that can be interpreted as a cultural and religious text

The relationship between symbol and color is evident as one of integration. The symbol forms the core idea, while color determines the nature and intensity of the meaning, making Sumerian artwork a complete visual system that can be interpreted as a cultural and religious text.

The study concludes that Sumerian art represents an integrated semiotic system reflecting ancient humankind's worldview. Art becomes a coded visual language connecting humanity, the divine, and authority, revealing the intellectual structure of Sumerian civilization as a symbolic civilization par excellence