The Formation of Nabatean Art: Prohibition of a Graven Image Among the Nabateans.

• Author: Liebowitz, Harold

This slender volume is a thorough, well-documented, rich study of Nabatean art viewed against the background of conflicting native and foreign cultural forces which influenced it. three three central thrusts of the book are: 1) an attempt to provide a unifying, aniconic principle which, for the author, is the single most important characteristic of Nabatean art (p. 165 and throughout); 2) a serious attempt to define the cultural borders of Nabatea (pp. 40ff.), to provide a framework for intelligent discussion of the characteristics of Nabatean art; and 3) a successful attempt to distinguish between native strains and those which reflect Hellenistic-Roman impact.

The book consists of four chapters. The first, "An Introduction to the Nabateans and Their Art," provides us with an up-to-date historical and archaeological survey of the Nabateans, a discussion of their ethnic composition, a summary of Nabatean art beginning with Strabo's testimony, the history of the author's research, a comparison of the art of the Hauran and that of the Nabateans, and a "classification of the figurative representations in Nabatean art."

Chapter two, "Representations of the Gods Among the Nabateans," has nine subheadings, including sections on the literary sources and epigraphic evidence and discussions of the gods as represented in various media: steles, coins, and clay figurines. In this chapter the manner of representation of the gods is the overriding concern and organizing principle, which the discussions of the gods represented in various media are intended to present the material in a more controlled fashion.

Chapter three, "Nabatean Art," includes discussion of ancillary art forms: rock-carved facades, capitals, painted pottery, oil lamps, coins, jewelry, and figurative architectural ornamentation in which the aniconic principle dominated. The chapter concludes with a discussion of Nabatean iconoclasm, rock drawings (petroglyphs), and the significance of the non-figurative trend in Nabatean art.

The final chapter, "Nabatean Art and Other Oriental Culture," is an attempt to place Nabatean art in its general culture milieu and discusses the worship of betyls and stelae beyond Nabatea, the Nabateans and the Jews, and Nabatea and Arabia.

Though the book is an important contribution to Nabatean studies, there are several issues of concern. Patriche focuses on the aniconic character of Nabatean art, particularly in its religious and funerary aspects and on its...