Art history of the ancient Near East and mathematical models. An overview

The use of mathematical models in the art history of the pre-classic Near East is still comparatively little popular, partly because of cultural as well as technical and logical problems. In the history of research, such kind of approaches have been especially focussed on glyptic productions, but they mainly lack continuity and diffusion in use. Nor is the use of specific models widely spread through scholars originating from different academic institutions. The authors of this contribution review the different uses of quantitative models in Near Eastern art history and offer a summing up and an overview of the underlying approaches and methods. The deep examination of the models and approaches that have appeared up to now in the scientific literature is a first step toward the outline of possible future research courses that could become part of a wide debate on the topic of art history and mathematical models.