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Ancient Middle East


Oriental Antiquities.



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Stone vase from mesopotamia, late Uruk period, 3.400 - 3.200 BCE. This stone vessel was made in the late 4th millenium BCE,when cities were developing in southern Mesopotamia. The largest known settlement was Uruk (modern Warka). In the centre of the city were monumental temple buildings with ritual objects. ANE,116705
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Stone vase from mesopotamia, late Uruk period, 3.400 - 3.200 BCE. This stone ve...

Limestone bull,possibly Larsa or Uruk, Iraq. Late Prehistoric period, 3300-3100 BCE. This stone figure was made in the late 4th millenium BCE, when cities were developing in southern Mesopotamia. Such sculptures may have had a ritual use within the temples. The artworks of this period very often showed domesticated animals. ANE, 116686
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Limestone bull,possibly Larsa or Uruk, Iraq. Late Prehistoric period, 3300-3100...

The "ram in a thicket" from Ur,southern Iraq, is one of an almost identical pair discovered by Leonard Woolley in the "Great Death Pit", one of the Royal Graves in the cemetery at Ur. The "ram" is rather a goat and he reaches up for the tastiest branches. The goat's head and legs are covered in gold leaf, its ears are copper, its twisted horns and the fleece on its back are of lapis lazuli,the body fleece is made of shell.Its genitals are gold. The tree is covered in gold leaf, with golden flowers. See also 08-02-01/1. ANE 122200
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The "ram in a thicket" from Ur,southern Iraq, is one of an almost identical pair...

Silver lyre, from Ur,southern Iraq, 2600-2400 BCE. This lyre was found in the "Great Death Pit", one of the Royal Graves in the cemetery at Ur. 74 bodies - 6 men and 68 women were found on the florr of the pit. There were three lyres, two of which were covered in sheet silver. The cow's head on the front has eyes of shell and lapis lazuli. Eleven silver tubes acted as the tuning pegs. ANE 121199
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Silver lyre, from Ur,southern Iraq, 2600-2400 BCE. This lyre was found in the "G...

The "Standard of Ur", southern Iraq, 2600-2400 BCE. Found in one of the largest Royal Tombs in the cemetery at Ur, its function is not yet understood; it could have been carried on a pole, as a "standard"; it could also have been a soundbox for a musical instrument.This is the "Peace"-side, a king banqueting; food is brought in procession. Seated figures wear woollen fleece or frigned skirts; they drink while a musician plays the lyre. ANE, 121201
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The "Standard of Ur", southern Iraq, 2600-2400 BCE. Found in one of the largest...

The Royal Game of Ur,southern Iraq, 2600-2400 BCE. The board has twenty squares made of shell:five squares each have flower rosettes, eyes and circled dots. Two players competed to race their pieces from one end of the board to the other. The boards appear to have been hollow with the pieces stored inside. Examples of this "Game of Twenty" date from about 3000 BCE to the first millennieum CE. A version of the Mesopotamian game survived within the Jewish community at Cochin, South India, until modern times. ANE, 120834
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The Royal Game of Ur,southern Iraq, 2600-2400 BCE. The board has twenty squares...

The Uruk Trough, from Uruk (Warka,Iraq), Late Prehistoric period (3300-3000 BCE). The carving on the side shows a procession of sheep approaching a reed hut and two lambs emerging. It may have been a cult object in the temple of Inanna (Ishtar), the Sumerian goddess of love and fertility.A bundle of reeds (Inanna's symbol) project from the hut and at the edges of the scene. ANE, 120000 (1928-7-14,1)
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The Uruk Trough, from Uruk (Warka,Iraq), Late Prehistoric period (3300-3000 BCE)...

Gold bowl, from Ur,Southern Iraq,2600-2400 BCE. It was found in the Queen's Grave in the cemetery at Ur. The chamber contained the body of a woman and her two female servants, a cylinder seal identified the woman as Pu-Abi. The bowl is made of beaten gold with small tubes of gold attached to the sides,through which strands of gold wire are threaded to make a handle. ANE, 121344
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Gold bowl, from Ur,Southern Iraq,2600-2400 BCE. It was found in the Queen's Grav...

Shell plaque from Ur, showing two rams.From the grave of Pu-Abi, see 03-03-01/8. Presumably the decoration of a lyre or harp.Shell was one of the most popular ways of decorating objects in Sumer. Bitumen was used as a glue.Here, animal scenes are silhouetted on the shell, with the background and details filled with bitumen. ANE 121529
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Shell plaque from Ur, showing two rams.From the grave of Pu-Abi, see 03-03-01/8....

Ostrich egg and jar found by Leonard Woolley in the cemetery at Ur. In antiquity the ostrich,known for its swiftness and strength, was hunted by kings. Ostrich shells were often cut open at the top to serve as cups or bowls and decorated with a band of mosaic round the rim. A disk of similar mosaic was added at the base. ANE, 123556
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Ostrich egg and jar found by Leonard Woolley in the cemetery at Ur. In antiquity...

Sceptre from Ur,Mesopotamia,2600-2400 BCE. Found by Leonard Woolley in the largest of the Royal Graves in the cemetery at Ur, Iraq.Robbers had broken in through the roof; only a few bones and this sceptre remained. The top end has a mushroom-shaped shell inlaid with a blue and red rosette.Five bands of very thin gold foil with designs in relief as if from cylinder seals; between the gold bands are rings of lapis lazuli. Reconstructed 1966. ANE 122201
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Sceptre from Ur,Mesopotamia,2600-2400 BCE. Found by Leonard Woolley in the large...

A child's diadem, found in one of the simpler graves at the cemetery of Ur,Mesopotamia. A small wooden coffin containing the bones of a very young child lay at the bottom of a shaft. The child was wearing the diadem around its head. There are three gold disc ornaments; four concentric gold rings are inlaid with lapis lazuli and cornelian. ANE, 122206
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A child's diadem, found in one of the simpler graves at the cemetery of Ur,Mesop...