Description:

Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Sumer, Neo-Sumerian Empire, Third Dynasty of Ur, dated to the reign of Shu-Sin, ca. 2037 to 2029 BCE. A hand-built clay administrative tablet of bulky form bearing 11 fragmentary lines of inscribed cuneiform text on one side and 8 on the opposite side. Cuneiform tablets like this example provide scholars with insights as to how a structured writing system revolutionized the means of recording information pertaining to countless facets of life, such as worker payment as well as the transportation and distribution of building materials and agricultural goods. While not fully translated, this tablet concerns a shipment of grain. Size: 2.25" W x 2.9" H (5.7 cm x 7.4 cm)

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Brooklyn, New York, USA collection, acquired in the 2000s from Dr. Bron Lipkin

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#175478

  • Condition: Fragment of a larger tablet as shown. Abrasions and nicks commensurate with age, with light earthen deposits, and very light softening to some cuneiform characters. Great preservation to most cuneiform characters.

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January 12, 2023 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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