Description:

Ancient Near East, Sumer, ca. 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE. A hand-built pottery foundation cone of a near-miniature size with a tapered body and a flat head. The body displays six lines of cuneiform text formed by impressing a sharpened reed or stick into the still-wet clay just prior to undergoing the firing process. Clay cones like these are also referred to as dedication pegs or foundation pegs; they were inscribed, baked, and stuck into walls made of mud-brick to mark ownership either by a god or a ruler. These dedications sometimes include stories or boasts about the rulers they describe, and are some of our earliest sources of written royal history. Size: 3.6" L x 1.4" W (9.1 cm x 3.6 cm).

Provenance: private New Jersey, USA collection

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#149042

  • Condition: Minor nicks and abrasions to flat face and body, with softening to some impressed cuneiform characters, and light encrustations, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits throughout.

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September 5, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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