Description:

Ancient Near East, Sumer, reign of Gudea of Lagash, ca. 2010 BCE. A lovely terracotta foundation cone with a discoid head, a narrow tip, and a conical body boasting 12 columns of inscribed cuneiform text formed by impressing a sharpened reed or stick into the still-wet cone just before being placed inside a kiln. Clay nails like this example are also referred to as dedication pegs or funerary pegs as they were typically inscribed with prayers or dedicatory statements to a specific god or ruler. When translated this cone reads, "For Ningirsu, mighty warrior of Enlil, his lord Gudea, ruler of Lagash, who built the Eninne (temple) of Ningirsu, (also) built his Epa, the temple of the seven sectors." Size: 2.2" W x 4.6" H (5.6 cm x 11.7 cm).

For a strikingly similar example, please see "Beloved by Time: Four Millennia of Ancient Art." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 2000, pp. 18-19, fig. 29.

Provenance: private New Jersey, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s from a private antiques dealer, London, England

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#144598

  • Condition: Small area of restoration to body indicated by smooth surface. Minor nicks to head, body, and tip, with softening to some inscribed characters, and light encrustations. Nice earthen deposits throughout.

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April 4, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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