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THBLot of 2 Translated Mesopotamian Clay Foundation Cones
Lot 74b
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$2,000 - $3,500
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Dec 5, 2018
Set Reminder
2018-12-05 10:00:00
2018-12-05 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : DAY 1 | Classical Antiquities & Asian Art
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/day-1-classical-antiquities-asian-art-3698
Day 1 of an important 2-day auction featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Viking, Near Eastern plus Asian Art from China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, India, more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Day 1 of an important 2-day auction featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Viking, Near Eastern plus Asian Art from China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, India, more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (256)
- Lot Description
Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, reign of Gudea of Lagash, ca. 2144 to 2124 BCE. A pair of finely-constructed clay foundation cones with roughly three-quarters of their conical bodies wrapped in inscribed cuneiform text. Each body tapers to a rounded point and has a wide, disc-shaped head on the other end. The thirteen columns of text on each body were created by impressing a sharpened reed or stick into the still-wet clay just before undergoing the kilning process. Clay nails like these were also referred to as dedication pegs or funerary 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 royal written history. Size of largest: 2.125" W x 5" H (5.4 cm x 12.7 cm).
These cones were created during the reign of Gudea of Lagash and have identical inscriptions. When translated, each cone reads, "Gudea, Ensi (ruler) of Lagash, produced resplendently everything appropriate for Ningirsu, Warrior of Enlil, and built and restored his E-ninnu (Ningirsu's temple), the bright Imdugud ("heavy wind") bird."
For a similar example and credit for the translation of these foundation cones, please see the Detroit Institute of Arts, accession number 1983.34: https://www.dia.org/art/collection/object/foundation-cone-gudea-king-lagash-55609
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
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#138551Minor nicks to tips, discoid heads, and bodies, with encrustations and fading to inscribed cuneiform text, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits throughout.Condition
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