Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Sumer, Neo-Sumerian Empire, Third Dynasty of Ur, ca. 2112 to 2004 BCE. A hand-built pottery tablet or bulla of rounded triangular form bearing several lines of cuneiform script impressed with a sharpened reed or stick as well as a seal impression. 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. The seal impression near the top line contains a name, however time and wear has rendered it illegible. Size: 2.125" W x 2" H (5.4 cm x 5.1 cm)
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Brooklyn, New York, USA collection, acquired in 2000s; ex-David Libert collection, Time Machine, New York, USA
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#173286
Condition
Small chips, minor abrasions, softening to cuneiform characters, and light encrustations. Otherwise, excellent condition with good surfaces. A hole runs through the body as if it were a seal.