Ancient Near East, Neo-Babylonian Dynasty, reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, ca. 604 to 561 BCE. Two fragments of an important terracotta brick, inscribed with a fragmentary dedication to the most famous of all Kings of Babylon - Nebuchadnezzar II. The fragments are rectangular in form with rough edges along the verso, and five lines of cuneiform text are inscribed on the obverse sides of each piece. While the inscribed text is incomplete, the translation likely presents a dedicatory statement from Nebuchadnezzar II honoring the gods who enabled him to complete the construction of an edifice. Size of largest (rounded obverse corner): 4.625" L x 3.425" W (11.7 cm x 8.7 cm).
Following the defeat of the Assyrian Empire by the Babylonians in 612 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilt the city of Babylon on a grand scale. It has been estimated that roughly 15 million baked bricks were used in the construction of official buildings. The bricks are usually square and often bear cuneiform inscriptions, generally made with a large stamp as seen here. This example was cut from such a complete brick.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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#137758
Condition
This lot is comprised of two parts of a larger brick. Both items have age-commensurate surface wear and abrasions, fading to inscribed cuneiform text, small chips around corners, obverse faces, and versos, with light roughness across most surfaces. Nice earthen deposits throughout. Old adhesive residue between halves from older repair.