Sumerian Statuette

Iraq: Tell Asmar, Square Temple I, Shrine II; Early Dynastic I-II, ca. 2900-2600 B.C. Gypsum (?) inlaid with shell and black limestone(?). Excavated by the Oriental Institute, 1933-4. "During the Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia, statuettes were placed in sanctuaries as votive offerings and were later buried when the temple was remodelled or rebuilt. This representation of a Sumerian standing reverently before his god is one of a group of sculptures found buried in a pit next to the altar of the Abu Temple at Tell Asmar. It is thought to depict a priest because it lacks the full beard and long hair of other male statues of its type."

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