Post on 14-Jan-2016
description
Sumer
Shell plaque from 'Queen' Puabi's Grave
Shell plaque from 'Queen' Puabi's Grave
• Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC• Presumed to have been a decoration on a lyre or harp• Shell was often combined with coloured stones like lapis lazuli to decorate wooden goods like musical instruments and furniture - specialised craftsmanship• Shell came from the gulf - trade
Queen's lyre from Ur
Queen's lyre from Ur• From Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC Decorated with shell, lapis lazuli, red limestone & gold• Discovered along with sacrificial victims• Discovered by Leonard Woolley: plaster of Paris poured in depression left by decayed wood thus preserving decorations in their appropriate place• Reconstructed once and then again in the 70s
Beads and pedants
Beads and pedants • Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-
2400 BC
• From a 'royal' grave
• Possibly offerings
• Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, silver obtained through trade or conquest
• Highly skilled gold-work
• Lapis-lazuli from Afghanistan
The 'Standard' of Ur
The 'Standard' of Ur• From Ur about 2600-2400 BC• Original function not understood • Speculation that it was a standard or a soundbox• Sumerian army: chariots pulled by donkeys.
Spears, axes, prisoners• Banquet: animals, fishes, woollen fleeces, skirts• Present restoration a 'best guess'
The Royal Game of Ur
The Royal Game of Ur
• From Ur about 2600-2400 BC• One of the most popular games in the ancient
world
The 'Ram in a Thicket'
The 'Ram in a Thicket'• From Ur about 2600-2400
BC• Woolley's name for the
object is a biblical allusion• Goats one of the early
animals to be domesticated• Gold, copper, lapis lazuli,
shell, red limestone• Complex process of
preservation
Cylinder seal of Pu-abi
Cylinder seal of Pu-abi• From Ur, around 2600 BC
• Used to roll an impression on wet clay
• Administrative tool
• 'Pu-abi nin'
• Banquet scene
• Ownership indicates importance
Record of food supplies
Record of food supplies
• Southern Iraq circa 3000 BC
• Pictographs made by drawing sharp stick or reed across clay
• Head with bowl in top left corner represents eating
Find out more about ancient Sumer
Visit the main Museum website www.britishmuseum.org
Use Explore to look at objects from Sumerwww.britishmuseum.org/explore/introduction.aspx
Learn more about Sumerwww.ancientmesopotamia.co.uk