A NEO-BABYLONIAN FRAGMENTARY YELLOW STONE LAMASHTU MAGICAL TABLET

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A NEO-BABYLONIAN FRAGMENTARY YELLOW STONE LAMASHTU MAGICAL TABLET
Early 1st millennium B.C.

Side A: depicting the evil goddess, Lamashtu, on her return to the underworld, with characteristic head of a lion, donkey ears and feet in the form of bird talons, a piglet and whelp suckling her breasts, holding snakes in her hands, standing on her emblem, the donkey, flanked by two similar demons in combat with heroes
Side B: ten partial lines of cuneiform text listing Lamashtu's names
6.4 x 6.4 x 1.8cm. max.

Lot Essay

Cf. F. Thureau-Dangin, "Rituel et amulettes contre Labartu" in Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale, XVIII, 1921, p. 198 for a translation into French of the standard Lamashtu text. Also cf. Naissance de l'écriture, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 1982, pp. 248-249, nos. 195-196 for two other Lamashtu plaques.

Lamashtu's principal victims were unborn and newly born babies; both miscarriages and deaths of babies were attributed to her. Lamashtu plaques of stone and metal were therefore created to magically protect the wearer against the goddess depicted on them

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