EARLY DYNASTIC, CIRCA 2550-2250 B.C.

Details

A SUMERIAN GYPSUM STANDING WORSHIPPER
EARLY DYNASTIC, CIRCA 2550-2250 B.C.
Standing with his elbows bent acutely, his hands clasped in prayer around a small vessel before his bare chest, the nipples incised, wearing a long belted skirt, the hem with a row of tufted fringe, the bare feet positioned close together on an integral oval plinth, with characteristic prominent nose, a small mouth, and eyes hollowed for now-missing inlays, the eyebrows incised and perhaps also once inlaid, with a long rectangular plaited beard, his hair similarly plaited
7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Dr. Paul Dumas (1910-2005), Montreal, 1950s.

Lot Essay

During the Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia, worshipper figures were erected as votives in temples to serve as tokens of devotion, offering continuous prayer to the gods in their owner's absence. For a similar bearded male worshipper, from the Abu temple hoard, see no. 24a in Aruz, et al., eds., Art of the First Cities, The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus.

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