A Lapidary's Gift to Geštinanna
1978; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 40; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/4200084
ISSN2053-4744
AutoresBenjamin R. Foster, Karen Polinger Foster,
Tópico(s)Eurasian Exchange Networks
ResumoAmong the ancient Near Eastern objects in the Newell Bequest collection at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts, is the gypsum stand published herewith. On the basis of its dedicatory inscription, which will be discussed in detail below, the object's provenance can be established as the sanctuary of Ningizzida and Geštinanna at Girsu (Telloh). The piece was probably found when the sanctuary was plundered by illegal diggers in August, 1924. At that time at least seven statues of Gudea and two of Ur-Ningirsu were discovered, all reportedly found together in one room. The Gudea statues are remarkable for their inherent artistic merit and because some of them show Gudea as a youth, while others depict him as a mature man.Other furnishings from this sanctuary include a Gudea statue found by Cros and a steatite vase with interlacing serpents and dragons. The sanctuary was excavated by Genouillac in his 1929 and 1930–31 seasons. His finds included inscribed bricks and door stones; a grey marble dish dedicated to Ningizzida by Gudea; a mace-head dedicated to the same deity by Nammah, a scribe; fragments of a stele with a presentation scene; part of a blue steatite lamp showing intertwined serpents; and numerous pieces of boxes and lids of baked clay, many with representations of serpents. The architecture of the sanctuary could not be reconstructed because of the illicit digging and the inability of Genouillac's workers to trace its mudbrick walls.
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