Stone Statues Of Gudea example essay topic

Discovery of Statues in Lagash Lagash was one of the oldest cities in Sumer and Babylonia. Today it is represented by a long line of ruin mounds, which are rather low, now known as Tell oal-Hib a in Iraq. Located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and east of the ancient city of Uruk, it is positioned on the dry bed of an ancient canal, approximately 10 miles north of the modern town of Shara. #The ruins of Lagash were discovered in 1877 by Ernest de Sarzec, a Frenchman, who was allowed by theMontefich chief, Nasir Pasha, to excavate the site a this pleasure in the territories under the governing of Nasir Pasha.

Ernest de Sarzec continued excavations atthi's site with various interludes, at first on his own account and later as a representative of the French government, until his death in 1901. The smaller mounds had apparently been comprised mostly of storage houses, in which vessels, weapons, sculptures, and other objects that were used by the administration of palace and temple. However, the primary excavations were made in two larger mounds, which later were found to be the site of the temple known as E-Ninn u, a shrine to the patron god of Lagash, Nin-gir su. The temple had long been destroyed and a fortification was built on what remained of the temple, during the Seleucid period. It was underneath this fortification that numerous statues of Gudea we rediscovered, which make up the heart of the Babylonian collection at the Louvre Museum#. Overall the statues had been damaged, some decapitated and others broken in various ways, having been put into the foundation of the new fortification.

Also in this section came a mixture of fragments of basic artifacts including various objects made from bronze and stone, of high artistic excellence. Some of these objects have been dated to the earliest Sumerian period enabling historians to trace Babylonian art and it's history to date some hundreds years prior. Excavations in the other mound resulted in the uncovering of the remains of various buildings. In these outlying buildings de Sarzec discovered about thirty thousand inscribed clay tablets, the record archives of the temple. The tablets contained the business records, the nature of its property, the methods used to cultivate the land, methods on herding its animals, and its commercial and industrial dealings. The ancient temple was a great industrial, commercial, agricultural and stock-raising institution of the time.

From the objects and inscriptions uncovered at Tell oit seems that Lagash, the city ruled by Gudea, was one of great importance during the Sumerian period. During this time independent kings (Ur-Nina and his successors) ruled Sumer, but with the Semitic conquest its rulers became dependant, forced to listen to Sargon of Akkad and his successors. However, the city remained Sumerian and continued to be of great importance because the city was the center of commerce and art. Trade during this period developed far-reaching commercial communication with distant territories. Gudea imported cedar from mountainous regions of Syria, gold and copper from areas in Arabia and Sinai, and diorite from eastern Arabia.

These new imports helped make this era one prominent for artistic development and it was in this era that art reached its peak stages. A lion-headed eagle with outspread wings grasping two more lions in its talons, a great vase with what is considered the coat of arms ofLagash, and of course statues of Gudea made from diorite are some of the artifacts recovered from this period. However, after the reign of Gudea, Lagashloses its importance to the region as a center for art and economic trade, and is lost for centuries. #Statues of Gudea Most timetables agree that Gudea ruled Lagashsometime between the period of 2150-2100 B.C., bringing peace and prosperity to his people during that time, and inaugurating a Sumerian renaissance, marked by literary blossoming, and by a humanistic style of art which exalted an ideal of piety. Gudea, who never carried a royal title, wears the pseudo-turban headdress, insignia of sovereignty. Out of the numerous figures that ruled in Mesopotamia, Gudea of Lagash is one of the most recognizable because of the numerous statues and religious texts that survive from the time period.

The descriptions on his statues stand as a testament to the vast building he undertook while governor (ens i) of Lagash, of which twenty-six statues depicting Gudea have been recovered. The statues were made to show Gudea's prayerful presence, and were placed in the numerous temples that Gudea had built during his reign, in order to show his respect to his deities. These statues are an example of how Sumerian art distanced itself from the art of the Akkadian period. Akkadian art was characterized by its vibrant naturalism, while the works created in the Neo-Sumerian culture infuse humanistic ideals, with a sense of serenity and piety (as shown by the clasped hands of the statues).

The expression of confident piety is characteristic of the humanistic ideal which animated the Neo-Sumerian princes, at the end of the 3rd millennium. #So far twenty-six statues of Gudea have been discovered. Eleven of the twenty-six were discovered during the excavations of Ernest de Sarzec at the court in the palace of Add-nad in-ah he in Tello. Five of the eleven statues, including the Seated Statue of Gudea, come from clandestine excavations in Tello, in 1924. The statues were created to represent the ruler, Gudea, in the temples, so that he would be in continuous prayer. Most of the statues depicting Gudea have an inscription detailing which God that particular statue is dedicated to.

The statues depictGudea in one of two positions, either he is shown in the standing position, or he is shown in a sitting position. He is shown wearing the traditional beaded head dress, and is dressed in the traditional body-length robe, possibly made of sheep skin. This pattern only differs in one statue, the Socket-statue, where Gudea is wearing a different robe, one that resembles the Akkadian royal costume (torso ofManishtusu). # Earlier stone statues of Gudea were made from stone types more common to the area of Lagash; these stones included alabaster, limestone, and steatite. Later, however, due to the success of trade under Gudea more exotic stones, such as diorite were used to carve statues. Even though diorite was a foreign stone, previous Sumerian rulers used it to carve statues.

According to inscriptions, the mountains of Magan was the location where the diorite was imported from. The inscription on the statues usually tells how Gudea had the diorite imported from Magan#, formed into a statue of himself, and brought to the temple to provide constant worship. The larger statues that Gudea had built, which are almost life-size, are dedicated to the top Gods of Lagash such as Ningirsu and Inanna, while the smaller statues are dedicated to lesser deities such as Ningiszida, Gudea's personal protector. Description The statue that I viewed for this paper was the Seated Statue of Gudea (accession number 59.2), that is currently on display in the Ancient Near Eastern Art gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

According to the plaque on the front of the display, 'This sculpture belongs to a series of diorite statues commissioned by Gudea, who devoted his energies to rebuilding the great temples of Lagash and installing statues of himself in them. Many inscribed with his name and divine dedications survive. Here, Gudea is depicted in the seated pose of a ruler before his subjects, his hands folded in a traditional gesture of greeting and prayer. The Sumerian inscription on his robe lists the various temples that he built or renovated in Lagash and names the statue itself,' Gudea, the man who built the temple; may his life belong.

' ; The statue itself was carved very well from what appears to have been one solid block of diorite. The statue has survived intact, except for a missing piece on the left shoulder and neck area. It also appears that the head was severed from the statue at one point, but has been reattached rather flawlessly. The head of the statue itself shows a clean shaving Gudea wearing his traditional beaded head dress. His eyebrows meet at the bridge of the nose, forming what is jokingly called a uni brow. His eyes are open wide and are shown as round...

His mouth is small, with rounded outlines. His nose is shaped correctly and shows nostrils, his cheeks are defined, and his ears are carved to show earlobes and openings. All of these features are carved with great artistic detail, and long with the attention to detail, Gudea's features are proportioned correctly in regards to the overall size of the statue. The body of Gudea is also skillfully crafted. His hands are clasped together, showing piety. The detail in the fingers is something that should be noticed, with attention paid to knuckles and fingernails.

Gudea's arms show muscular definition, and his broad shoulders may be a feature that indicates his wisdom. His feet are crafted skillfully as well, with the detailing of his toenails. However, the length of his toes is something that I found peculiar, because unlike other detailing done on the statue they did not seem to fit in proportionally. Gudea's traditional robe is being worn, as it is made to fit over only one shoulder (his left). Detail was made to indicate that the robe was somewhat loose fitting showing excess fabric in the chest area. The inscriptions on this particular statue are numerous.

I counted fifty-two individual boxes of inscriptions on the statue, located on the front right side of Gudea's robe and on the back of the bench which he is sitting. The bench on which he is sitting is carved outward from the block of diorite, so as to know he is seated on a bench. On the left and right sides of the block there is the carving of the bench, somewhat of a convex A shaped frame.

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