Sumerian Alabaster Inscribed Statuette Fragment

An ancient Sumerian polished alabaster shoulder fragment from a statuette, bearing an incised inscription reading: Ama-ur…, supervisor for (the god) Shara.

Early Dynastic Period.

Ca. 2500 - 2400 BC.

Height: 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm).

Shara was a war god and the son of Ishtar. He was the chief god of the town of Umma, north of Uruk. This inscribed statuette was likely dedicated to the main temple of the town of Umma so that its giver, Amar-ur…, a high official in the cult of Shara, would always be present in the god’s purview.

cf.: Aruz, J. ed., Art Of The First Cities. The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, (New York, 2003), pp. 430-431, for a Sumerian statuette with inscription on the shoulder.

Formerly in an English private collection.

Inv#: 8064

Guaranteed Authentic

$7,500