About the Artwork
Of all the rulers of ancient Mesopotamia, Gudea, ensi (governor) of Lagash, emerges the most clearly across the millennia due to the survival of many of his religious texts and statues. He ruled his city-state in southeast Iraq for twenty years, bringing peace and prosperity at a time when the Guti, tribesmen from the northeastern mountains, occupied the land. His inscriptions describe vast building programs of temples for his gods.
This statuette depicts the governor in worship before his gods wearing the Persian-lamb fur cap of the ensi and a shawl-like fringed robe with tassels. The serene, heavily lidded eyes and calm pose create a powerful portrait of this pious ruler.
Gudea of Lagash
2150 - 2125 BCE
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Mesopotamian
Neo-sumerian
Paragonite
Overall: 15 1/2 × 5 1/4 × 2 1/2 inches (39.4 × 13.3 × 6.4 cm)
Sculpture
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund
82.64
Public Domain
Markings
Inscribed, in Cuneiform, cartouche right shoulder: [translated: Gudea, city ruler of Lagash, | the man who built the temple | of Ningiszida and the temple of | Gestinanna.] Inscribed, in Cuneiform, carved on back: [translated: Gudea, city ruler of Lagash, | built to Gestinanna, | the queen a-izi-mu-a, | the beloved wife of Ningiszida, | his queen, | her temple in Girsu. | He created her statue. | "She granted the prayer," | he gave it a name for her | and brought it into her temple.]
Provenance
Adolphe Stocklet (Brussels, Belgium).(Safani Gallery);
1982-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Parrot, A. Tello. Paris, 1938, p. 165.
Frankfort, Henri. The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient. Baltimore, 1955, pp. 47-49.
Strommenger, Eva. "Das Menschenbild in der altmesopo- tamischen Rundplastik von Mesilim bis Hammurapi." Baghdader Mitteilungen 1 (1960): p. 65.
Bulletin of the DIA 60, no. 1/2 (1981/82): (cover ill.).
"Family Art Game." Detroit News, April 14, 1985, p. 22 (ill.) [DIA Advertising Supplement].
100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, pp. 20-21 (ill.).
"Family Art Game: A Centennial Celebration." The Detroit Free Press, April 14, 1985, p. 22 (ill.) [DIA Advertising Supplement].
Hansen, D. "A sculpture of Gudea, governor of Lagash." Bulletin of the DIA 64, no. 1 (1988): pp. 5-19 (ill.).
"Family Art Game: Details, Details, Details." The Detroit Free Press, April 29, 1990, p. 26 (ill.) [DIA Advertising Supplement].
Tallon, Francoise. "Art and the Ruler: Gudea of Lagash." Asian Art (Winter 1992): pp. 31-51; pp. 42, 43, 51.
Moorey, P.R.S. Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence. Oxford, 1994, p. 28.
Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 94 (ill.).
"DIA Art Game: Art Speaks." The Detroit Free Press, April 26, 1998, p. 9.
Aruz, Joan, ed. Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2003, pp. 430-431 (ill.).
White Muscarella, O. "Gudea or Not Gudea in New York and Detroit: Ancient or Modern." Source: Notes in the History of Art 24, no. 2 (Winter 2005): pp. 6-18; p. 10 (fig. 2a-b) [acc. number misidentified as F82.64].
Braun-Holzinger, Eva A. "Gudea Statue M. Eine Inschrift auf einer gefälschten Statue." Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 11 (2018): pp. 16-40.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Neo-Sumerian, Mesopotamian, Gudea of Lagash, 2150 - 2125 BCE, paragonite. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, 82.64.
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