Mushhushshu-dragon, Symbol of the God Marduk

604 - 562 BCE

Babylonian, Mesopotamian

On View

Ancient Middle East Gallery, Level 1, West Wing

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About the Artwork

In ancient Babylon, the mushhushshu (pronounced “moosh-hoosh-shoo”) was a divine creature associated with Marduk, the main god of the city. “Mushhushshu” means "furious snake," but the animal’s body combines the head and scales of a snake, the claws of an eagle, the legs of a lion, and a tail ending in a scorpion’s stinger. This Mushhushshu was one of the protective animal figures on Babylon’s Ishtar Gate. Nearly five stories tall, and built to impress, the Ishtar Gate was part of the Processional Way, a ceremonial road leading into the walled city.

Title Mushhushshu-dragon, Symbol of the God Marduk

Artwork Date 604 - 562 BCE

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Mesopotamian

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Babylonian

Medium Molded and glazed baked brick

Dimensions Overall: 45 1/2 × 65 3/4 inches (115.6 × 167 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department Ancient Near Eastern Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase, General Membership Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 31.25

Markings

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Provenance

(Babylon, Iraq).
Vorderasiastisches Museum (Berlin, Germany);
1931-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition 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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Published References

Bulletin of the DIA 12, 7 (1931): p. 78.

Cottrell, Leonard, ed. The Concise Encyclopaedia of Archaeology. London, 1960, p. 105 (pl. 4).

Themes in World Literature. 1970, p. 505 (ill.).

DIA Handbook. 1971, p. 30.

Peck, W. H. Archaeology 31, 18 (May/June 1978): (ill.).

cf. Orthmann, W. Propylaen Kunstgeschichte 14. Der Alte Orient. (col. pl. 26, pl. 252).

Family Art Game, DIA Advertising Supplement. Detroit News, April 14, 1985, p. 28 (ill.).

100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, p.26-27 (ill.).

Matson, F. R. "Glazed Brick from Babylon - Historical Setting and Microprobe Analyses." Ceramics and Civilization, Vol 2. Columbus, OH, 1986, pp. 148,152,156.

Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 95(ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Babylonian, Mesopotamian; Neo-Babylonian, Mesopotamian, Mushhushshu-dragon, Symbol of the God Marduk, 604 - 562 BCE, molded and glazed baked brick. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, General Membership Fund, 31.25.