mace

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Object Type
Museum number: 23287
Description: White limestone mace head; carved in low relief with the backgrounds polished and details incised; inscribed around the top; the carving shows Imdugud, the symbol of Ningirsu, a lion-headed eagle grasping the tails of two lions, and three human figures, the largest of whom is probably Enannatum (the ruler of Lagash).
Authority
Cultures/periods
Findspot: Excavated/Findspot: Tello
Materials
Technique: carved; perforated; incised; polished
Dimensions: Diameter: 2.20 centimetres (perforation); Diameter: 11 centimetres; Height: 11.70 centimetres
$Inscriptions
Bibliographic references: Aruz & Wallenfels 2003a / Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus (no. 35, pp. 75-76.); Sigrist M et al 1996a / Catalogue of the Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum, II
Location: On display (G56/dc3)
Exhibition history: 2022 26 Mar-19 Jun, Lakeside Arts, University of Nottingham, Ancient Iraq 2020 7-18 Mar and 1 Sep-1 Nov, Newcastle upon Tyne, Great North Museum: Hancock, Ancient Iraq 2003 5 May-17 Aug, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 'Art of the First Cities'
Subjects: bird; mammal; devil/demon; deity (?)
Associated names: Named in inscription & portrayed: Enannatum I (?); Named in inscription & portrayed: Enannatum II (?); Named in inscription: Barakisumun; Representation of: Im-Dugud; Named in inscription: Lugalurub; Named in inscription: Ningirsu; Emblem of: Ningirsu
Acquisition name
Acquisition date: 1897
Department: Middle East
BM/Big number: 23287
Registration number: 1897,0514.1

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