Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.

This beautifully carved face would have originally belonged to a complete statue carved in composite from different colored stones. Our face, which is intact despite the loss of the inlays, is in excellent condition: the original surface of the stone is preserved, including some tool marks from the carving of the piece. A delicate layer of patina has developed over time, giving the creamy white stone a warm tinge.

The face bears the canonical features seen in the so called “worshipper” figurines of Early Dynastic Sumerian art. The shape of the face, a sort of square with rounded corners and a jutting protrusion for the mouth, is the result of the face’s function as an inlay: it would have fit together with the other features of the head – the hair, the moustache and the beard – all carved separately out of different colored stones for polychromatic effect. The abstracted anatomy emphasizes the eyes, which would have been inlaid in shell with black limestone or lapis lazuli for the pupil. The eyes would then have been outlined with either more dark stone or bitumen, a dark colored natural resin which would have been to used to fix the eyes in their sockets. The curved, connected brows that run the entire width of the forehead would also have been inlaid, probably in lapis, framing and placing further emphasis on the eyes. The wonderful carving of our face - displayed in the nuanced modeling of the cheeks and nose and the precise carving of the brow - indicates that this would have come from a statue commissioned by a wealthy patron, one who would have been able to hire the best artisans and afford the highest quality materials. The material, indurated limestone, was one the most sought after stones for sculpture due to its durability and very smooth, fine grained surface when polished.

The general shape of the face - connected brow, large almond shaped eyes, broad aquiline nose and small full lipped mouth - are consistent with the typology of the early 3rd millennium Sumerian stone statues of worshippers found at sites throughout Mesopotamia, particularly those from the famous Abu Temple cache at Tell Asmar. By comparing our face with those of the statues found, we can plausibly guess that the now missing hair and beard would have been stepped to represent curls and would have been rigidly geometric in design. The full figure would have been a standing or seated male, arms sharply bent and hands clasped before the chest, perhaps with a cup in his hands. He would have been dressed in a full, belted skirt with a fringed bottom, a kaunakes. Such figures were dedicated at temples throughout Mesopotamia as ex-votos: with their standardized posture of worship and wide, adoring eyes, these figures were supposed to represent the individuals who commissioned them, standing in their stead to offer continuous devotion to the gods. This particular piece is unusually large, as a complete figure with a face of this size would have measured ca. 45 - 60 cm tall if standing, 30 - 40 cm if seated. This would definitely place it among the largest known worshipper figurines from the period. Our mask was said to have been found at Tell Assouad in northern Syria, which is not surprising considering the wide range of distribution for worshipper figurines. Although they underwent stylistic changes according to local production and time periods, the Sumerian worshipper type remained in use well into the 2nd millennium B.C.

ARUZ, J. Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New Haven, 2003, pp. 21-78

COLLON D., Ancient Near Eastern Art, Los Angeles, 1995, pp. 60-63.