Approximately twenty-seven statues of Gudea have been found in southern Mesopotamia. Gudea was a ruler (ensi) of the state of Lagash between c. 2144 BC and 2124 BC, and the statues demonstrate a very sophisticated level of craftsmanship for that time. The known statues have been named by archaeologists as "A" to "Z" and "AA". Many statues are headless, and there are also detached heads. Gudea is named in the dedicatory inscription carved on most statues, but in some cases the identity of the ruler portrayed is uncertain.
Diorite Statue I, LouvreStatue O in CopenhagenStatue P at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtLimestone statue of Gudea. From Girsu, Iraq. 2144–2124 BC. Extensively reconstructed. Ancient Orient Museum, IstanbulLimestone head of Gudea, 2144-2124 BC. From southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. The Pergamon Museum
Statues A–K were found during Ernest de Sarzec's excavations in the court of the palace of Adad-nadin-ahhe in Telloh (ancient Girsu). Statues M–Q come from clandestine excavations in Telloh in 1924; the rest come from the art trade, with unknown provenances and sometimes of doubtful authenticity. Figures L and R do not represent Gudea with reasonable certainty.
Description and purposeedit
The statues were to represent the ruler in temples, to offer a constant prayer in his stead; offerings were made to these. Most of the statues bear an inscribed dedication explaining to which god it was dedicated. Gudea is either sitting or standing; in one case (N), he holds a water-jug au vase jaillissant. He normally wears a close fitting kaunakes, maybe made of sheep-skin, and a long tasseled dress. Only in one example (M, Soclet-statue) he wears a different dress, reminiscent of the Akkadian royal costume (torso of Manishtushu). On the lap of one of them (statue B) is the plan of his palace, with the scale of measurement attached. Statue F is similar to statue B; both are missing their heads, and have on their lap a board with a measuring scale and a stylus, only statue F doesn't have a ground plan.
Size and materialedit
It seems that the early statues are small and made of more local stones (limestone, steatite and redstone); later, when wide-ranging trade-connections had been established, the more costly exotic diorite was used. Unlike the local stone, diorite is extremely hard, and so difficult to carve. Diorite had already been used by old Sumerian rulers (Statue of Entemena). According to the inscriptions, the diorite (Sumerian: na4esi, 'diorite or gabbro') came from Magan. The remnants of a very large diorite statue in the British Museum may be a representation of Gudea, but this cannot be determined with certainty. What remains of the statue is 1.5 metres high (and weighs over 1250 kg), meaning that if it were fully reconstructed the statue would be well over 3 metres high and the largest yet discovered sculpture of the ruler.[1]
Dedicatory inscriptionedit
The dedication of the diorite statues normally tell how ensi Gudea had diorite brought from the mountains of Magan, formed it as a statue of himself, called by name to honour god/goddess (x) and had the statue brought into the temple of (y). Most of the big (almost lifesize, D is even bigger than life) statues are dedicated to the top gods of Lagash: Ningirsu, his wife Ba'u, the goddesses Gatumdu and Inanna and Ninhursanga as the "Mother of the gods". Q is dedicated to Ningiszida, Gudea's personal protective deity more properly connected to rand Abu Salabikh, the smaller M, N and O to his "wife" Gestinanna. The connection between Ningiszida and Gestinanna was probably invented by Archaeologists in order to effect a closer connection to Lagash.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Statues of Gudea.
Insecula.com
The Detroit Institute of Arts
The true face of Gudea. A realistic statue of Gudea shows us how he may have looked in real life.
January 01, 1970
statues, gudea, confused, with, gudea, cylinders, approximately, twenty, seven, statues, gudea, have, been, found, southern, mesopotamia, gudea, ruler, ensi, state, lagash, between, 2144, 2124, statues, demonstrate, very, sophisticated, level, craftsmanship, t. Not to be confused with Gudea cylinders Approximately twenty seven statues of Gudea have been found in southern Mesopotamia Gudea was a ruler ensi of the state of Lagash between c 2144 BC and 2124 BC and the statues demonstrate a very sophisticated level of craftsmanship for that time The known statues have been named by archaeologists as A to Z and AA Many statues are headless and there are also detached heads Gudea is named in the dedicatory inscription carved on most statues but in some cases the identity of the ruler portrayed is uncertain Diorite Statue I Louvre Statue O in Copenhagen Statue P at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Limestone statue of Gudea From Girsu Iraq 2144 2124 BC Extensively reconstructed Ancient Orient Museum Istanbul Limestone head of Gudea 2144 2124 BC From southern Mesopotamia Iraq The Pergamon Museum Contents 1 Provenance 2 Description and purpose 3 Size and material 4 Dedicatory inscription 5 Table of statues 6 Further reading 7 References 8 External linksProvenance editStatues A K were found during Ernest de Sarzec s excavations in the court of the palace of Adad nadin ahhe in Telloh ancient Girsu Statues M Q come from clandestine excavations in Telloh in 1924 the rest come from the art trade with unknown provenances and sometimes of doubtful authenticity Figures L and R do not represent Gudea with reasonable certainty Description and purpose editThe statues were to represent the ruler in temples to offer a constant prayer in his stead offerings were made to these Most of the statues bear an inscribed dedication explaining to which god it was dedicated Gudea is either sitting or standing in one case N he holds a water jug au vase jaillissant He normally wears a close fitting kaunakes maybe made of sheep skin and a long tasseled dress Only in one example M Soclet statue he wears a different dress reminiscent of the Akkadian royal costume torso of Manishtushu On the lap of one of them statue B is the plan of his palace with the scale of measurement attached Statue F is similar to statue B both are missing their heads and have on their lap a board with a measuring scale and a stylus only statue F doesn t have a ground plan Size and material editIt seems that the early statues are small and made of more local stones limestone steatite and redstone later when wide ranging trade connections had been established the more costly exotic diorite was used Unlike the local stone diorite is extremely hard and so difficult to carve Diorite had already been used by old Sumerian rulers Statue of Entemena According to the inscriptions the diorite Sumerian na4esi diorite or gabbro came from Magan The remnants of a very large diorite statue in the British Museum may be a representation of Gudea but this cannot be determined with certainty What remains of the statue is 1 5 metres high and weighs over 1250 kg meaning that if it were fully reconstructed the statue would be well over 3 metres high and the largest yet discovered sculpture of the ruler 1 Dedicatory inscription editThe dedication of the diorite statues normally tell how ensi Gudea had diorite brought from the mountains of Magan formed it as a statue of himself called by name to honour god goddess x and had the statue brought into the temple of y Most of the big almost lifesize D is even bigger than life statues are dedicated to the top gods of Lagash Ningirsu his wife Ba u the goddesses Gatumdu and Inanna and Ninhursanga as the Mother of the gods Q is dedicated to Ningiszida Gudea s personal protective deity more properly connected to rand Abu Salabikh the smaller M N and O to his wife Gestinanna The connection between Ningiszida and Gestinanna was probably invented by Archaeologists in order to effect a closer connection to Lagash Table of statues editNumber Image Material Size Posture Provenance Dedicated to Today at Museum catalogue number A nbsp diorite 1 24m standing excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Ninhursanga Nintu Louvre AO 8 B nbsp diorite 0 93m sitting excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Ningirsu Louvre AO 2 C nbsp diorite 1 38m standing excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Inanna Louvre AO 5 D nbsp diorite 1 57m sitting excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Ningirsu Louvre AO 1 E nbsp diorite 1 42m standing excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Ba u Louvre AO 6 F nbsp diorite 0 86m sitting excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Gatumdu Louvre AO 3 G nbsp diorite 1 33m standing excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Ningirsu Louvre AO 7 H nbsp diorite 0 77m sitting excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Ba u Louvre AO 4 I nbsp diorite 0 45m sitting excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Ningishzida Louvre AO 3293 AO 4108 J diorite excavations E de Sarzec Telloh K nbsp diorite 1 24m standing excavations E de Sarzec Telloh Ningirsu Louvre AO 10 L diorite Kudurru M nbsp alabaster or paragonite 0 41m standing clandestine excavations Telloh 1924 Geshtinanna Detroit Institute of Arts N nbsp dolerite calcite or steatite 0 61m standing clandestine excavations Telloh 1924 Geshtinanna Louvre AO 22126 O nbsp steatite 0 63m standing clandestine excavations Telloh 1924 Geshtinanna Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Copenhagen NCG 840 P nbsp diorite 0 44m sitting clandestine excavations Telloh 1924 Ningishzida New York Metropolitan Museum of Art 59 2 Q diorite 0 33m sitting clandestine excavations Telloh 1924 Ningishzida body in Baghdad head in Philadelphia body 2909 head CBS 16664 R nbsp diorite 0 185m sitting art trade Namhani Harvard Semitic Museum HSM 8825 S limestone standing Louvre T 1 24m Golenishev collection U dolerite 0 71m sitting Seleucia ad Tigrim near Seleucia Ninhursanga Nintu British Museum 2 98065 V nbsp diorite 0 78m standing art trade British Museum 3 122910 W nbsp Limestone 0 34m standing art trade X nbsp Limestone standing Ancient Orient Museum Istanbul Y limestone Ningirsu Z diorite AA limestone Further reading editDietz Otto Edzard Gudea and His Dynasty Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia Early Periods RIME 3 1 Toronto University Press 1997 F Johansen Statues of Gudea ancient and modern Mesopotamia 6 1978 A Parrot Tello vingt campagnes des fouilles 1877 1933 Paris 1948 H Steible Versuch einer Chronologie der Statuen des Gudea von Lagas Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient Gesellschaft 126 1994 81 104 References edit British Museum Collection British Museum Collection British Museum CollectionExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Statues of Gudea Photographs of the Gudea statues at Louvre Insecula com Statue M The Detroit Institute of Arts The true face of Gudea A realistic statue of Gudea shows us how he may have looked in real life Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Statues of Gudea amp oldid 1187775410, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
