An Exhibition of Ancient Mesopotamian Art

The upper half of a standing male orant statue is sculpted in fine-grained, tan limestone. The man has an intricately curled beard and long curled hair ó both arranged in straight horizontal rows of curls. His hair is parted in the middle and is drawn forward framing his beard and face; both hair and beard reach to his chest. Traces of black paint remain in his hair. His eyes are recessed to receive inlays, now missing. His eyebrows form a fine double arch meeting on the bridge of his nose. He has a large nose and a straight mouth. The man's hands are clasped at mid-chest holding a cylindrical offering vessel. Similar "praying figures" were excavated at Tell Asmar in the Diyala Region of Mesopotamia. An exceptional Sumerian stone sculpture.