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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1983.100
Title
Fragment of Cuneiform Tablet: Old Assyrian Account Text
Classification
Tablets
Work Type
tablet
Date
c. 1900-1750 BCE
Period
Bronze Age, Middle
Culture
Assyrian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/289211

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Clay
Technique
Impressed
Dimensions
4.9 x 4.5 x 1.7 cm (1 15/16 x 1 3/4 x 11/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Nanette Rodney Kelekian, New York, formerly in the possession of her father Charles Dikran Kelekian; gift to Fogg Art Museum, 1983.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
CDLI P393099

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Nanette B. Rodney
Accession Year
1983
Object Number
1983.100
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Fragment of clay tablet with cuneiform writing. The fragment is inscribed with ruled lines of text written in the Old Assyrian dialect of Akkadian. This fragment represents the lower left corner of a tablet with written lines partially preserved on lower edge, left edge and reverse surface. The obverse is almost completely missing and no seal impressions are preserved. The tablet probably comes from the trading colony (karum) by the mound of Kültepe (ancient Kanesh) near Kaiseri in Cappadocia (central Anatolia).

Much of the text is missing, but what can be read seems to be a caravan account, describing the transport of goods in Anatolia. The text mentions various quantities of different types of textiles (rev. line 1, Akkadian šurum-textiles; rev. lines 3 and 9, kutanu-textile) as well as different amounts of silver, perhaps representing the price(s) of the textiles. A large quantity of metal, maybe tin, is also mentioned (rev. lines 6-7). The only name preserved is one Šalim-ahum, a common choice of personal name in this period.

IMAGE: Bottom row, first on left.

Publication History

  • Deena Ragavan, “Cuneiform Texts and Fragments in the Harvard Art Museum / Arthur M. Sackler Museum”, Cuneiform Digital Library Journal (2010), no. 6.4

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/31/2019 - 01/08/2020

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu