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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1931.162.B
Title
One of Two Lions from the Temple of Ishtar, Nuzi
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
c. 1400 BCE-1350 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Nuzi (Mesopotamia)
Period
Mitannian period
Culture
Hurrian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/292105

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta with copper alkaline glaze
Technique
Molded
Dimensions
29.5 x 14 x 37 cm (11 5/8 x 5 1/2 x 14 9/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Excavated from Yorghan Tepe, Iraq (1930).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard-Baghdad School Expedition
Accession Year
1931
Object Number
1931.162.B
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Lion standing with legs close together. It is made of five parts: both forelegs in one piece, separate rear legs, upper body and head, and base. The long tail curls over the animal's back, pointing to its right flank. Discovered broken into several fragments. The head of this statue is missing, revealing the hollow interior. The right rear leg is missing a fragment at the upper end. Similar construction and form to standing lion statue 1931.162.A, although the tail on this animal curls in the opposite direction, possibly indicating that the lions formed a pair.

The rectangular base of the statue is flat; its coarse reddish clay glazed only where the coating has dripped down from the figure. The vitrified glaze is the only apparent adhesive holding together the components of the statue. The glaze is generally faded, although occasional bright patches of color remain, particularly on the legs. Starr assembled the fragments in Iraq following their discovery. The lion was disassembled and restored in 1980 in the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies of the Harvard Art Museum.

Publication History

  • Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), p. 96, no. 105, ill.
  • James Cuno, Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Ivan Gaskell, and William W. Robinson, Harvard's Art Museums: 100 Years of Collecting, ed. James Cuno, Harvard University Art Museums and Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (Cambridge, MA, 1996), p. 96-97, ill.

Exhibition History

  • Nuzi and the Hurrians, Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Cambridge, 04/01/1998 - 05/01/2008

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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