British Museum and some very makeshift pictures

[moksha]

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I posted, but today I found myself at the British Museum which I sometimes go to as a place of inspiration.

While I was there I was walking through the Mesopotamian section and came across some things which I thought you lot would find interesting. Please bear in mind this was an on-the-spot decision and I only had my camera phone, so please forgive the poor quality of the pictures. Also please bear in mind that I had no idea what to look for since I really am a novice in this area.

The first thing that struck me was the discovery of this lyre, which was apparently unearthed in Ur and was from 2600 BC. Immediately I was reminded of Balage's lyre picture here, which seems very faithful to an original.

Here is the bull's head at the front:


Some panelling below in lapis lazuli and red limestone:


Side view:


It was very difficult to get a full view because of the camera quality and reflections in the glass, but here's one anyway. The frame, pegs and strings are modern:


And a reconstruction of the front:


Also I found a plaque of Enheduana from between 1792 BC and 1750 BC. Well, I thought it was Enheduana though the description said it could have been Ereshkigal or even Lilitu, but this is unlikely:






Some cuneiform. This had no description but the text was very large and clear and worth taking a shot of. Anyone know what this is?


A beer record!


A list of some agricultural items or similar:


Finally a commemorative monument from the Marduk temple, showing two priests, likely related. It's apparently from 900 BC - 500 BC.


In spite of these images being random I thought it best to share them rather than not. I'm happy to go back if needs be, if there's something someone wants me to look for.

[madness]

Awesome pictures, thanks for sharing.

I'm a little surprised that the British Museum suggests the Burney Relief represents Ereškigal or Lilitu, since already back in 1987 Jacobsen established her identity as Inanna. [ Though some see Inanna and Ereškigal as two faces of the same goddess. ]

[sheshki]

Hi moksha,
very nice pictures, thanks for sharing. If your there next time, could you please take a picture of the objects in the background of picture 1; 2 and 5. They look like those fragments from a temple, was it from Eshnunna, im not sure.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Hey Moksha -



Good to see you around a bit. Certainly have enjoyed the pictures from the British Museum, I think it would be nice to be able to walk in there and see something of this caliber - certainly not happening for a Canadian (as I often complain). I certainly enjoy the surviving lyre piece and what I think is the shell inlay.

As for the Burney Relief, the one where the goddess in question is in dispute, this is a point which has frustrated me before. However, membership at enenuru has made a fairly suggestive (if meandering) thread on the same subject, with some nice insights. See the Burney Relief thread.

cheers

[moksha]

Apr 11, 2009 5:59:24 GMT -5 sheshki said:

Hi moksha,
very nice pictures, thanks for sharing. If your there next time, could you please take a picture of the objects in the background of picture 1; 2 and 5. They look like those fragments from a temple, was it from Eshnunna, im not sure.

Sure, no problem. I'll go back in the next couple of weeks and do that. I'll take a superior camera so you can get a better look.

Apr 12, 2009 11:30:04 GMT -5 Naomi said:

wonderful pics and some great angles, thank you very much.

maybe shoot an e-mail to the curator of the museum and ask them why they label it Ereskigal? (thanks for clarifying Madness)

I've just sent them an email and will post here what they come back with!

[moksha]

Apr 12, 2009 11:30:04 GMT -5 Naomi said:

wonderful pics and some great angles, thank you very much.

maybe shoot an e-mail to the curator of the museum and ask them why they label it Ereskigal? (thanks for clarifying Madness)

Right. I received a response to my email from the British Museum. Here's what I got back:

Dear Sam,

Apologies for the delay in responding. Your email has been passed on to me as I am the curator responsible for the Early Mesopotamia collections.

Since the time when the plaque was first published in 1936 there has been debate about the identity of the goddess. There are iconographic differences or discrepancies and reasons why it is currently not possible to be certain which goddess The Burney Relief / The Queen of the Night might represent.

There are three main contenders - Lilith, Ishtar and Ereshkigal.
For the most thorough discussion on the Queen of the Night the best source is a small booklet in the 'British Museum in Focus' series - The Queen of the Night by Dominique Collon (BMP 2005). Dr Collon discusses the Queen of the Night in regard to these 3 goddesses, comparing other images of these goddesses and the iconography associated with them, or texts relating to them with the Queen. She does include a discussion of Jacobsen's interpretation and why there are problems with this interpretation. For example - Ishtar is associated with one lion not two, owls are not known as an attribute of Ishtar, the weapon attributes normally associated with Ishtar are absent on the Queen of the Night relief. I suggest that if you can, you obtain a copy of Dr Collon's booklet or have a look in one (perhaps in the bookshop, the next time you are in the BM).

Best wishes,
Sarah Collins

Middle East dept.
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG

I'll get hold of a copy of the booklet. Depending on its size, I may be able to provide scans for those interested.

[sheshki]

Ah, thats very nice. A reply. And an interesting one too. Thanks to moksha and thanks to Sarah Collins

[xuchilpaba]

LOL I think the best part of that was the beer record! What exactly did it say? Do you know?

[madness]

I picked up a copy of Queen of the Night, nice little book with photo quality pictures of the relief and of other things.

One point that it discusses is the authenticity of the relief, which has been questioned before due to its dubious origin (it was acquired from a dealer, its place of excavation is unknown), though most now believe that it is genuine. It was declared genuine in 1935 according to chemical analysis, and again in 1975 by the British Museum with a thermoluminescence test.

Pauline Albenda, however, questioned its authenticity in 1970 and again in 2005 (JAOS 125), and remains unconvinced of its antiquity. She points out that the thermoluminescence test results has never been published, the test gives such a broad range for a possible date (from 1725 BC to 25 BC), and an artificial "aging" process could have been applied. Albenda believes that the relief should be judged by its iconography since it is so unique when compared to other objects, it even looks "modern" rather than ancient.

If that is so, then the British Museum have paid £1.5 million for a fake.

[xuchilpaba]

madness, the same figure has appeared in old Babylonian period archeology that is not of the same origin as the Burney relief. Such as this and this in Louvre. Also, there is a similar relief that is used in Kramer's Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth during the telling of her decent into the underworld.

Upon further inspection, I am curious about the connection between owls and prostitution.