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Relief of Ur-Nanshe, First King of Lagash
This is a votive relief of Ur-Nanshe, the first known king of Lagash. According to an ancient literary text called the “Sumerian King List,” Ur-Nanshe was the first ruler in Lagash to call himself lugal ‘king’ rather than ensi. He is depicted twice on the relief: on the top register he carries a bowl of bricks on his head, one of the earliest examples of a typical portrayal of the ruler as participating in temple building. On the bottom register he is shown seated presiding over a ceremony inaugurating the temple that has just been built. In both depictions, Ur-Nanshe is bald with no headgear and wears a tufted woolen skirt, and is flanked by family members and functionaries.
Name: Relief of Ur-Nanshe
Material: Limestone
Size:
Height: 39 cm (15.25 in)
Width: 46.5 cm (18.25 in)
Date: 2550–2500 BCE
Place of Origin: Telloh (ancient Girsu)
Location: Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Registration # and Source: AO 2344 Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. Department of Oriental Antiquities, Richelieu.Wikimedia Commons. Link to resource
(accessed May 7, 2010).
Jennie Myers
Research Associate, University of Chicago
