Image Resource Bank

Image Gallery |  13 of 15

This is a foundation figure from one of the many temples constructed by King Shulgi, the second ruler of the Third Dynasty of Ur. This figurine shows Shulgi in the same position as Ur-Nanshe of Lagash (around 400 years earlier): the king holding a bowl of bricks on his head, participating in the ritual of laying the first bricks of a temple.

The Inscription reads as follows:
For the god Shullat-and-Hanish, his lord, Shulgi, mighty man, king of Ur, king of the lands of Sumer and Akkad, built his temple for him.

Victory Stela of Naram Sin

Name: Foundation Figure

Material: Copper alloy

Size:
Height: 11 cm (4.33 in)
Width: 6.7 cm (2.63 in)
Depth: 2.3 cm (0.9 in)

Date: 2100 BCE - 2000 BCE

Place of Origin: Original Site Unknown

Location: Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago, USA.

Registration # and Source: Oriental Institute Museum. OIM A3700. Link to resource (accessed May 7, 2010).

Jennie Myers

Research Associate, University of Chicago