Sumerian Sculpture: Statue from Mari (2023-03-29)

Created by: Englund, Robert K.

This particularly detailed stone statue from the temple of Inanna in Mari demonstrates the stylistic choices made by artists during the Early Dynastic period (ca. 2500 BC). Sculptures from this region (Mari, modern Tell Hariri) are generally more detailed and realistic than other images found at nearby sites. Unfortunately, this site and others nearby were burned and partially destroyed. This sculpture represents a shift towards abstracted realism and new techniques to achieve this effect, including drilling (seen in the beard) that would later be used by the Romans to achieve realistic beards of rulers in busts carved from marble.

This sculpture from the Inanna temple in ancient Mari dates to the Early Dynastic period of Sumer (ca. 2500 BC), and is currently housed in the Louvre Museum (image credit). Unlike many other Sumerian sculptures of this period, this particular statue of the ruler Ebiḫ-Il is extraordinarily realistic, with more texture variation than is generally expected. The statue is bald; the figure's face is well-proportioned, with a beard carved and incised, drilled into to appear realistic and intricate. His eyebrows are bold and laid above lined and certainly originally inlaid eyes that convey expression or feeling, something previously uncommon in Sumerian sculpture. His ears are also quite realistically carved. The skirt worn by the figure features fringe along the bottom. This sculpture, though exceptionally detailed, is still idealized. CDLI entry: P225850

credit: Burton, Elizabeth M.