Urkesh Lion
Name/Title
Urkesh LionEntry/Object ID
06NE09104Description
A copper lion perched on a rectangular tablet inscribed in cuneiform. The lion's mouth is open, its front paws resting on the tablet and the body is cut off before at the base of its spine.Type of Sculpture
StatuetteArtwork Details
Medium
ResinContext
The Hurrian peoples occupied the region on the Taurus and Zagros Mountains during the 3rd millennium BCE, and like the Mesopotamians, they deposited the foundation documents in the form of pegs and tablets at the base of temple constructions. The figurines may have originated as part of a boundary marking ceremony for defining consecrated grounds. The Urkesh Lion was placed at the base of a temple dedicated to Nergal (or Pirigal), a god of the underworld, during the Third Dynasty of Ur. The image of the lion as a guardian animal was common in Near Eastern art and is depicted here roaring to ward off both evil and evil doers. The text on the bronze plaque, in combination with the limestone tablet are the earliest surviving evidence of Hurrian cuneiform. Inscribed on the white limestone is a curse protecting the temple from destruction.Made/Created
Date made
2999 BCE - 2000 BCETime Period
Bronze AgeEthnography
Culture/Tribe
Near Eastern - Akkadian