Woman Holding an Aryballos
Name/Title
Woman Holding an AryballosEntry/Object ID
18NE14230Description
Seated woman holding an aryballos. Neo-sumerian sculpture in the round. The woman is wearing a textured, patterned dress. Her hair is either braided or tightly curled with a headband.Type of Sculpture
StatuetteArtwork Details
Medium
PlasterContext
This statuette was created during the Third Dynasty of Ur, which was known as the ‘Sumerian Renaissance’, a period in which Sumerian art and literature began to flourish. This portrait exemplifies a desire by artists to depict the subject in a more realistic way. She is seated with her feet close together while holding a perfume vessel called an aryballos, which was perhaps used in ritual offerings and prayers to the gods. Although the woman presented in this portrait is of high status, it is not clear who this woman is. She could be princess Enanatuma, who was also a priestess and representative of the goddess Ningal during ritual activity. Ningal was the wife of the moon god Nanna and the mother of the sun god Utu.Made/Created
Date made
2112 BCE - 2004 BCETime Period
Bronze AgeEthnography
Culture/Tribe
Near Eastern - Neo-Sumerian