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A STONE FIGURE OF THE HIGH PRIESTESS ENHEDUANNA
奥地利
12月16日 晚上6点 开拍 /6天18小时
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Description

A STONE FIGURE OF THE HIGH PRIESTESS ENHEDUANNA

Perhaps dating to the Neo-Sumerian period, Ur III dynasty, Mesopotamia (present-day Southern Iraq), c. 2112-2004 BC or later. Finely carved in the round, seated on a throne, a pair of joined ducks rendered in high relief on the backrest, with hands clasped in a gesture of prayer at the chest, while holding a pair of small tablets. The figure clad in a long, loose-fitting priestly robe, meticulously incised with a linear pattern, revealing only her bare feet. The graceful face, serene in expression, characterized by almond-shaped eyes, a slender nose, and full lips, framed by short hair neatly combed and secured beneath a distinctive flat headgear. The fossiliferous stone of a pale greenish tone, with russet staining and some areas of white calcification.

Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum, acquired in Paris, France, in the decade of 1990. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age, with ancient wear and natural age-related imperfections. Expected traces of weathering and erosion. Occasional minute nicks, cracks, losses, and few small nibbles around the headgear. The stone surface with small areas of encrustation and soil encrustation.

Weight: 1,163.1 g
Dimensions: Height 13.9 cm

The present figure represents the renowned high priestess Enheduanna, daughter of Akkadian king Sargon (c. 2334-2279 BC), who consolidated most of Mesopotamia under his authority and established the foundations for the first empire in human history, the Akkadian Empire. Sargon designated his daughter high priestess of the moon god Nanna in the Sumerian city-state Ur as part of a strategy to legitimize and consolidate his newly established imperial dominion.

Enheduanna is further distinguished as the earliest named author in recorded history. While authorship in ancient Mesopotamian literature generally remains anonymous, she explicitly identifies herself in two extant works, The Exaltation of Inanna and A Hymn to Inanna. The former contains remarkable autobiographical elements, presenting herself primarily in the role of a mother and thereby elevating the notion of motherhood, which in her cultural context extended beyond biological parenthood to include the care provided by wet nurses, midwives, and both human and divine maternal figures.

In addition to her extraordinary literary achievements, several artworks reference her name or likeness. Chief among these is a disk-shaped alabaster plaque, dedicated to a temple in commemoration of its construction, in which Enheduanna is prominently depicted at the center of the composition. On this plaque, the high priestess is shown with a headgear and coiffure strikingly similar to those observed in the present lot.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related alabaster seated female figure with a tablet, Mesopotamia, Neo-Sumerian, Ur III dynasty, c. 2112-2004 BC, 11.6 cm high, in the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, inventory number VA 04854.. Compare a closely related alabaster seated female figure with an aryballos, Mesopotamia, Akkadian to Neo-Sumerian, c. 2334-2004 BC, 20 cm high, in the Musée du Louvre, inventory number AO 23995.

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拍品估价:1,000 - 2,000 欧元 起拍价格:1,000 欧元  买家佣金: 30.00%

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