LOT 0249

Akkadian Bronze Bowl for King Manishtushu

2270–2255 B.C.

5 1/4 in. (273 grams, 13.5 cm).

Hemispherical in profile with a thin rim; inscribed rectangular panel with three fields, two each with a glyph and the right field with five cuneiform characters referencing King Manishtushu.

Private collection, London, UK.
Swiss private family collection.
Believed to be from the same ownership as the bronze bowl sold at Sotheby’s, London, 21 April 1975, no.238.

Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.99066.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13197-249183.

Cf. near identical bowl in Christie's, Antiquities, Tuesday 14 May 2002-Wednesday 15 May 2002, London, 2002, p.93, no.244.

Manishtushu (Akkadian: Man-iš-tušu), son of Sargon of Akkad and brother and successor of Rimush, reigned as king of the Akkadian Empire c. 2270-2255 BC (Middle Chronology). His reign is known primarily from royal inscriptions, administrative texts, and later king lists. Manishtushu consolidated imperial control following internal revolts suppressed under Rimush and pursued military campaigns in both southern Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf region, notably leading an expedition across the sea, probably to Magan (modern Oman), to secure supplies of diorite and metals for monumental construction. He is particularly associated with extensive land purchases in northern Babylonia, recorded on inscribed stone monuments, which provide rare insight into Akkadian legal and economic practices. These texts suggest a deliberate policy of royal acquisition and redistribution of land, possibly to strengthen central authority. Manishtushu also undertook significant building projects, including temple works at Nippur and elsewhere, dedicating offerings to major deities such as Enlil. His reign ended violently, and later tradition suggests he was assassinated in a palace conspiracy, after which he was succeeded by his son Naram-Sin, under whom the empire reached its greatest territorial extent.