LOT 0206

Babylonian Head of Humbaba

900-700 B.C.

4 1/2 in. (128 grams total, 11.5 cm including stand).

Modelled in the half-round with hollow reverse; thick band of hair above the brow, small deep-set eyes, broad nose and mouth with three raised bands extending to a short beard; mounted on a custom-made stand.

London art market, 1995.
Private collection, Switzerland.
Private collection, London.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12971-245208.

Cf. The British Museum, museum numbers 127443 and 128821, for comparable Humbaba faces; see Moorey, P. R. S., The Terracotta Plaques from Kish and Hursagkalama, c. 1850 to 1650 B.C., Iraq, vol.37, no.2, 1975, pp.79-99.

Humbaba (or Huwawa) was a demon of Mesopotamian legend, most famously described in the Epic of Gilgamesh. He was appointed by the god Enlil as the terrifying guardian of the Cedar Forest, a place of the gods. His grotesque features, with glaring eyes and monstrous expressions, were said to strike fear into anyone who saw him. Babylonian representations of Humbaba often emphasise this fierce appearance, with distorted facial traits designed to ward off evil. Such images could serve an apotropaic purpose, protecting people and places from harm, while also evoking one of the most memorable figures of Babylonian mythology.