LOT 0243

Royal Elamite Cuneiform Brick for King Shihak-Insusinak I

1150-1120 B.C.

13 5/8 in. (2.96 kg total, 34.5 cm wide including stand).

A fired clay brick with seven lines of cuneiform text referring to King Shihak-Insusinak I; accompanied by a scholarly note by Dr Manuel Ceccarelli, PhD earned at the University of Tübingen, Germany, which states: 'Brick with Elamite cuneiform inscription of Shilhak-lnshushinak, king of Elam (South-West Iran), ca. 1150-1120 BCE. This royal inscription celebrates the restoration of the temple of the goddess Kirisha. The inscription can be reconstructed thanks to similar bricks.'I, Shilhak-lnshushinak, son of Shutruk-Nahhunte, beloved servant of Kiririsha and Inshushinak, King of Anzan and Susa: Humbanumena built the temple of Kiririsha-of-Liyan with unbacked mudbricks, and, as it threatened ruin, I restored it to its original state: with backed bricks, I (re)built it, and for my life, for the life of Nahhunte-Utu, of Hutelutush-lnshushinak, of Shilhina-hamru-Lakamar, of Kutir-Huban, of lshnikarab-huhun, of Urutuk -EI-halahu and of Utu-ehihi-Pinigir, with this intention,for our sake(?), I gave it to Kiririsha, my goddess.''; mounted on a custom-made stand.

Private UK collection.
with Bonhams, London, 22 September 1998, no.140.
Private collection, UK.
Acquired on the UK art market.

Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages and Dr Manuel Ceccarelli's notes.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13233-250320.

Cf. similar stele in glazed terracotta of the same King in the Louvre Museum, regarding the decoration of Susa with enamelled bricks, inventory no.SB 17011, in Malbran-Labat, F., Les inscriptions royales de Suse. Briques de l'époque paléo-élamite à l'Empire néo-élamite (IRS), [Musée du Louvre/Département des Antiquités orientales], Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1995, p. 88-89, Br. 1802.

The name of this king, like that of many kings of Elam, was linked to a deity. Inshushinak was one of the major gods of the Elamites and the protector of the city of Susa in the state of Elam. He played an important role as a deity associated with royal power in the official ideology of many Elamite dynasties. King Atta-Hushu of the Sukkalmah dynasty called himself 'the shepherd of the god Inshushinak’. Many rulers dedicated new building projects to Inshushinak, using the formula 'or his (i.e., the king's) life.' The Shutrukids commonly used the title '(king) whose kingdom Inshushinak loves.'