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LOT 1147
Sumerian Ur-Nammu of Ur Cuneiform Foundation Cone
2112–2094 B.C.
1 7/8 in. (108 grams, 48 mm).
The top section of a foundation cone from the reign of Ur-Nammu, with domed face, the side inscribed with columns of cuneiform text; from the Ziggurat at Ur, in the Third Dynasty. [No Reserve]
ProvenancePreviously from the estate of a West Sussex, UK, collector.
From a collection acquired from various auction houses in the UK.
From the estate of Mr R.W., a private Wiltshire, UK, collector; thence by descent.
Votive cones are one type of royal foundation deposit, objects that were buried in the walls and beneath the floors of important buildings during construction to sanctify the site and to create a historical memory of the ruler and his achievements.
Among Ur-Nammu‘s military exploits were the conquest of Lagash and the defeat of his former masters at Uruk. He was also responsible for ordering the construction of a number of ziggurats, including the Great Ziggurat of Ur. He was killed in a battle against the Gutians after he had been abandoned by his army.
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AUCTIONS:
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Mesopotamian Cuneiform Tablet
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Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members. Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This small collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.
