Harvard Art Museums > 1931.162.B: One of Two Lions from the Temple of Ishtar, Nuzi Sculpture Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"One of Two Lions from the Temple of Ishtar, Nuzi , 1931.162.B,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 19, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/292105. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1931.162.B Title One of Two Lions from the Temple of Ishtar, Nuzi Classification Sculpture Work Type sculpture Date c. 1400 BCE-1350 BCE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Nuzi (Mesopotamia) Period Mitannian period Culture Hurrian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/292105 Physical Descriptions Medium Terracotta with copper alkaline glaze Technique Molded Dimensions 29.5 x 14 x 37 cm (11 5/8 x 5 1/2 x 14 9/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Excavated from Yorghan Tepe, Iraq (1930). Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard-Baghdad School Expedition Accession Year 1931 Object Number 1931.162.B Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Lion standing with legs close together. It is made of five parts: both forelegs in one piece, separate rear legs, upper body and head, and base. The long tail curls over the animal's back, pointing to its right flank. Discovered broken into several fragments. The head of this statue is missing, revealing the hollow interior. The right rear leg is missing a fragment at the upper end. Similar construction and form to standing lion statue 1931.162.A, although the tail on this animal curls in the opposite direction, possibly indicating that the lions formed a pair. The rectangular base of the statue is flat; its coarse reddish clay glazed only where the coating has dripped down from the figure. The vitrified glaze is the only apparent adhesive holding together the components of the statue. The glaze is generally faded, although occasional bright patches of color remain, particularly on the legs. Starr assembled the fragments in Iraq following their discovery. The lion was disassembled and restored in 1980 in the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies of the Harvard Art Museum. Publication History Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), p. 96, no. 105, ill. James Cuno, Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Ivan Gaskell, and William W. Robinson, Harvard's Art Museums: 100 Years of Collecting, ed. James Cuno, Harvard University Art Museums and Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (Cambridge, MA, 1996), p. 96-97, ill. Exhibition History Nuzi and the Hurrians, Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Cambridge, 04/01/1998 - 05/01/2008 Related Works 1931.162.A Lion Sculpture Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
