The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Vessel stand with ibex support

Vessel stand with ibex support

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 403

Description

Temple rituals during the Early Dynastic period included making offerings of food, drink, and probably incense to the gods. This stand, with four rings supported by a magnificent ibex, would have supported lamps or bowls holding offerings or incense and may have been used in temple or in banquet rituals.

This stand was made by a sophisticated method of metalwork known as the lost-wax technique. The desired image was sculpted in wax and surrounded with clay that hardened into a mold when baked. When the mold was fired, the wax was melted and "lost," leaving a negative space that corresponded to the wax image. Molten metal was then poured into the cavity to form a reproduction of the original wax model.
Provenance

By 1950, Elias David, New York; acquired by the Museum in 1974, purchased from Mrs. Elias S. David, New York
See also
Who
Sumerian (164)
What
Metal (59,548)

Sculpture (23,287)

Vessels (21,644)

Copper alloy (16,533)

Metalwork (14,707)

Copper (6,250)

Furniture (5,826)

Shell (1,381)

Stands (642)

Lapis lazuli (272)
Where
Asia (68,010)

Iraq (2,495)
When
8000-2000 B.C. (3,806)
In the Museum
Ancient Near Eastern Art (6,167)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Mesopotamia, 8000–2000 B.C.