Audio Guide Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus

Back to main page for this exhibition

"Art of the First Cities" was on view at the Metropolitan Museum from May 8, 2003 through August 17, 2003. The landmark exhibition surveyed the flourishing of the world’s earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia and surrounding regions—stretching from the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean across Iran and Central Asia to the Indus Valley—during one of the most seminal and creative periods in history.

The Metropolitan's Web site designed a special, in-depth feature to complement the exhibition. The feature comprises eight sections—Masterpieces, Cities, The Ruler, The Divine World, Death and Burial, Writing, Seals and Sealing, and Clothing and Personal Adornment—which are represented below in a selection of clips from the accompanying Audio Guide.

Audio Guides are produced by Antenna Audio, the leading provider of audio programming for museums and historic sites around the world. The Audio Guide Program is sponsored by Bloomberg.

To sample a selection of audio clips from the exhibition galleries, select an image below then press the "Play" arrow.

		Masterpieces Shaft-hole axe with a griffin-demon, boar, and winged dragon, late 3rd–early 2nd millennium B.C. Western Central Asia. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, and James N. Spear and Schimmel Foundation Inc. Gifts, 1982 (1982.5).
		Cities Fragment of "Ur-Namma" stele, ca. 2097–2080 B.C.; Ur III, reign of Ur-Namma. Mesopotamia, Ur. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia CBS 16676.14.
		The Ruler "Standard of Ur," ca. 2550–2400 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIA. Mesopotamia, Ur, PG 779, U.11164. Trustees of The British Museum, London BM 121201.
		The Divine World Vessel fragment with an image of a goddess, ca. 2400–2250 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIB. Mesopotamia. Cuneiform inscription in Sumerian. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum VA 7248.
		Death and Burial "Great Lyre" with bull's head and inlaid front panel, ca. 2550–2400 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIA. Mesopotamia, Ur, PG 789, King's Grave, U.10556. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia B17694.
		Writing Administrative tablet with seal impressions, ca. 3000–2900 B.C.; Jamdat Nasr. Mesopotamia. Proto-cuneiform inscription. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Purchase, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gift, 1988 (1988.433.1).
		Seals and Sealing Cylinder seal of Ibni-sharrum, a scribe of Shar-kali-sharri, ca. 2183–2159 B.C.; Akkadian, reign of Shar-kali-sharri. Mesopotamia. Cuneiform inscription in Old Akkadian. Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités Orientales, Paris AO 22303.
		Clothing and Personal Adornment Puabi's headdress, ca. 2550–2400 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIA. Mesopotamia, Ur, PG 800, Puabi's Tomb. A: Comb. U.10937. B16693. B: Hair rings. U.10890. B16992a,b. C: Wreaths. U.10935a, U.10936. B17709–11. D: Hair ribbon. U.10934. B17711a. E: Earrings. U.10933. B17712a,b. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.

The audio clips in this section were produced by Antenna Audio. The Audio Guide program is sponsored by Bloomberg.