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

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		Vessel fragment with an image of a goddess, ca. 2400–2250 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIB. Mesopotamia. Cuneiform inscription in Sumerian. Diabase; H. 25.1 cm (9 7/8 in.); W. 18.6 cm (7 3/8 in.), original Diam. approx. 40 cm (15 3/4 in.). Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum  VA 7248.

Paul Collins
This stone fragment—with its impressive image of a long-haired female—was originally part of a drinking vessel. The vessel was probably dedicated in a temple. Its fine detailing attests to the advanced stone-cutting skills of third millennium B.C. craftsmen. The female wears a crown with bull's horns. This was a typical Mesopotamian way of representing the divine. So which goddess is this? The inscription above, running around what was the mouth of the vessel, doesn't name her. However, the inscription is similar to one found on a building, celebrating the construction of a brewery.

The tall forms sprouting from this goddess's shoulders are poppy pods. And she's holding a large cluster of dates. So she is clearly a vegetation deity. And given the inscription's relationship to a brewery, this deity may in fact be Nisaba—goddess of grains.

Notice that the goddess's shoulder and lowered arm are depicted in profile. But her torso, and head, are seen from the front. It makes her body seem wide, and clumsy. This depiction of two simultaneous views is something we see on images from various Mesopotamian sites and time periods.

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