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Foundation peg in the form of the forepart of a lion

ca. 2200–2100 BCE
Not on view
After the collapse of the Akkadian Empire and a brief period of decentralized rule, a dynasty ruling from the southern Mesopotamian city of Ur took over a large area of Mesopotamia, including areas in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, and ruled for about one hundred years (2100–2000 B.C.). During this period, a number of minor rulers maintained their independence at the margins of the empire. Among them were the kingdoms of Urkish and Nawar in northern Mesopotamia, a Hurrian-speaking area.

Based on its inscription, this bronze foundation peg in the form of a snarling lion almost certainly comes from the city of Urkish, modern Tell Mozan. On a very similar piece now in the Louvre, the lion holds under its paws a white stone tablet with an inscription that names the temple of the god Nergal. Pegs of this and other forms were placed in foundation deposits under temple walls as a dedication to the god. Their appearance in northern Mesopotamia represents the adoption of a practice from the south.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Foundation peg in the form of the forepart of a lion
  • Period: Early Bronze Age
  • Date: ca. 2200–2100 BCE
  • Geography: Syria, probably from Tell Mozan (ancient Urkesh)
  • Culture: Hurrian
  • Medium: Copper alloy
  • Dimensions: 4 5/8 × 3 3/16 × 3 5/16 in. (11.7 × 8.1 × 8.4 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1948
  • Object Number: 48.180
  • Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art

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7007. Foundation peg in the form of the forepart of a lion

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