Male figure
This kneeling male figure would have originally been part of a larger openwork composition. Openwork bronzes are known from the early second millennium B.C. in a variety of forms, but their function in antiquity is not fully understood. Slots and circular openings in the plaques suggest their use with cords, straps, or fabric. The kneeling male seen here – in a belted skirt and clean-shaven – appears on many of the plaques and would have been one of a pair, symmetrically arranged. Clean-shaven individuals in Mesopotamian art are often associated with the temple, where their lack of hair may have been a marker of purity and cleanliness.
Artwork Details
- Title: Male figure
- Period: Old Babylonian
- Date: ca. 18th century BCE
- Geography: Mesopotamia
- Culture: Babylonian
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: 1.61 x 1.69 in. (4.09 x 4.29 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of Lester Wolfe, by exchange, 1983
- Object Number: 1983.117
- Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art
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Assyrian
ca. 1307–1275 BCE
Babylonian
ca. 18th–17th century BCE
Kassite
ca. 1307–1282 BCE
Canaanite
ca. 14th–13th century BCE
Elamite
ca. 1500–1100 BCE
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