A Sumerian limestone ritual stone vase

A Sumerian limestone ritual stone vase
Late Uruk-Jemdet Nasr Period, circa 3100-2900 B.C.
Of flaring form with flattened foot, decorated in raised relief with a frieze of two lions each attacking a bull, on a notched groundline, 12.6cm high

Provenance:
Hans (1900-1967) and Marie-Louis (1912-1997) Erlenmeyer collection, Basel.
Western Asiatic Cylinder Seals and Antiquities from the Erlenmeyer Collection (Part I); Sotheby's, London, 9 July 1992, lot 273.

Stone vessels of this type were highly prized luxury goods in Sumerian civilisation, being manufactured of often imported stone and requiring a greatly skilled carver. This type of cup often depicted bulls, though more commonly showed the beasts in ceremonial procession, as also depicted on contemporaneous cylinder seals, perhaps reflecting a real-life sacred herd associated with a religious ritual. The motif of a lion attacking a bull may be drawn from everyday life, though, more notably, it likely held symbolic significance, perhaps reflecting the conflict between destructive and harmonious forces of nature.