Translated Sumerian Clay Cuneiform Foundation Cone

Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Sumer, city of Lagash, Neo-Sumerian period, reign of Gudea of Lagash, ca. 2120 to 2090 BCE. A nicely preserved, hand-built clay votive foundation cone bearing a tapered conical body and a broad discoid head. The body is inscribed with twelve columns of cuneiform text formed by pressing a sharpened reed or stick into the still-wet clay prior to firing. Foundation cones like this example - also referred to as dedication pegs or funerary pegs - were inscribed with prayers or praises for specific gods or rulers. When translated this cone reads, "For Ningirsu, the mighty warrior of Enlil, Gudea, governor of Lagash, who built the Eninnu (temple) of Ningirsu, (also) built his Epa, the temple of seven sectors." Size: 4.8" L x 2.6" W (12.2 cm x 6.6 cm)

For a strikingly similar example, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 45.90.

For another strikingly similar example, please see "Beloved by Time: Four Millennia of Ancient Art." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 2000, pp. 18-19, fig. 28.

Provenance: private J.H. collection, Beaverton, Oregon, USA, acquired in October 2000; ex-Tom Cederlind collection, Portland, Oregon, USA

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#153267
Condition Report: Repaired from two large pieces across midsection of conical body, with resurfacing and light adhesive residue along break lines. Minor nicks and abrasions to head and body, chip to tip of body, and softening to some inscribed cuneiform characters. Nice earthen deposits throughout. Remaining cuneiform characters are still legible.