Seal, symbol of Inana, feeding of caprids by high dignitary

Germany, Museum Island, Berlin, Pergamon Museum

GODS, PEOPLE AND SYMBOLS

In the late Uruk period (late 4th/early 3rd millennium BC), gods were often represented by symbols. For example, on the seal on the left, two so-called bundles of reed rings, symbols of the goddess Inana, frame the feeding of caprids by a high dignitary. He, dressed in a knee-length skirt and a headgear with a wide brim, feeds the goddess's animals with flowering branches.

The so-called "man in the net skirt" also appears on the seal on the right. He stands in a boat in front of a bull figure with an altar on his back, which is crowned by two bundles of reed rings. The model of a boat, the outside of which is carefully painted, is for Comparison can be seen in the foreground.

A sculpturally worked bundle of reed rings, as shown on the seals, is in the background on the left. It is elaborately decorated with incised lines and circles and was part of the furnishings of a temple.

A special feature are the metal handle figures in the shape of lying animals, which both seals have on them. They, like the single small ram in the front center, are characteristic of the late Uruk period.

1 cylinder seal VA 10537, marble, approx. 3200 BC. BC

2 reed ring bundles VA 14943, clay, approx. 3200 BC. BC

3 lying rams VA 7240, stone, approx. 3200 BC. BC

4 cylinder seals VA 11040, lapis lazuli, approx. 3200 BC. BC

5 miniature boat VA Bab 1208, clay, painted, 4th/3rd century century B.C. BC

This is located at the Pergamon museum, Germany