Cleveland Museum of Art

Statue of Gudea

Date

c. 2144–2124 BCE

Medium

dolerite

Culture

Mesopotamia, Neo-Sumerian, Iraq, Girsu

Department

Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This headless figure’s clasped hands create a distinctive gesture that recurs frequently on more than 30 recorded statues of the Mesopotamian ruler Gudea. Between c. 2144–2124 BCE, Gudea ruled as ensi (governor) of the city-state of Lagash, located in modern-day Iraq. Scholars have identified more than 2,400 inscriptions that describe his reign, which included patronage of the arts and an extensive building program. Statues like this one would have been placed in temples as stand-ins for Gudea himself, demonstrating his devotion and piety. Twice in the 20th century, this headless figure was wrongly "completed" with the head 1963.680, which comes from a similar sculpture.

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