This elegant figure pertains to the Sumerian civilisation, an extremely advanced and complex society situated in modern day Iraq. Lasting for some fourthousandyears,the Sumerians were among the first cultures todevelopmostofwhatwenowtakeforgranted, from complex economies to advanced record keeping,literature,internationaltradeand recorded mythologies. In terms of date, we know that it comes from a period known as the ate Uruktothelate Early Dynastic,whichisroughlycontemporarywiththe European Bronze Age. However,wealsohaveagreatdealmoreinformationtoaddcontext.Thanks to the Sumerian habit of recording everything on clay tablets using cuneiform – oneofthefirstcomplexwritingsystemswecaninferagreatdealaboutthesociety,andpostulate further on the significance of this figure. We know that Sumer was characterised by various city-states, running in competition with one another for wealthandconquest,whilesharingsimilarcharacteristicsandmaterialgoods.Theyusedslavelabour,basedaroundlargetemplesandpalaces,andwerekeentoformalliancesandthuspushouttheboundriesoftheirnationinto Central Asiaand Turkey.Theirtradenetworkswereextensive,andcoloniesof Sumerianpeopleshavebeenidentifiedallacrosstheregion.Rulewasbykingship;rulers varied considerable in their methods although extreme cruelty and martial law (such as that exercised under Eannatum of Lagash) was the exception rather than the rule. It is significant to note that many oftherulersof Sumeriancitystatesweredescribedaspriestkings”,whichhintsatthesignificanceofthepriestlyclassinancient Mesopotamia.Theempleswerethemainstayoflocaleconomies.Itwasherethatproducewasbroughtastax,legalproceedingscarriedoutanddealswerestruck.Recordsofthisperiodarealmostexclusivelywrittenbyscribeswholivedwithinthetemplewallsandworkedundertheauspicesoftheadministrators,whowerethemselvesundertheauthorityofthepriests.Itis,therefore,difficulttooverestimatetheimportanceofpriestsintheeyesofthecontemporarypopulation.Stone Sculpture of a Priest AM.0096Origin:Central Asia Circa:3000BCto2500BCDimensions:8(20.3cm)high Collection:Near Eastern Style:Sumerian Medium: Stone

Antiquities
Ancient Near East