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Basin on pedestal with relief representation

UnknownEarly Sumerian, c. 3500–3000 BCE

Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Berlin, Germany

Two mighty snakes twine around the branches of a tree. One of them is about to eat a frog, the other coils around a shallow basin and holds the feet of a naked, bearded man in its mouth. The man hangs upside down, and a third snake grasps the top of his head with its fangs, while two lionesses gnaw at his bent elbows. Between this group and the tree a lion stands over a prone man on the lowest row of stones. The man attempts to fend the beast off with his left hand, which disappears into its mouth.

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  • Title: Basin on pedestal with relief representation
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: Early Sumerian, c. 3500–3000 BCE
  • Type: Sculpture
  • Medium: Rock
  • Inv. no.: (MVF) XIc 3929
  • ISIL no.: DE-MUS-019212
  • External Link: Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
  • Copyright: Photo © bpk - Photo Agency / Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Ingrid Geske
  • Collection: Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte | Kaukasus und Vorderer Orient, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Neues Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

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