Ugo Sissa mesopotamic collection, incense burner

Ugo Sissa (Mantua,1913-Mantua,1980) was an architect with a strong passion for photography and painting. During his stay in Baghdad, where he worked from 1953 to 1980, he became interested in archaeology, that in those years was making great progress in the region of ancient Mesopotamia, between the Tigris river and the Euphrates river, in modern Iraq.The pieces that he collected were put on display in an important exhibit and were then donated to the municipal administration and specifically to Palazzo Te, thanks to the efforts of his heirs, his son Paolo and his wife Tudy Sanmartini. The collection comprises more than two-thousands objects: statuettes, amulets, seals, parts of necklaces, small wooden boards, pottery, cones, utensils, bricks.
This small fragrance-burner is similar to a box that stands on four legs. The surface is decorated with geometrical shapes. The type of object is characteristic of a period in which the trade of spices between Mesopotamia and Arabia was particularly intense.