Statue of Ebih-Il

Statue of Ebih-Il
Statue of Ebih-Il, superintendent of Mari
Material	Alabaster, shells, lapis lazuli, bitumen
Height	52.5 centimetres (20.7 in)
Width	20.6 centimetres (8.1 in)
Depth	30 centimetres (12 in)
Created	c. 2400 BC
Period/culture	Sumerian
Discovered	1934
Place	Temple of Ishtar, Mari, Syria
Present location	Musée du Louvre, Paris Heilongjiang Art Museum, Harbin (downsized replica)
Identification	AO 17551
Mari The Statue of Ebih-Il was discovered in Mari, modern Syria

The Statue of Ebih-Il is a 25th-century BC statue of the praying figure of Ebih-Il (𒂗𒋾𒅋, EN-TI-IL, e-bih-il),^[1]^[2] superintendent of the ancient city-state of Mari in modern eastern Syria. The statue was discovered at the Temple of Ishtar in Mari during excavations directed by French archaeologist André Parrot. It is made of gypsum, with inlays of schist, shells and lapis lazuli. The statue is displayed in the Musée du Louvre. It has been described as "a masterpiece by virtue of its craftsmanship, state of preservation, and expressive style."^[3]

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Overview

The statue, made of translucent smooth alabaster, depicts the figure of a man seated on a wicker hassock. He is shown in a praying posture with hands clasped against his chest conveying his devotion to the deity.^[3]

The man's head is shaved. His long beard is composed of vertical curls and has drilled holes drilled formerly inlaid with another, now-lost material.^[3] The beard accentuates the figure's cheeks and finely sculpted lips that convey a half-smile. The figure's staring blue eyes were crafted with particular care and detail. Flakes of schist, shells and lapis lazuli form the eyelashes and eyelids, cornea and iris, respectively.^[4] The lapis lazuli inlays were imported from as far east as Afghanistan.^[3]

The figure has a bare torso and thin waist. The hands are clasped against the chest, with the left hand closed and placed inside the right hand.^[4] The figure's only dress is the Sumerian-style ceremonial kaunakes skirt. This elaborate fleece skirt appears to be made from animal hide (probably sheepskin or goatskin) as evidenced by the presence of a tail at the back.^[3] The figure's feet are missing but their attachment piece is still showing under the dress.^[4]

The inscription in proto-cuneiform signs on the rear, which identifies the work, reads: "Statue of Ebih-Il, the superintendent, dedicated to Ishtar Virile."^[3]

𒊨 𒂗𒋾𒅋 𒉡𒌉 𒀭𒈹𒍑 𒊕𒄸𒁺^[5]
dul, Ebih-il, nu-banda, ^dIštar Nita, sarig^[6]
"This statue, Ebih-il, the overseer, to Ishtar (?), he dedicated"

— Inscription on the statue of Ebib-Il.^[7]^[8]

Excavation

The statue was discovered in two parts by a French excavation team under André Parrot.^[9] The head was found on the pavement of the outer court of the Temple of Ishtar,^[4] and a few meters away the body along with a smaller statue of King Lamgi-Mari.^[9] The left arm and elbow were broken, and the base of the right elbow was shattered.^[4] The statues were the first major discovery of the Mari excavations started winter 1933,^[10] the head found 22 January 1934, the body 23 January 1934.^[11]

Excavation of the head of Ebih-Il (22 January 1934)
Head of Ebih-Il (discovery, 22 January 1934)
Body of Ebih-Il (discovery, 23 January 1934)
Head of Ebih-Il upon discovery
Head of Ebih-Il upon discovery (profile)

Details of the statue

Ebih-Il in the Louvre, AO17551
The figure's facial expressions. The figure's hands are clasped in prayer
A profile of the statue showing the seated posture and the kaunakes skirt
A closeup of the finely crafted eyes
Dedication of the statue in Proto-cuneiform script: "Ebih-Il, nu-banda (𒉡𒌉, nu-banda, "overseer"),^[12] offered his statue to Ishtar Virile"
The name "Ebih-Il" (𒂗𒋾𒅋, EN-TI-IL)^[13] on the statue, with the corresponding standard Sumero-Akkadian cuneiforms.^[1]
A closeup showing the details of the wicker seat

Mari

Euphrates Terqa Tuttul Royal Palace
Kings
Yaggid-Lim Yahdun-Lim Yasmah-Adad Zimri-Lim Queen Shibtu
Archaeology
Investiture of Zimri-Lim Statue of Ebih-Il Statue of Iddi-Ilum

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b "Sumerian Dictionary". oracc.iaas.upenn.edu.
^ THUREAU-DANGIN, F. (1934). "Inscriptions Votives Sur des Statuettes de Maʾeri". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 31 (3): 143. ISSN 0373-6032. JSTOR 23297288.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Iselin, Claire. "Ebih-Il, the Superintendent of Mari". Musée du Louvre. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Parrot, 1935, p. 26.
^ The first character is 𒊨 dul3 for "statue" ("plaster") in "Statue inscription of Ebil-Il"., previously given as 𒊕 şalam by Spycket. A related reference: Lecompte, Camille (2014). Le sanctuaire du "Seigneur du pays". Cahier des Thèmes transversaux.
^ Written 𒊕𒄸𒁺 sa₁₂rig₉ "to donate a statue", rather than the later (Babylonian) 𒅖𒊒𒊌 išruk "to donate". For reference: "Statue inscription of Ebil-Il"., "Statue of Ikun-Shamash". CDLI.
^ Spycket, Agnès (1968). Les Statues de culte dans les textes mésopotamiens: des origines à la Ire. dynastie de Babylone (in French). J. Gabalda et Cie. p. 36.
^ "Statue inscription of Ebil-Il".
^ ^a ^b Cluzan; Lecompte, 2011, p. 5.
^ Parrot, 1935, p. 1.
^ "Voués à Ishtar. Syrie, janvier 1934: André Parrot découvre Mari" (PDF).
^ "Sumerian Dictionary". oracc.iaas.upenn.edu.
^ THUREAU-DANGIN, F. (1934). "Inscriptions Votives Sur des Statuettes de Maʾeri". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 31 (3): 143. ISSN 0373-6032. JSTOR 23297288.

Bibliography

Cluzan, Sophie; Lecompte, Camille; Musée du Louvre. Département des antiquités orientales (2011). Ebih-Il (in French). Paris: Louvre éditions. ISBN 9782757205099.
Parrot, André (1935). "Les fouilles de Mari (Première campagne)" (PDF). Syria (in French). 16 (1). Institut français du Proche-Orient: 1–28. doi:10.3406/syria.1935.8338.

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Antiquities

Near East and Middle East	ʿAin Ghazal statue Amarna letter EA 362 Amarna letter EA 364 Amarna letter EA 365 Amarna letter EA 367 Assyrian lion weights Baal with Thunderbolt Bushel with ibex motifs Cippi of Melqart Code of Hammurabi Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II Gudea cylinders Hurrian foundation pegs Investiture of Zimri-Lim Lament for Ur Land grant to Marduk-apla-iddina I by Meli-Shipak II Land grant to Munnabittu kudurru Lion of Mari Manishtushu Obelisk Masub inscription Mesha Stele Namara inscription Narundi Nazareth Inscription Nazimaruttaš kudurru stone Neirab steles Osorkon Bust Phoenician metal bowls Quintus Marcius trilingual inscription Sidon Mithraeum Statue of Iddi-Ilum Statue of Ebih-Il Stele of the Vultures Stele of Zakkur Tayma stones Tiara of Saitaferne Vase of Entemena Victory Stele of Naram-Sin Worshipper of Larsa Yehawmilk Stele Ziwiye hoard
Ancient Egypt	Gebel el-Arak Knife The Seated Scribe Banishment Stela Bentresh stela Bronze Sphinx of Thutmose III Cosmetic Spoon: Young Girl Swimming Dendera zodiac Great Sphinx of Tanis Khonsuemheb and the Ghost Raherka and Meresankh Stela of Pasenhor Tomb of Akhethetep Bull Palette Hunters Palette Statue of Karomama
Greece and Rome, Etruscan	Albani lion Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus Antinous Mondragone Antioch mosaics Apollo Belvedere Apollo of Mantua Apollo of Piombino Apollo Sauroctonos Ares Borghese Athena of Velletri Barberini ivory Borghese Collection Borghese Gladiator Borghese Vase Borghese Venus Boscoreale Treasure Cupid and Psyche Diana of Gabii Diana of Versailles Dinos of the Gorgon Painter Dying Gaul Eurytios Krater Furietti Centaurs Gladiator Mosaic Hera Borghese Hercules and the lion of Nemea Judgement of Paris (mosaic) Lady of Auxerre Las Incantadas Marcellus as Hermes Logios Nazareth Inscription Rampin Rider Sarcophagus of the Spouses Sleeping Ariadne Sleeping Hermaphroditus Statue of the Tiber river with Romulus and Remus The Exaltation of the Flower Venus and Mars Venus de Milo Venus Genetrix Venus of Arles Winged Lion of Vulci Winged Victory of Samothrace
Byzantine	Harbaville Triptych Lampsacus Treasure

Paintings

French	Anonymous: Diana the Huntress; Gabrielle d'Estrées et une de ses sœurs Boilly: Artists in Isabey's Studio Boucher: The Brunette Odalisque; Diana Bathing; Vulcan Presenting Venus with Arms for Aeneas Chardin: The Attributes of Civilian and Military Music; The Attributes of Music, the Arts and the Sciences; Boy with a Spinning-Top; The Buffet; The Ray; Saying Grace Chassériau: Aline Chassériau; Self-Portrait; The Toilette of Esther; The Two Sisters Claude: Village Fête Corot: The Bridge at Narni David: Andromache Mourning Hector; The Coronation of Napoleon; The Intervention of the Sabine Women; Leonidas at Thermopylae; The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons; The Loves of Paris and Helen; Minerva Fighting Mars; Oath of the Horatii; Portrait of Madame Marie-Louise Trudaine; Portrait of Madame Récamier; Portrait of Pope Pius VII; Self-Portrait Delacroix: The Barque of Dante; The Bride of Abydos; The Death of Sardanapalus; Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople; Liberty Leading the People; Lion Devouring a Rabbit; Mademoiselle Rose; The Massacre at Chios; The Murder of the Bishop of Liège; Orphan Girl at the Cemetery; Portrait of Frédéric Chopin; The Picador; Women of Algiers; A Young Tiger Playing with Its Mother Delaroche: Bonaparte Crossing the Alps; The Children of Edward; The Young Martyr Flandrin: Study (Young Male Nude Seated Beside the Sea) Fragonard: Coresus Sacrificing Himself to Save Callirhoe; The Bolt Géricault: The 1821 Derby at Epsom; The Charging Chasseur; The Raft of the Medusa; The Woman with a Gambling Mania; The Wounded Cuirassier Greuze: The Village Bride Gros: Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole; Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa; Equestrian Portrait of Joachim Murat, King of Naples; Napoléon on the Battlefield of Eylau Guérin: Jeune fille en buste Huet: The Flood of Saint-Cloud; Normandy Thatched Cottage, Old Trouville Ingres: The Apotheosis of Homer; Don Pedro of Toledo Kissing Henry IV's Sword; Grande Odalisque; Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII; Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière; Oedipus and the Sphinx; Portrait of Madame Marcotte de Sainte-Marie; Portrait of Monsieur Bertin; Roger Freeing Angelica; The Turkish Bath; The Valpinçon Bather La Tour: The Adoration of the Shepherds; The Card Sharp with the Ace of Diamonds; Joseph the Carpenter; Magdalene with the Smoking Flame; Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene Philippe de Champaigne: Ex-Voto de 1662 Poussin: Et in Arcadia ego; The Four Seasons; The Funeral of Phocion; The Inspiration of the Poet; Landscape with Orpheus and Eurydice Quarton: Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon Robert: Principal Monuments of France; Project for the Transformation of the Grande Galerie du Louvre Scheffer: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil Vernet: A Mediterranean Port Vouet: Allegory of Wealth; Hesselin Madonna Watteau: The Embarkation for Cythera; The Faux Pas; L'Indifférent; Jupiter and Antiope; Pierrot; The Two Cousins
Italian	Fra Angelico: Coronation of the Virgin Antonello da Messina: Christ at the Column Arcimboldo: The Four Seasons Bellini: Christ Blessing; Madonna and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Sebastian; Portrait of a Young Man Botticelli: Three Scenes from the Life of Esther; Venus and the Three Graces Presenting Gifts to a Young Woman; A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts Caravaggio: Death of the Virgin; The Fortune Teller; Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page Carpaccio: The Sermon of St. Stephen Carracci: Fishing; Hunting Cimabue: Maestà Correggio: Allegory of Vice; Allegory of Virtue; Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine; Venus and Cupid with a Satyr Costa: Allegory of Isabella d'Este's Coronation; Reign of Comus Ghirlandaio: An Old Man and his Grandson; Visitation Giordano: Adoration of the Shepherds; Marriage of the Virgin Giotto: Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata Guardi: The Doge on the Bucintoro near the Riva di Sant'Elena Leonardo: Bacchus; La belle ferronnière; Mona Lisa; Saint John the Baptist; The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne; Virgin of the Rocks Lippi: Barbadori Altarpiece; The Healing of Justinian the Canon; Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata Lotto: Christ Carrying the Cross; Holy Family with the Family of St John the Baptist; Saint Jerome in Penitence Mantegna: Crucifixion; Judgement of Solomon; Madonna della Vittoria; Parnassus; Saint Sebastian; Triumph of the Virtues Martini: The Carrying of the Cross Moretto: Saints Bonaventure and Anthony of Padua; Saints Bernardino of Siena and Louis of Toulouse Palmezzano: Dead Christ Panini: Ancient Rome Parmigianino: Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine Perugino: Apollo and Daphnis; The Battle Between Love and Chastity; Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist and St Catherine of Alexandria; Madonna and Child with St Rose and St Catherine (with Ingegno); St Sebastian; Young Saint with a Sword Piero della Francesca: Portrait of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta Pisanello: Portrait of a Princess Raphael: Angel Holding a Phylactery; La belle jardinière; Holy Family of Francis I; Madonna with the Blue Diadem (with Penni); Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione; Saint George; Saint Michael; Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan; Self-Portrait with a Friend; Small Holy Family Romano: Portrait of Doña Isabel de Requesens y Enríquez de Cardona-Anglesola (with Raphael) Salviati: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas Savoldo: Portrait of a Clad Warrior Signorelli: Adoration of the Magi; Birth of John the Baptist Tintoretto: Self Portrait Titian: The Crowning with Thorns; The Entombment of Christ; Madonna of the Rabbit; Man with a Glove; Pardo Venus; Pastoral Concert (also attributed to Giorgione); Saint Jerome in Penitence; Woman with a Mirror Tura: Pietà with Saints Uccello: The Battle of San Romano Veronese: The Wedding at Cana
Northern	Bosch: Ship of Fools Bruegel: The Beggars Christus: Lamentation (Pietà) David: Cervara Altarpiece; Triptych of the Sedano family Dürer: Portrait of the Artist Holding a Thistle van Dyck: Charles I at the Hunt; Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary, St John and St Mary Magdalene; Madonna and Child with Two Donors van Eyck: Madonna of Chancellor Rolin Friedrich: The Tree of Crows Hals: Catharina Both-van der Eem; The Gypsy Girl; The Lute Player Holbein: Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam; Portrait of Nicolaus Kratzer de Hooch: Card Players in a Rich Interior Jordaens: The Four Evangelists Matsys: The Money Changer and His Wife Memling: Diptych of an elderly couple Metsu: The Vegetable Market in Amsterdam Rembrandt: The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family; Bathsheba at Her Bath; Landscape with a Castle; Pendant portraits of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit; Philosopher in Meditation; Saint Matthew and the Angel; Self-Portrait; Slaughtered Ox Rubens: Helena Fourment with a Carriage; Helena Fourment with Children; Hercules and Omphale; Ixion, King of the Lapiths, Deceived by Juno, Who He Wished to Seduce; Marie de' Medici cycle; The Village Fête; The Virgin and Child Surrounded by the Holy Innocents Ruisdael: Dune Landscape near Haarlem; The Ray of Light; Storm Off a Sea Coast Scheffer: Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil Vermeer: The Astronomer; The Lacemaker van der Weyden: Annunciation Triptych; Braque Triptych Wtewael: Perseus Freeing Andromeda
Spanish	El Greco: Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors; Portrait of Antonio de Covarrubias; Saint Louis Goya: Portrait of Ferdinand Guillemardet; Portrait of the Marquise de la Solana; Still Life of a Lamb's Head and Flanks Murillo: The Birth of the Virgin; The Young Beggar Ribera: The Clubfoot Zurbarán: Displaying the Body of Saint Bonaventure; Saint Apollonia
English	Bonington: Francis I, Charles V and the Duchess of Étampes Lewis: Street Scene near the El Ghouri Mosque in Cairo
American	Leutze: Christopher Columbus Before the Council of Salamanca

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