Remarks on the Iconographic Motif of the Birdman in Mesopotamian Glyptic Art of the Third Millennium BC
Journal Title: Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences) - Year 2018, Vol 0, Issue
Abstract
The iconographic motif of the birdman emerged in Mesopotamian glyptic art in the Early Dynastic period and disappeared at the end of the Akkadian period. Its meaning remains ambiguous, particularly due to the fact that the figure is represented in scenes of varying character and it cannot be identified with any character known from myths. Sometimes, the creature may be recognised as a deity based on a horned crown, yet this is not always the case. Among the deities attested in the scenes with birdman, one can easily identify Shamash and Enki. The examined material contains 62 published seals or seal impressions with the birdman motif, both from the Early Dynastic and the Akkadian period. The latest monographic studies of this subject were published in the 1950s. Interpretations presented by the authors of said works, though often quoted in the research on the motif, seem to lack proper argumentation and, to an large extent, are outdated due to a considerable progress of the research on Sumero-Akkadian iconography and an increase, although modest, in study material, among other things. In light of the above, it is worth analysing this motif one more time.
Authors and Affiliations
Dominika Majchrzak
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP513152
- DOI 10.12775/EtudTrav.31.012
- Views 92
- Downloads 0
Medicinal Vessels from Tell Atrib (Egypt)
This article offers publication of seventeen miniature vessels discovered in Hellenistic strata of Athribis (modern Tell Atrib) during excavations carried out by Polish-Egyptian Mission in the 1980s/1990s. The vessels, m...
Re-reading a Statue of King Ramesses II Text or Iconography?
This article is dedicated to the study and comparison of the inscriptions and iconography of the red granite colossal statue in the British Museum, inv. no. AES 61. The idea behind this paper was to demonstrate how the r...
Remarks on the Iconographic Motif of the Birdman in Mesopotamian Glyptic Art of the Third Millennium BC
The iconographic motif of the birdman emerged in Mesopotamian glyptic art in the Early Dynastic period and disappeared at the end of the Akkadian period. Its meaning remains ambiguous, particularly due to the fact that t...
Les importations d’amphores Dressel 20 en Gaule Cisalpine
José Remesal Rodríguez examined question of Baetica olive oil imports in Germania and Rome but lacked data on Cisalpine Gaul. This study aims at supplementing the data on import of Baetica olive oil to Northern Italy. As...
Une grande reine et deesse
During the research led by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology at Heracleion a huge statue of black diorite was found on the site of the Temple. Preserved in four parts, the sculpture is nearly complete (2....