DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0096
58 EARLY BABYLONIAN PERIOD
are carved wherever there is space, with no feeling for orderly-
arrangement such as we found in early Egyptian work. In fact
the whole relief, though it tells its story, is very crude.
In the relief of N ar am-Sin (Pl. 19 b) the king, at the head of
his army, is fighting in a mountainous country. Woods are
suggested by one tree. The army is marching up to the place
where the king stands with one foot on two of the foe; before
him are two others, one of whom is falling pierced by his spear,
while the second stands imploring mercy. Naram-Sin is repre-
sented just at the moment of lowering his spear, which indicates
that he grants the plea. The king, large of stature, as is custo-
mary, stands out as a noble figure in splendid isolation, forming
a center of interest toward which the lines of the spears and the
soldiers lead. The figure is battered, especially the head, yet
we can see that it is finely modeled and full of vitality, in marked
contrast to the squat proportions, conventionality, and over-
crowding of the relief of Urnina. The sculptor has selected a
single dramatic moment, clarified and unified his composition,
and created a monument that is distinctly noble.
Sculpture in the round is best represented by a statue of Gudea
(Pl. 19 a). It is carved from hard diorite, obtained from a long
distance. The prince is seated, clothed in the characteristic
heavy skirt, here covered with inscriptions, while his mantle
falls from the left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder and arm
exposed. The hands are tightly clasped in the traditional atti-
tude of devotion. The figure is heavy and squat, but in the ex-
posed parts of the body, particularly in the shoulder and arm,
we can discern the strong modeling of the muscles and the nervous
tension in the clasped hands. The heavy feeling of the body is
evident in the head too, accentuated by the woolen cap, short
neck, and the blank expression. However, the modeling about
the mouth, the cheeks, and the inner corner of the eye is careful.
The eyebrows, conventionally indicated by a fishbone pattern,
meet in a point between the eyes. In spite of poor proportions,
and heaviness there is a brusque strength and dignity about
this figure.
But when we look at these reliefs and statues, and remember
that, at the same time that the Babylonian was making them, the
Egyptian was carving the statue of YJnafre and the panel of
Hesire, we doubt the ability of the men of the Tigris and Eu-
phrates valley in sculpture, and their feeling for design.
are carved wherever there is space, with no feeling for orderly-
arrangement such as we found in early Egyptian work. In fact
the whole relief, though it tells its story, is very crude.
In the relief of N ar am-Sin (Pl. 19 b) the king, at the head of
his army, is fighting in a mountainous country. Woods are
suggested by one tree. The army is marching up to the place
where the king stands with one foot on two of the foe; before
him are two others, one of whom is falling pierced by his spear,
while the second stands imploring mercy. Naram-Sin is repre-
sented just at the moment of lowering his spear, which indicates
that he grants the plea. The king, large of stature, as is custo-
mary, stands out as a noble figure in splendid isolation, forming
a center of interest toward which the lines of the spears and the
soldiers lead. The figure is battered, especially the head, yet
we can see that it is finely modeled and full of vitality, in marked
contrast to the squat proportions, conventionality, and over-
crowding of the relief of Urnina. The sculptor has selected a
single dramatic moment, clarified and unified his composition,
and created a monument that is distinctly noble.
Sculpture in the round is best represented by a statue of Gudea
(Pl. 19 a). It is carved from hard diorite, obtained from a long
distance. The prince is seated, clothed in the characteristic
heavy skirt, here covered with inscriptions, while his mantle
falls from the left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder and arm
exposed. The hands are tightly clasped in the traditional atti-
tude of devotion. The figure is heavy and squat, but in the ex-
posed parts of the body, particularly in the shoulder and arm,
we can discern the strong modeling of the muscles and the nervous
tension in the clasped hands. The heavy feeling of the body is
evident in the head too, accentuated by the woolen cap, short
neck, and the blank expression. However, the modeling about
the mouth, the cheeks, and the inner corner of the eye is careful.
The eyebrows, conventionally indicated by a fishbone pattern,
meet in a point between the eyes. In spite of poor proportions,
and heaviness there is a brusque strength and dignity about
this figure.
But when we look at these reliefs and statues, and remember
that, at the same time that the Babylonian was making them, the
Egyptian was carving the statue of YJnafre and the panel of
Hesire, we doubt the ability of the men of the Tigris and Eu-
phrates valley in sculpture, and their feeling for design.