The Great Fatted Bull
Introduction
Tablet #36
Translation
Annotations
Transliteration
Sumerian Images
Sumerian History
The Royal Tombs of Ur
The "Standard" of Ur?
Standard of Ur:  Narrative
Eannatum
Vulture Stele Translation
Sumerian War Chariots
War Chariot Deconstructed
Sumerian Chariot  Model
Gudea Translation
The Face of Gudea
Unknown Portrait of Gudea
The Face of Ur-Ningirsu
The Face of Lugal-agrig-zi
Ur-Namma Translation
The Face of Ur-Namma
Face of Ur-Namma, part II
I am Ur-Namma
Shulgi
The Face of Shulgi
Who Were the Sumerians?
Other Sumerian Kings
The Princess Wife
Princess Wife sequel
Princess Wife whole story
The Great Fatted Jackass
Mesopotamian Prostitutes
Sumerian Queens
Unknown Sumerian Queen
Another Sumerian Queen
Pu-abi, the Queen?
A Sumerian Princess
Sumerian Lukurs
The Divine Right to Rule
Sargon's Victory Stele
Helmet: the King of Kish
The Standard of Mari?
The Battles of Ishqi-Mari
Miscellaneous
The Gebel el-Arak Knife
Hierakonpolis Tomb 100
Idiot
Queen Ku-Baba
Copy of the Std of Ur?
Mace or Vase?
The Invention of Writing
Adventures in Cuneiform
The Sumerian Scribe
A Masterpiece
Links
FAQs, Copyrights, etc
Contact
Site Map
   
 



As reported by the New York Times, this plaque was part of a cache of looted antiquities
that was seized by authorities in Bulgaria. It is now being held in the Shumen Regional Historical Museum. It is scheduled to be returned to Iraq.

My last post was titled “Copied from the Standard of Ur?” (you may want to read that page before proceeding with this one). I included a question mark in the title because I only had
a partial photograph of the plaque. I assumed that the plaque had other scenes that
mirrored those on the Standard of Ur, but I couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t be absolutely certain that it was copied from the standard until I saw a picture of the complete plaque.

The above picture was the only one I had. I knew that most of the plaque was not included
in the photograph. This type of plaque is always square. Judging by the position of the hole,
I suspected that the entire top and bottom rows of the plaque were missing from the picture.

This kind of plaque typically shows a banquet scene in the top row (register).


A king and queen enjoy a banquet while being attended by their servants.
Early Dynastic period (ED IIIb, ca. 2500 - 2340 BC).  Enlarge.


An ED IIIb plaque from the city of Girsu.  Enlarge. See some close-ups.

The bottom registers usually show the common people in a religious procession, bringing food and drink, and animals to be sacrificed for the king and the gods.


For two weeks, I looked everywhere for a complete picture of the plaque, without success.
I wrote to the New York Times and to the Shumen Museum, but they ignored me. Fortunately, a colleague sent me a copy.


The plaque. Click here the see the original photograph at full size. I adjusted the color and contrast of the photo to make it easier to read. See it at 150% magnification and at 200%.


A quick glance is all that is needed. The plaque is definitely a copy of the Standard of Ur.




The Royal Standard of Ur, peace side. Enlarge.


Ignoring some of the motifs (the hands folded in prayer, the gesture of obedience, etc.)
that are common to many plaques, let’s take a look at the scenes that are specific to the
Standard of Ur.



The banquet scene on the Standard of Ur. Just as I expected, the top register of the plaque shows a similar banquet, the same that is seen on many plaques. Click here to see the entire top register of the plaque.



The king (right) sits a banquet while being attended by two servants. His chair legs are in the shape of ram legs. He wears a kaunakes, a skirt made of woolen, leaf-like petals. It is a symbol of royalty.



The lords sit with the king. Their chairs also have ram legs. Two servants bring some wine
for the lords.



A musician plays a bull-headed lyre, like the one shown on the Standard of Ur.



An Akkadian herds a ram.



A man leads a bull by the horns. The bull is garlanded for the sacrifice.



A fisherman brings the catch of the day.



More rams.




Akkadians, in their distinctive angled-skirts, bring tribute to the conquering Sumerian king. They carry the tribute in bags and in backpacks.

Three pairs of Akkadians bearing tribute are shown in the second row of the Standard of Ur. Two pairs are on the plaque.



Donkeys. The ones on the standard have nose rings.

There's no doubt about it, the plaque is defintely a copy of the Standard of Ur. So now
only one question remains: Is it genuine or is it fake?

The Iraqi Museum obviously thinks the plaque is authentic (which is why they want it back), but I have my doubts.

1)  The plaque looks too much like the Standard of Ur. It looks like a direct copy. If an
ancient artist had copied the standard, it means he had personally seen the standard
up close (the standard is only 8.5 x 19.6 inches). This scenario seems unlikely because
the standard was always in the presence of the king. It’s difficult to imagine that the artist
had a chance to walk up to the standard and study it closely, while in front of the entire
royal court. It’s much easier to imagine that a modern forger copied the standard from a
picture in a book.

2)  The artwork is cruder than I would expect for a royal artifact from this period of history.

3)  The smooth bore of the hole in the middle of the plaque bothers me (a lot). It is
too smooth. It looks like it was drilled by a machine.

4)  The plaque should probably be classified under the heading of “Too good to be true.”

5)  Last, but certainly not least, the plaque has an unknown provenance. Without a clear provenance, there’s no telling where the plaque came from, or when it was created.


I personally would love it if the plaque was an ancient, authentic copy of the Standard of Ur;
but sadly, I think it’s just a fake.

But I’m still hoping that the Iraqi Museum will prove me wrong.






June 23, 2018