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Peter Reynaers

Pillow-shaped with cuneiform text to both faces listing goods including 1 shekel of refined silver from Mr Enshaga.  Comes with an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: “Clay tablet 58x64 mm. with 26 Compartments and One Column of Sumerian Cuneiform. This is oblong with rounded sides and edges. each side is divided into 3 columns, and all but the last two are filled with script. This is some kind of legal document from a Sumerian city not so far known for such texts. The first five columns list items, each with a number and followed by a compartment of a different kind. The last column, on the reverse, is different from the others in giving the name and title of an official who in some way presided over the transaction here recorded. Since it is without exact parallel, it is difficult to translate even when the text is clear (there is some surface damage and one corner is broken off). The items given start with "one donkey", and include a quantity of barley (3 gur of barley), "one shekel of refined silver," and "two iku" (acres of agricultural land) is the last item. after which the document concludes: "Mr Enshaga was their seller." Other items are followed by, apparently, personal names, but only once at the end does "was their seller" appears. More study and more similar documents are needed to clear up the problems. The last column begins clearly enough: Ege-anda, Nugig but the final line is not clear. Nugig is a title of a priestess, but only here, it seems, is such a lady a high official giving her blessing to the sale just recorded. This is a most interesting Sumerian document dating to the later early Dynastic periods, c. 2500 B.C.”

Size: 6.4 cm L - 2 1/2 inches
Material: Terracotta
Culture: Sumerian, Early Dynastic Period, c. 2500 B.C.
Condition: Stress cracks, otherwise intact


Provenance: Ex private collection of Mr S H; thence by descent,1980-1990. Previously with Timeline Auctions, UK. 
The seller guarantees that this item has been legally acquired & will be legally exported, related documents seen by Catawiki.
This item do not need an export licence within the EU. 
The seller will inform the buyer if it needs a UK export licence outside the EU

Worldwide shipping by Registered Mail. 
Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity 
N.B. Import duties may be incurred on orders shipped to countries outside the UK. 

Sumerian, Early Dynastic Period, c. 2500 B.C.

Sumerian Terracotta Cuneiform Administrative Tablet

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Sumerian Terracotta Cuneiform Administrative Tablet

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