Figure 3.3 Gudea, seated statue made of diorite, from Telloh (Girsu). Louvre Museum, Paris
Gudea, a Neo-Sumerian king of the city-state of Lagash, occupies a special position in Mesopo tamian archaeology. Tablets discovered during the early French excavations at Telloh (ancient Girsu) document his reign exceptionally well. In addition, his image and that of his son, Ur-Ningirsu, have survived in a striking series of diorite statues (Figure 3.3). The image of kingship they present differs markedly from that seen in the Stele of Naram-Sin. For Gudea, a king best serves his city not as a warrior, but as a devoted servant of the gods.
At most half life-size, the statues reflect the predilection for small-scale figures already seen in the ED figurines of worshippers from Tell Asmar (Figure 2.14). It is fortunate that inscriptions on the statues themselves identify the figures as the king, because the features of face and dress alone do not indicate this. Not true portraits, these are standardized, idealized representations of a king in the position of worshipper. Although occasionally bare-headed and bald, Gudea usually wears a characteristic headdress, a cap with a broad woven brim.
Whether sitting or standing, he always clasps his hands
Reverently in front of his chest. In one unusual example, a drawing board with the plan of a temple rests on his knees. The god Ningirsu ordered Gudea, in a dream, to rebuild his temple; the pious king duly carried out the order, and had the statue made, with an explanatory text carved on it, to commemorate the deed.
The statues would have been given as gifts to temples. Unfortunately, the exact architectural context is unknown. While retrieving figures of hard black stone presented no difficulties to the explorers of Telloh in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, recovering the remains of mud brick temple walls from a matrix of dirt lay beyond their interest and capabilities.
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