Mesopotamian art and architecture

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The Great Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq, a massive ancient brick structure with broad staircases and terraced levels, stands alone in a barren landscape.

Sumerian inscription, detail of a diorite statue of Gudea of Lagash, 22nd century bce; in the Louvre, Paris.

the Standard of Ur

Ea (seated) and attendant deities

Bronze head of an Akkadian king, possibly Sargon of Akkad, with detailed curled beard and patterned hair, displayed on a white pedestal.

Image shows a seal depicting several mythical creatures fighting.

The Code of Hammurabi diorite stela, with carved figures at the top showing Hammurabi seated with cuneiform inscriptions below.

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Mesopotamian art and architecture: Media

visual arts

Images

The Great Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq, a massive ancient brick structure with broad staircases and terraced levels, stands alone in a barren landscape.

Ziggurat at Ur

Ziggurat at Ur (modern Tall al-Muqayyar, Iraq), constructed c. 2100 bce.

© Simon11uk—iStock/Getty Images

Sumerian inscription, detail of a diorite statue of Gudea of Lagash, 22nd century bce; in the Louvre, Paris.

Sumerian inscription, detail of a diorite statue of Gudea of Lagash, 22nd century...

Archives Photographiques

Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash, Sumeria, wearing a traditional kaunakes, limestone...

© Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Nergal

Nergal

Nergal, a Mesopotamian god of the underworld, holding his lion-headed staffs, terra-cotta...

Courtesy of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Eng.

the Standard of Ur

the Standard of Ur

The Standard of Ur (detail), mosaic of lapis lazuli, shell, coloured stone, and mother-of-pearl,...

© Science Source

Ea (seated) and attendant deities

Ea (seated) and attendant deities

Ea (seated) and attendant deities, Sumerian cylinder seal, c. 2300 bce;...

Courtesy of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York

Bronze head of an Akkadian king, possibly Sargon of Akkad, with detailed curled beard and patterned hair, displayed on a white pedestal.

bronze head of a king from Nineveh

Bronze head of a king, perhaps Sargon of Akkad, from Nineveh (now in Iraq), Akkadian...

© DEA Picture Library—De Agostini/Getty Images

Image shows a seal depicting several mythical creatures fighting.

Akkadian cylinder seal

Cylinder seal impression from the Akkadian period with a combat scene between a bearded...

Courtesy of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of The University of Chicago

The Code of Hammurabi diorite stela, with carved figures at the top showing Hammurabi seated with cuneiform inscriptions below.

Code of Hammurabi

Diorite stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi, 18th century bce.

© Art Media—Print Collector/Getty Images

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Winged bull with a human head, guardian figure (lamassu) from the gate of...

Rama, CC-BY-SA-2.0-FR

Alabaster relief sculpture showing a wounded lioness dragging her hind legs, pierced by arrows, from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh, Assyrian period.

“Dying Lioness,” detail of an alabaster mural relief from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal,...

© Irstone/Dreamstime.com

The Ishtar Gate in Iraq, a tall blue structure with two towers, decorated with rows of yellow and white animal reliefs and geometric patterns around an arched entrance.

Ishtar Gate, Iraq

A reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate, at the ruins of Babylon, near Al-Ḥillah, Iraq....

© juerpa68/stock.adobe.com

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