Standard of Ur from the Royal Tombs at Ur (modern Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq). Sumerian. c. 2600-2400 BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red Limestone.

Form

-Food brought in a procession to the banquet -musician playing a lyre -ruler wears a kilt made of tufts of wool: larger than others -Broad frontal shoulders -Body in profile -emphasized eyes, eyebrows, ears -Organized in registers -Figure stand-on ground lines Read from bottom to top

Content

--Two sides: two halves of a narrative -Early example of a historical narrative -reflects an extensive trading network of lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, shells from the Parisian Gulf, and red limestone from India

Function

-Perhaps used as part of a sound box for a musical instrument.

Context

Context

Additional Information

--Profile view of the head and legs while the frontal view of the eye and torso, making it a composite view -Subjects of greater importance are depicted in greater size: hierarchy of scale -Present restoration is just the best guess of how the Stand of Ur looked because when originally found the wooden frame, limestone, and lapis lazuli had decayed and the 2 main panels were crushed together.