Remarks on the Iconographic Motif of the Birdman in Mesopotamian Glyptic Art of the Third Millennium BC
Journal Title: Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences) - Year 2018, Vol 0, Issue
Abstract
The iconographic motif of the birdman emerged in Mesopotamian glyptic art in the Early Dynastic period and disappeared at the end of the Akkadian period. Its meaning remains ambiguous, particularly due to the fact that the figure is represented in scenes of varying character and it cannot be identified with any character known from myths. Sometimes, the creature may be recognised as a deity based on a horned crown, yet this is not always the case. Among the deities attested in the scenes with birdman, one can easily identify Shamash and Enki. The examined material contains 62 published seals or seal impressions with the birdman motif, both from the Early Dynastic and the Akkadian period. The latest monographic studies of this subject were published in the 1950s. Interpretations presented by the authors of said works, though often quoted in the research on the motif, seem to lack proper argumentation and, to an large extent, are outdated due to a considerable progress of the research on Sumero-Akkadian iconography and an increase, although modest, in study material, among other things. In light of the above, it is worth analysing this motif one more time.
Authors and Affiliations
Dominika Majchrzak
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP481605
- DOI 10.12775/EtudTrav.31.012
- Views 68
- Downloads 0
New Dipinti in the Birth Portico of the Hatshepsut Temple at Deir el-Bahari
The subject of the present paper are two hitherto unpublished hieratic dipinti from the Birth Portico of the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. One of them had been written on the north wall of the portico and...
The Sacred Scents: Examining the Connection Between the ʿntjw and sfṯ in the Context of the Early Eighteenth Dynasty Temples
On the inner north wall of the Southern Room of Amun in the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari there is a depiction of the so-called frieze of objects, arranged in two rows. In the upper one vessels with oils contain...
(ET=EtudTrav/50) x 30
Études et Travaux has turned fifty years old and is herewith presenting its 31st volume. A good occasion to attempt a short retrospection.
An ‘Enigmatic Man’ in the Anastasis Scene from the Lower Church in Banganarti An Attempt at Identification
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to identify an ‘enigmatic man’ represented on the right side of the Banganarti Anastasis painting as Abel and to exclude the identification of the figure as ‘Moses at the Burning Bus...
Two Terracotta Incense Burners with ‘Horns’ and Vine Scroll Decoration from Tell Atrib (Egypt)
Among terracottas found in Tell Atrib in the Nile Delta by the Polish-Egyptian archaeological mission, there are two incense burners with ‘horns’ and vine scroll decoration. Both objects were made from a double mould. Th...