The statuettes of praying figures unearthed in the temples of Mari were carved out of gypsum. This material was mined from cliffs along the banks of the Euphrates. The sculptors gave the figure very round eyes since this was supposed to express the adoration offered by the people who were represented by the orants. The eyes were made with bits of blue lapis lazuli, white shell, white schist, and black bitumen, which was used as an adhesive to hold the inlaid parts in the eye sockets. The worshippers were shown dressed in a sheepskin, goatskin, or sometimes a cloth garment fringed along the lower edge with tufts of animal fleece.
Provenance: Mari Temple of Ninni-Zaza.
Era: Early Bronze Age (about 2500 BC).
Substance: gypsum.
Dimensions: 56 x 19 x 20 cm.
Text: Michel Fortin (p. 281).
Photography: Jacques Lessard.
Collection of the National Museum of Damascus.
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.
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