- Museum number
- 121201
- Title
- Object: The Standard of Ur
- Description
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"The Standard of Ur", decorated on four sides with inlaid mosaic scenes. One side shows a war scene: a Sumerian army with wheeled wagons and infantry charges the enemy; prisoners are brought before a larger individual, who is accompanied by guards and has his own wagon waiting behind him. The reverse shows scenes of men bringing booty or tribute; at the top the same large individual banquets with other men; they are entertained at the right by a singer and a man playing a lyre. The triangular end panels show other scenes; the object was found crushed but has since been restored, and samples retained.
- Production date
- 2550 BC - 2400 BC
- Dimensions
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Height: 21.70 - 22 centimetres
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Length: 50.40 centimetres
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Width: 11.60 centimetres (end; base)
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Width: 5.60 centimetres (end; top)
- Curator's comments
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The so-called ‘Standard of Ur’ is reconstructed as a hollow, trapezoidal box-like object made of wood (with the two largest sides sloping towards the top) and decorated with mosaic imagery on four of its faces; the base and the top are undecorated. The wood had entirely disintegrated at the time of excavation and the hundreds of tesserae required meticulous reconstruction. The two main inlaid panels depict scenes of war and its aftermath, composed of pieces of shell, red limestone, and lapis lazuli set into bitumen.
The purpose of this object is unknown, but its findspot may suggest that it was mounted on a pole and carried in procession. The standard was discovered at the so-called ‘Royal Cemetery’ at Ur in southern Iraq, in the burial of an unidentified king (PG 779). This large tomb, which consisted of four chambers, was unfortunately looted in antiquity, so few of the rich burial goods that were found in other tombs remained at the time of excavation. Although most of the tomb had been disturbed by the robbers, archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley believed that the standard had remained in its original location: It was found in the corner of the last chamber in close proximity to a male skeleton, between the man’s shoulder and skull, which was covered with lapis lazuli beads—likely the remains of an ornate headdress. Like several of the other occupants of the tombs at Ur, the king buried in PG 779 was accompanied by attendants—including possibly an elaborately-dressed standard-bearer. It is equally possible, however, that the inlays constituted decorative elements in the tomb rather than a portable object such as a standard.
The mosaic imagery of the standard constitutes a narrative that is laid out across three horizontal registers on each side, and read (for the most part) from bottom to top, left to right. An army sets out from the lower-left corner on the so-called ‘war side’ of the standard: proceeding to the right, soldiers in chariots drawn by four onagers (wild donkeys) each can be seen trampling enemies, who are represented nude—that is, humiliated and de-humanized. These bodies are detailed with cuts and streaming blood. The chariots appear to speed up as they progress to the right. While the first team of onagers is walking—all four legs visible, straight, and on the ground—the subsequent teams break into a gallop, their bent legs are aligned such that only one front and one back leg is visible; the final team rears up, front legs off the ground. Each chariot is steered by a driver while a second soldier on a platform at the back wields a javelin or axe; at the front of each chariot is a quiver with javelins. Ceremonial versions of such weapons in gold have been found in some of the Royal Cemetery tombs.
In the middle register, soldiers drive nude prisoners of war towards the right, wrapping around into the top register, where they approach the king. In the left half of the middle register, the soldiers march in an organized and uniform fashion: they all wear long capes (perhaps leopard skin)—ceremonial garb that can be contrasted with the short tunics worn in combat on the lower register. Each soldier holds a spear in an identical hand position, its tip overlapping the figure in front, falling on the back of his cloak near the elbow. The soldiers are thus inter-connected and equally spaced. By contrast, the procession of captives on the right side is chaotic: they are unevenly spaced, in various postures and stages of undress; some are bound; some are on their hands and knees, a soldier striking or prodding them; one prisoner of war looks back at the fate of his compatriots. The king stands at the centre of the top register. He is visibly the tallest figure in the composition, his head breaking the frame, indicating higher status. He wears a longer version of the soldiers’ garments and a helmet, indicating his active military involvement. Behind him is the empty royal chariot attended by a driver and several individuals of elite status, perhaps bodyguards, advisors, and/or members or the royal family; a small figure without a helmet may be the king’s young son.
The narrative on the other side of the standard—a celebratory ritual banquet—likewise begins in the bottom left. In the two lower registers, individuals process to the right, leading bulls, goats, and sheep and carrying booty or tribute along with various goods for the banquet, such as fish. Some figures—the victors—are beardless with shaved heads; they wear long fringed skirts and clasp their hands in reverence. The enemy captives are differentiated by their shorter tunics; when visible, their hair is curly, and some individuals are bearded. The top register depicts seven banqueters, all seated on stools that feature a hoofed leg, perhaps that of a bull; they raise a cup—probably containing beer—in their right hand. All of the figures are beardless with shaved heads—perhaps denoting ritual purity. As on the other side of the standard, the king is clearly identifiable: he is the largest figure wearing a distinctive garment—a tufted skirt—whereas the skirts of the banquet guests resemble those of the men below.
In his left hand, the king holds the remains of what was probably a flowering (male) date spathe, which suggests that the banquet is not only the celebration of a military victory, but also has to do with agricultural fertility (See second contextual image). Indeed, an ideal Sumerian king ensured fertility of the land and agricultural bounty—thus, the sustenance of his people. Sumerian rulers were chosen by the gods and went to war for them, especially in order to ‘return’ their land to them. Military success depended on divine support: supplication and gratitude were communicated through votive offerings, libations, festivals, and banquets. A central function of the king was thus to mediate between humans and the divine.
The seated king faces right, communing with his six guests and receiving the procession from the lower two registers. To be banqueting with the king, the seated individuals must have held special status as members of the royal family or officials and advisors close to the king; they may have also played integral roles in the battle. Between the king and the banqueters are two smaller (less important) attendant figures. A third attendant approaches a poorly preserved standing figure at the far left of the register—perhaps the queen, who might also have held a fruiting plant to complement the flowering branch held by the king. At the far right of the top register stands a musician playing a bull-headed lyre—several such instruments have been discovered in the Royal Cemetery tombs. A second with long hair standing behind the lyre-player is likely a singer. Musicians were often affiliated with temples and music was an integral part of many rituals and musical instruments were often deified. Some texts compare the sound of drums and harps to a roaring bull, presumably because both utilized cattle hides and thus retained the vigour and power of this animal.
The registers are framed by borders of red limestone diamonds set in between lapis lazuli triangles or lapis diamonds in between shell triangles. The trapezoid-shaped end panels are similarly framed and consist of three registers. The reconstruction of the imagery is uncertain, however, as the tesserae of these side panels were scattered when the ceiling of the tomb collapsed in antiquity, crushing everything that was interred. Nonetheless, the inlay pieces that have been recovered appear to deal with themes of fertility and abundance. Several of the scenes involve a rearing goat in proximity to a plant or tree, reminiscent of two sculptures that were found in another tomb at the Royal Cemetery: The goats rest their front legs on a tree covered in gold leaf to nibble its leaves and flowers; the fleecy tufts of the animals’ coats and facial features are composed of intricately inlaid pieces of lapis lazuli and shell. Additional imagery includes a leopard stalking a ram and lion-headed eagles attacking human-headed, bearded bulls—presumably symbolic representations of war. The lion-headed eagle—the Thunderbird Imdugud—is also a recurrent motif in Sumerian art. Defeated by the Ninurta, the supernatural creature becomes the god’s symbol. The themes of the two larger panels—war and abundance—thus recur on the side panels.
Select Bibliography:
Aruz, Joan, ed. 2003. Art of the First Cities: the Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Collins, Sarah. 2015. The Standard of Ur. London: The British Museum Press.
Lawecka Dorota. 2017. ‘Who Were the Tribute-Bearing People on the ‘Standard of Ur’?’ Journal of Near Eastern Studies 76, no. 2: 337-348.
Woolley, C. Leonard. 1934. Ur Excavations Volume II: The Royal Cemetery. London: The British Museum Press.
Zettler, Richard, and Lee Horne, eds. 1998. Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
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A number of the lapis lazuli tesserae have a groove cut on the polished face with a rough surface below, suggesting they were cut with flint blades and split (Tosi & Piperno 1973).
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
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2019 15 May-9 Sept, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2015-2016 20 Sep-11 Jan, Kobe City Museum, Kobe, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2015 14 Jul–6 Sep, Kyushu National Museum, Dazaifu, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2015 18 Apr–28 Jun, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2012 24 May-30 Sep, London, BM, 'The horse: from Arabia to Royal Ascot'
2010-2011, London, BM/BBC, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2010 29 May-15 Oct, USA, Kentucky Horse Park, 'A Gift from the Desert'
2003 5 May-17 Aug, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 'Art of the First Cities'
2001-2002 8 Nov-24 Mar, London, BM, 'Agatha Christie and Archaeology'
1991 9 Mar-7 May, Japan, Osaka, National Museum of Art, 'Treasures of the British Museum', cat. no.11
1991 5 Jan-20 Feb, Japan, Yamaguchi, Prefectural Museum of Art, 'Treasures of the British Museum', cat. no.11
1990 20 Oct-9 Dec, Japan, Tokyo, Setagaya Art Museum, 'Treasures of the British Museum', cat. no.11
1990 28 Jun-23 Sep, Australia, Melbourne, Museum of Victoria, Civilization: Ancient Treasures from the British Museum, cat no.5
1990 24 Mar-10 Jun, Australia, Canberra, National Gallery of Australia, Civilization: Ancient Treasures from the British Museum, cat no.5
Assyrian Room
- Condition
- Formerly crushed and fragmented; since restored
- Acquisition date
- 1928
- Department
- Middle East
- BM/Big number
- 121201
- Registration number
- 1928,1010.3
- Additional IDs
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Excavation/small finds number: U.11164 (excavation number)
