Foundation Figure of King Ur-Namma

The first king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, Ur-Namma was responsible for the restoration of old temples and oversaw the extensive construction of new temples and stepped temple towers known as ziggurats. The figure depicts the king with his head and face shaved, his torso nude, and wearing a long skirt. On his head he carries a basket containing the mud to make the temple's bricks. The first one was molded by the king himself, who is represented in the occupation considered the lowliest in Mesopotamia—"carrying the basket"—for in the presence of the gods the king was a humble servant. The skirt is inscribed with his titles and achievements, Ur-Namma, king of Ur, king of Sumer and Akkad, the one who built the temple of Enlil. He is shown in an act of deep piety, and the sculpture gives us a rare glimpse of royal portraiture by first-rate metropolitan craftsmen of the twenty-first century B.C.