King Ur-Namma is chiefly remembered today for creating the earliest known surviving legal code; a year of his era was called the “Year Ur-Namma made justice in the land.” In this sculpture, originally placed in a sealed foundation deposit under the gate of the temple of Enlil, he performs the lowliest of tasks, carrying a basket of mud to make the first bricks for the restoration of the temple. This act of deep piety stresses the king’s humility and deference to the divine. The figure was made not for display during Ur-Namma’s lifetime but for the eyes of the gods, and of mortals in a hoped-for future.
Foundation Figure of King Ur-Namma Inscribed in Sumerian: Ur-Namma, king of Ur, king of Sumer and Akkad, the one who built the temple of Enlil. Mesopotamia, Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2112–2004 B.C.). Copper. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1907. MLC no. 2628.