Bidspirit auction | A SUMERIAN-STYLE MARBLE FIGURE OF

A SUMERIAN-STYLE MARBLE FIGURE OF A SEATED DEITY OR WORSHIPPER, POSSIBLY ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA. - A carved marble figure in the Sumerian / Ancient Mesopotamian tradition, depicting a seated figure with the arms held across the chest and the hands resting one above the other. The figure is represented frontally with large almond-shaped eyes, a prominent nose and a gently smiling mouth, the head framed by a distinctive headdress or coiffure. The body is enveloped in a heavily textured, tiered garment, its surface carved in successive registers suggestive of the tufted or fleeced ceremonial garments traditionally associated with early Mesopotamian sculpture. The garment continues around the sides and reverse, where the carving becomes more schematic. Incised linear details appear across the upper body and garment. The figure's formal frontal pose, clasped or folded hands and elaborate dress evoke the visual vocabulary of Sumerian votive sculpture, in which representations of deities, priests, dignitaries and worshippers were deposited within sacred contexts as expressions of perpetual devotion. The precise identity of the figure cannot be established from the photographs alone, and it is therefore preferable to describe it as a deity or votive figure rather than assigning it to a specific Mesopotamian divinity. H: Approximately 16.5cm