Early Dynastic III statue
- Gallery: Room 56
- Culture: Early Dynastic III
- Date: 2500BC
- Object type: statue
- Materials: limestone
- Museum number: 90929
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
before you stands a limestone statue from over 4,500 years ago, created during the Early Dynastic III period in ancient Sumer. a woman is depicted in a standing position, her hands clasped over her chest in a gesture of reverence or prayer. her carved features are elegant, with a subtle smile and particularly large eyes, reflecting the stylized aesthetic of the time.
this statue likely stood in a temple, representing a donor in prayer before the gods. such figures were common in southern Iraq, in the kingdom of Lagash. the artist used fine limestone to capture both grace and spiritual presence. the statue was discovered at Telloh, an ancient city now known as Girsu, one of the earliest Sumerian cities explored in the 19th century. it is a rare and beautiful example of early Mesopotamian religious art.
See it in person
Early Dynastic III statue is on display in Room 56 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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