Fired clay, white marble, black shale, reddish limestone, bitumen
Early Dynastic III; 2400–2200 BCE
Iraq
The British Museum
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Ancient Mesopotamia
Theme
The Great River Civilisations outside India: Mesopotamia, Egypt and China
Subtheme
Mesopotamia – The Land of the Two Rivers
Case Title
Mesopotamia - temples and houses
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Findspot
Tell Al-'Ubaid, Iraq
Measurements
36 x 14 x (dia.) 14 cm
Accession Number
1924,0920.464
Description
This exquisite ornamental flower of coloured clay would have been one of many, pressed into the mud walls, to create a larger decorative pattern. Such architectural ornamentations were often created using simple pegs/nails with painted heads.
Stone was scarce, so most buildings were constructed from mud bricks.
