The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Seated Ruler

Seated Ruler

2000–1700 BCE
Overall: 66.7 x 38.2 x 54.6 cm (26 1/4 x 15 1/16 x 21 1/2 in.)

Did You Know?

The remains of a beard can be seen at the neckline.

Description

Four thousand years ago northern Syria was a crossroads of peoples and cultures, meeting through trade and military conflict. This statue of a portly man sitting on a low throne combines Assyrian and Amorite stylistic influences. It was possibly found at Ebla, where some scholars believe the biblical Abraham visited as he traveled from Chaldea to Canaan around 2000 bc. Such a large carved stone image suggests a local ruler or high official. The head was removed, probably in an act of ritual defilement, since decapitation was believed to cancel the object’s supernatural presence.
  • ?-1969
    Paul Mallon, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1969-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Kozloff, Arielle P. "Three Ancient Near Eastern Celebrations and a Guest of Honor." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 61, no. 1 (1974): 14-26. www.jstor.org
    Orthmann, Winfried, Paolo Matthiae, and Michel Al-Maqdissi. Archeologie et histoire de la Syrie: I. La Syrie de l'epoque neolithique a l'age du fer. Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz Verlag, 2013. p. 378, fig. 201
    Blanchard, Vincent. Royaumes Oubliés:de l'empire Hittite aux Araméens. Paris: LienArt, 2019. Mentioned & reproduced: p. 376. fig. 246
  • Forgotten Realms. Heirs of the Hittite Empire. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (organizer) (May 2-August 12, 2019).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
  • {{cite web|title=Seated Ruler|url=false|author=|year=2000–1700 BCE|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.37