The Mask of Warka is one of the best-known artworks from ancient Mesopotamia. It dates to 3,100 BCE, created during the Sumerian period. Also known as the Sumerian Mona Lisa, the mask is considered to be the earliest known representation of the human face. It was discovered in 1939 in an expedition of the archaeological site of Warka in Iraq, led by Dr A. Nöldeke. The Mask of Warka is believed to be a representation of Goddess Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, war, beauty, sex and fertility. Know more about the discovery, description and analysis of this famous piece of Mesopotamian art.
Table of Contents
The Key Questions
The Sumerians were not the first residents of Mesopotamia. It is not known from where they came and who they replaced. They are believed to have been permanently settled in the region by middle of 6th millennia BCE. Their civilization was the first major civilization to develop in Mesopotamia. It flourished from before 4,000 BCE to around 2,340 BCE.
Sumer is among the first complex societies to develop in the world, along with Indus Valley and Egypt. It is responsible for many firsts in the history of mankind. These include the first city-state of Uruk; the first organized religion; the first known written language, cuneiform; the first irrigation system; and the first wheeled vehicles.
S1 – Sumerian Art Overview
S2 – Discovery
Uruk was among the most important cities in ancient Mesopotamia. Today it is an archaeological site known as Warka. The Mask of Warka, also known as the Lady of Uruk, was discovered on February 22, 1939, during an expedition by the German Archaeological Institute. The expedition was led by Dr A. Nöldeke. The mask was found in the Ianna district of Warka.
The Mask of Warka was stolen around April 9, 2003 during the US invasion of Baghdad. It was one of around 13,000 pieces stolen from the Iraq Museum. The mask was recovered on September 23 from a farm just north of Baghdad, during an intensive search by US troops and Iraqi police. It was buried under 15cm of dirt and was still in excellent condition.
S3 – Description
The Mask of Warka is approximately 20cm tall. It was once part of a cult statue which resided in Uruk’s White Temple. However, this life-size statue is now lost. The Mask probably represents the Sumerian Goddess Inanna as it was found in her sacred precinct within the temple. The eyes and the eyebrows, which are now hollow, were probably inlaid with shells and precious stone.
The head of the statue is finely chiseled. The waves of sculpted hair must have been overlain with metal. The technique of chasing might have been used to sink the metal to form some sort of hairstyle. The head is flattened at the back indicating that it was attached to another material forming the back of the hairstyle.
Perforations at the top of the head and in the area of the ears suggest that the statue wore some kind of headdress and earrings. The softly carved lips and rounded cheeks indicate the interest of the sculptor in naturalistic modeling. All this must have combined to give the viewer a stunning effect of a powerful frontal gaze.
S4 – Analysis
The Mask of Warka has abstract features like its large eyes and dramatic eyebrows. This contrasts with the naturalistic carving style and modeling of the outlines of the face. This naturalism does not indicate the intention of the sculptor to represent the world in an accurate way as in “modern realism”. Art forms in Mesopotamia were more concerned with the imaginative and the abstract rather than imitating the world. They aimed to capture the invisible divinity in tangible form.
S5 – Mesopotamia Art Purpose
Main Sources
S2:-
Vernon, Katie. (2018). “The First City in Recorded History”. The Vintage News.
(2007). Matthews, Roger. “Uruk-Warka, Iraq”. Current World Archaeology.
(Sep 24, 2003). “Iraq’s missing Mona Lisa returns”. Al Jazeera Media Network.
S3:-
Janson, H. W., Davies, Penelope J. E. “Janson’s History of Art: The Western Tradition”. pp25.
Bahrani, Zainab. (2017). “Mesopotamia – Ancient Art and Architecture”. Thames & Hudson. pp48, 49.
S4:-
Janson, H. W., Davies, Penelope J. E. “Janson’s History of Art: The Western Tradition”. pp 25.
Bahrani, Zainab. (2017). “Mesopotamia – Ancient Art and Architecture”. Thames & Hudson. pp 49, 50.