A Sumerian Copper Foundation Figure, Early Dynastic III, circa 2500-2300 B.C.

of slender tapering form surmounted by the bust of a god clasping his hands in prayer, the face with wide mouth, prominent nose, and large wide-set eyes beneath finely arched eyebrows, the ribbed wavy hair swept back from the face, falling in long tresses down the back, and surmounted by a horned diadem, remains of an engraved cuneiform inscription on the shaft.

Georges Halphen (1913-2003), Paris, acquired prior to 1960
Drouot-Montaigne, Paris, Archéologie. Collection Jean-Alain Mariaud de Serres et à divers amateurs, October 1st-2nd, 2000, no. 676, illus.

Minerva (International Review of Art & Archaeology), vol. 12/2, 2001, p. 42

Closely related inscribed examples were found on the site of Telloh, the ancient Girsu in Southern Mesopotamia, each associated with an inscribed alabaster tablet and buried under the corners and threshold of an enclosure containing the monuments of King Entemena (see A. Parrot, Tello; vingt campagnes de fouilles (1877-1933), Paris, 1948, p. 105, fig. 25, and S.A. Rashid, Gründungsfiguren im Iraq, Munich, 1983, pp. 9-10, pls. 6-8). Comparable examples were once in the collections of Joseph Ternbach (see R. Merhav et al., A Glimpse into the Past: The Joseph Ternbach Collection, Jerusalem, 1981, no. 22, now in the Israel Museum), and Norbert Schimmel (see Schimmel Collection, no. 107, now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art?).

Other related examples were found at Al-Hiba, ancient Lagash in Southern Mesopotamia, under a temple dedicated to the goddess Inanna by Ennanatum, son of Akurgal, governor of Lagash (see D. Hansen, “Al-Hiba 1968-1969, a Preliminary Report,” Artibus Asiae, vol. 32/4, 1970, pp. 243ff., figs. 8-12, Rashid, op. cit., p. 8, pl. 5, figs. 49-51, and Sotheby's, London, July 9th, 1992, no. 282).

Also see E.D. van Buren, Foundation Figurines and Offerings, Berlin, 1931, pl. III, figs. 4-6, and R. Ellis, Foundation Deposits in Ancient Mesopotamia, New Haven, 1968, pp. 50ff., fig. 7. According to Rivkah Merhav (op. cit. p. 44), “Judging from their find location in the temples, the foundation pegs could have marked the temple area as sacred ground, reserved for the service of the god, and the act of thrusting a peg may have conveyed ownership. In any event, it is commonly accepted that the point of the peg was regarded as having the special power of pinning down evil spirits beneath the building and thus preventing them from causing any injury to the occupants or owner.”