Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Noah's Beasts: Sculpted Animals from Ancient Mesopotamia

May 26 through August 27, 2017

Animal representations in the sculptural arts of the ancient Near East are remarkable for their evocative expressive power. Beautiful and durable, these artworks have withstood the millennia and preserve the record of humanity, its concerns and beliefs, for all subsequent generations. Often combining great attention to naturalistic detail with elements of stylization, the ancient sculptures—made in both stone and metal, some even with silver and inlays of shell and lapis lazuli—have a strong visual appeal; yet they also lend insight on the sacred, profane, sacrificial, and practical realities of the early Sumerian agrarian society, which is popularly known as the cradle of Western civilization.

This exhibition presents Mesopotamian sculptural works from ca. 3300–2250 B.C., bringing together for the first time pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Yale University Babylonian Collection, the Kimbell Art Museum, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Cylinder seals relating to each of the sculptures are also presented, including a remarkable seal from the Morgan’s collection showing animals acting as human. Through a focused consideration of these Near Eastern artworks, the rare objects emphasize the importance of the elements of the natural world that the ancients experienced and, by extension, the interdependence of the natural and the spiritual world. Inspiring the exhibition, the Morgan's famous 1646 B.C. clay tablet will also be on view; it is inscribed with the "The Deluge Story"—an early version of the familiar tale of Noah.

Noah's Beasts: Sculpted Animals from Ancient Mesopotamia is made possible by Jeannette and Jonathan Rosen, and assistance from The Frederick and Diana Elghanayan Family Foundation.

Head of a Lion, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Ur, Dromos of Queen Puabi’s Tomb, Early Dynastic IIIa, ca. 2550–2400 B.C., silver, lapis lazuli, and shell. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia B17064.

Selected Images

Head of a Lion, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Ur, PG 800, Dromos of Queen Puabi’s Tomb, U.10465, Early Dynastic IIIa, ca. 2550–2400 b.c., silver, lapis lazuli, and shell, 4 3/8 × 4 3/4 in. (11.1 × 12.1 cm). University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia b17064.

Tablet Inscribed with a Fragment of the Babylonian Flood Story Epic of Atrahasis in Akkadian, Mesopotamia, First Dynasty of Babylon, reign of King Ammi-saduqa (ca. 1646–1626 b.c.), Clay, 4 1/2 × 3 9/16 in. (11.4 × 9 cm). The Morgan Library & Museum.

Kneeling Cow Holding a Vessel, Southwestern Iran or Southeastern Mesopotamia, Proto-Elamite, ca. 3000–2800 b.c., silver. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1966; 66.173.

Nude Hero Grappling with Lions Attacking Horned Animals, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Ur, PG 800, Dromos of Queen Puabi’s Tomb on the Body of a Groom (no. 18), B16747 (U.10530), Early Dynastic IIIa, ca. 2550– 2400 b.c., inscribed, Lugal-shà-pà-da, cylinder seal (with modern impression), shell. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia; B16747.

Rearing Goat with a Flowering Plant (“Ram Caught in a Thicket”), Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Ur, PG 1237, Great Death Pit, U.12357, Early Dynastic IIIa, ca. 2550–2400 b.c., gold, silver lapis lazuli, copper alloy, shell, red limestone, and bitumen. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia 30-12-702.

Head of a Markhor Goat, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Early Dynastic III, ca. 2550–2250 b.c., copper alloy, shell, and red stone. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia; 29-20-3.

A Recumbent Sheep, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Late Uruk- Jamdat Nasr, ca. 3300–2900 b.c., black stone. Babylonian Collection, Yale University, New Haven; YBC 2261.

Vessel Supported by Two Rams, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Early Dynastic IIIa, ca. 2600–2500 b.c., gypsum alabaster. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, gift of Norbert Schimmel Trust, 1989; 1989.281.3.

Vessel Stand with Ibex Support, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Early Dynastic II–III, ca. 2650–2250 b.c., arsenical copper, shell, and lapis lazuli. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1974; 1974.190.

Head of a Bull, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Ur, PG 800, Queen Puabi’s Tomb Chamber, U.10916, Early Dynastic IIIa, ca. 2550– 2400 b.c., silver, lapis lazuli, and shell. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia; B17065.

Priest-King Offering Lion at Temple, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Late Uruk- Jamdat Nasr, ca. 3300–2900 b.c., cylinder seal (with modern impression), marble. Babylonian Collection, Yale University, New Haven; Buchannan 135.

Ewe and Ram Flanking Plant with a Gatepost, Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Late Uruk-Jamdat Nasr, ca. 3300–2900 b.c., cylinder seal (with modern impression), serpentine. The Morgan Library & Museum, Seal No. 5, acquired by Pierpont Morgan between 1885 and 1908.