Cuneiform tablet: Utu-gin e-ta, balag composition addressed to Enlil
Unknown Artist
ca. 145 BCE
Medium
Clay
Dimensions
2 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 1 in. (6.9 x 6.9 x 2.5 cm)
Classification
Clay-Tablets-Inscribed
Culture & Period
Seleucid · Seleucid
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, 1886
Accession Number
86.11.182
Art Historical Context
This small clay tablet, inscribed with cuneiform script and dating to around 145 BCE, hails from the Seleucid period in ancient Mesopotamia. Crafted during the Hellenistic era following Alexander the Great's conquests it exemplifies the enduring cultural fusion in the Near East, where Greek rulers coexisted with longstanding Babylonian traditions. Measuring just 2¾ x 2¾ x 1 inches, this unassuming artifact—acquired by the Metropolitan Museum Art in 1886—preserves a "balag" composition titled *Utu-gin e-ta*, a poetic lament or prayer addressed to Enlil, the supreme Sumerian god of wind, earth, ...