Molded plaque: couple
Unknown Artist
ca. 2000–1700 BCE
Medium
Ceramic
Dimensions
5 1/16 × 2 7/8 × 7/8 in. (12.9 × 7.3 × 2.2 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Reliefs
Culture & Period
Isin-Larsa–Old Babylonian · Isin-Larsa–early Old Babylonian
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1932
Accession Number
32.39.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming molded ceramic plaque, depicting a couple, hails from the Isin-Larsa to early Old Babylonian period (. 2000–1700 BCE) in ancient Mesopotamia, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department Ancient Near Eastern Art. Measuring just over 5 inches tall, this intimate relief captures a moment of human connection from a time when southern Iraqi city-states like Isin Larsa flourished amid political rivalries and cultural innovation, just before the rise of Hammabi's Babylonian empire. Crafted in ceramic—a durable, everyday medium—the plaque was likely produced using a mold, ...