Priest-King or Deity
Unknown Artist
c. 1600 BCE
Medium
basalt with bone eyes (left, ancient; right, restored)
Dimensions
h. 87.6 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1971.45
About this artwork
The Hittites migrated into Anatolia in the 3rd millennium BCE and spoke an Indo-European language, a group that includes Greek, Latin, Persian, Sanskrit, English, and most modern European languages. They were the first ancient people to use iron for weapons. From about 1600–1200 BCE their empire was at its peak, extending from central Anatolia to Syria, and south along the eastern Mediterranean. Their vast empire and interest in commerce enabled the Hittites to spread Mesopotamian ideas and cult...