Statue of Gudea, named “Gudea, the man who built the temple, may his life be long”
Unknown Artist
ca. 2090 BCE
Medium
Diorite
Dimensions
17 5/16 × 8 7/16 × 11 5/8 in. (44 × 21.5 × 29.5 cm)
Classification
Stone-Sculpture-Inscribed
Culture & Period
Neo-Sumerian · Neo-Sumerian
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This remarkable diorite statue portrays Gudea, prominent ruler of the city-state of Lagash during the Neo-Sian period around 2090 BCE. The inscription on the figure—“Gudea, the man who built the temple, may his life be long”—identifies him as a devout leader celebrated for his extensive temple-building projects, which helped restore Sumerian religious and cultural traditions after periods of upheaval in ancient Mesopotamia. Such works served both as votive offerings and lasting memorials, linking the ruler’s piety to the prosperity of his realm. Carved from durable diorite, a hard imported st...