Old Babylonian Terracotta Plaque of A Dancing Male

£ 1,250.00

A mould-made, Old Babylonian, terracotta plaque depicting a male figure. He is presented in profile, facing to his left, with his left hand raised up high above the top of his head. This echoes the movement of his right hand and arm, which reaches towards his face. His hair is combed with a round headdress with a horizontal hair band on which vertical incisions are neatly grooved. He appears to wear a short kilt, with tassels resting on his bendy legs. One leg is shown bent at the toes, as though the figure is taking a step and thus expressing movement. His facial features are clearly expressed. The reverse of the plaque remains unworked, suggesting it might have been displayed in either a religious or a domestic shrine.

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Within traditional Mesopotamian glyphic arts, Babylonian terracotta modelled plaques were heavily influenced by the iconographies and narrative scenes depicted on Mesopotamian cylinder seals. Babylonian terracotta plaques however, invented a wide range of innovative images, which are not seen on traditional cylinder seals, with a strong emphasis on daily-life and zoomorphic scenes. Plaques were made in their thousands, from a mould and mass-produced. They were placed in temples and home shrines and the scenes and figures portrayed offered very personal meanings to their owners. The largest category of plaques discovered belong to individuals, with no specific attribution or identification, male or female.