Cone for Mosaic Wall Decoration

AAT Object Form/FunctionDecoration (Process)

AAT Object Form/FunctionWall Tile (tile)

Place CreatedUruk, Iraq, Asia

CultureSumerian

PeriodUruk Period

Date4000-3100 BCE

MediumClay

Credit LineCollected by William A. Shelton, funded by John A. Manget

Dimensions4 5/16 x 1 3/16 in. (11 x 3 cm)

Object number1921.149

Label TextThe abundance of mudbrick and the general lack of good timber and stone in Mesopotamia helped shape the development of architectural forms and decoration. During the later fourth millennium, Mesopotamian builders often enriched the walls of temples with tens of thousands of small clay cones. Sometimes dipped in black or red pigment, these cones were inserted side by side in a thick mud plaster to form mosaic-like patterns with geometric designs of zigzags, lozenges, and triangles.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 11, 1993 - Spring 2001
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2001-February 12, 2018
Michael C. Carlos Museum Morgens West Foundation Galleries of Ancient Near Eastern Art, November 10, 2018 - Present

ProvenanceAcquired for Emory University Museum by William Shelton (1875-1959), ca. 1920.

Status

On view

Collections