id:			144695
accession number:	1969.37
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.37
updated:		2023-03-22 14:08:03.215000

Seated Ruler, 2000–1700 BC. North Syria, possibly the area of Ebla, 2000-1700 BC. Limestone with shell inclusions; overall: 66.7 x 38.2 x 54.6 cm (26 1/4 x 15 1/16 x 21 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1969.37

title:				Seated Ruler
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			2000–1700 BC
creation date earliest:		-2000
creation date latest:		-1700
current location:		102A Ancient Near East
creditline:			Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	North Syria, possibly the area of Ebla, 2000-1700 BC
technique:	limestone with shell inclusions
department:	Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
collection:	Near Eastern Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 66.7 x 38.2 x 54.6 cm (26 1/4 x 15 1/16 x 21 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review: 1969
	opening date:   1970-01-27T05:00:00
	<i>Year in Review: 1969</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).

	title:		Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture
	opening date:   1975-09-24T04:00:00
	<i>Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

	title:		Forgotten Realms. Heirs of the Hittite Empire
	opening date:   2019-05-02T04:00:00
	<i>Forgotten Realms. Heirs of the Hittite Empire</i>. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France (organizer) (May 2-August 12, 2019).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Paul Mallon, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-1969
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1969-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
The remains of a beard can be seen at the neckline.

digital description:


wall description:
Four thousand years ago northern Syria was a crossroads of peoples and cultures, meeting through trade and military conflict. This statue of a portly man sitting on a low throne combines Assyrian and Amorite stylistic influences. It was possibly found at Ebla, where some scholars believe the biblical Abraham visited as he traveled from Chaldea to Canaan around 2000 bc. Such a large carved stone image suggests a local ruler or high official. The head was removed, probably in an act of ritual defilement, since decapitation was believed to cancel the object’s supernatural presence.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Kozloff, Arielle P. "Three Ancient Near Eastern Celebrations and a Guest of Honor." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 61, no. 1 (1974): 14-26.
	page number: 	
	url:		http://www.jstor.org/stable/25152509.

	Orthmann, Winfried, Paolo Matthiae, and Michel Al-Maqdissi.<em> Archeologie et histoire de la Syrie: I. La Syrie de l'epoque neolithique a l'age du fer</em>. Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz Verlag, 2013.
	page number: 	p. 378, fig. 201
	url:		

	Blanchard, Vincent. <em>Royaumes Oubliés:de l'empire Hittite aux Araméens</em>. Paris: LienArt, 2019.
	page number: 	Mentioned & reproduced: p. 376. fig. 246
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.37/1969.37_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.37/1969.37_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.37/1969.37_full.tif