Description
Book SynopsisThis stunning catalogue includes color photographs of more than 230 objects, excavated in the 1930s by renowned British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley, from the third-millennium-B.C. Sumerian city of Ur. Learn the fascinating story of the excavation and preservation of these magnificent artifacts.
Many of the objects are published in color and fully described for the first time—jewelry of gold and semiprecious stones, engraved seal stones, spectacular gold and lapis lazuli statuettes and musical instruments; and vessels of gold, silver, and alabaster. Curator Richard Zettler sets the stage with a history of Ur in the third millennium and the details of the actual excavations. Art historians Donald Hansen and Holly Pittman discuss the historical importance and significance of the many motifs on the most spectacular finds from the tombs.
Table of ContentsEarly dynastic Mesopotamia / by Richard L. Zettler -- Ur of the Chaldees / by Richard L. Zettler -- The royal tombs of Ur / by Richard L. Zettler, with a contribution by Steve Tinney -- The burials of a king and queen / by Richard L. Zettler, with a contribution by Paul Zimmerman -- Art of the royal tombs of Ur : a brief interpretation / by Donald P. Hansen -- Cylinder seals / by Holly Pittman -- Jewelry / by Holly Pittman -- Metal vessels / by Jill A. Weber and Richard L. Zettler -- Stone vessels / by Richard L. Zettler -- Shell containers / by Kevin Dante and Richard L. Zettler -- Tools and weapons / by Jill A. Weber and Richard L. Zettler.
