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A lasting prayer. This alabaster statuette from ancient Susa (in southwestern Iran) of a kneeling woman at prayer provides early evidence of the custom, well-established in neighboring Mesopotamia in the Sumerian period (2800–2000 B.C.), of a worshiper placing a statue of herself in a temple to perpetuate her prayers. With almond-shaped eyes, thick hair pulled back with a narrow band, and long skirt wrapped around her knees, the delicate figurine, dating to about 3300 B.C., exemplifies the refinement of sculptural arts in Susa (as in Mesopotamia) in the late fourth millennium B.C. At this time, Susa, rich in wood, stone and metal and located on a route leading to the sources of lapis lazuli and tin, emerged as the center of a regional trade network that provided raw materials and finished products to Mesopotamia and nearby regions.

French archaeologists found the diminutive statue, measuring only 4.5 inches high, among two caches buried about a yard apart and containing stone sculptures, crystal and paste beads, animal-shaped vessels, a bronze mirror, seashells and stones. Marble figurines found beside the statuette of the kneeling woman date to a later time, about 3000–2900 B.C., suggesting that the cache was buried in this period, perhaps at the base of a building as an offering.

A lasting prayer. This alabaster statuette from ancient Susa (in southwestern Iran) of a kneeling woman at prayer provides early evidence of the custom, well-established in neighboring Mesopotamia in the Sumerian period (2800–2000 B.C.), of a worshiper placing a statue of herself in a temple to perpetuate her prayers. With almond-shaped eyes, thick hair pulled back with a narrow band, and long skirt wrapped around her knees, the delicate figurine, dating to about 3300 B.C., exemplifies the refinement of sculptural arts in Susa (as in Mesopotamia) in the late fourth millennium B.C. At this time, Susa, rich in wood, […]