Foundation Figurine
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
Here, the head and torso of a male figure with clasped hands tops a pointed peg. Such figures, pounded into the ground near the foundations of important buildings, were believed to provide magical protection.
MEDIUM
Copper alloy
DATES
ca. 2900 B.C.E.–2500 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Early Dynastic II Period
DIMENSIONS
5 11/16 x 1 15/16 x 1 in. (14.5 x 5 x 2.5 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
81.7
CREDIT LINE
Gift of The Roebling Society
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Copper foundation figurine; male figure standing, facing front, arms bent at elbows and hands held to chest; lower part of body rendered as long peg; oval face with wide horizontal mouth; long hair arranged in horizontal strands falling onto upper back; torso summarily modeled, square in section; peg circular in section.
Condition: Figure nearly completely covered by brownish green patina, patches of green brightest on forehead, lips, chest, left arm, back, and most of peg; tiny patch of red on front of peg near top; original copper color visible on tips of nose and peg; end of peg eroded and misshapen.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Sumerian. Foundation Figurine, ca. 2900 B.C.E.–2500 B.C.E. Copper alloy, 5 11/16 x 1 15/16 x 1 in. (14.5 x 5 x 2.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of The Roebling Society, 81.7. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 81.7_front_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
front, 81.7_front_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a
Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online
application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the
United States Library of Congress,
Cornell University,
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and
Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our
blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact
copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.
