Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Old Babylonian Period, ca. 2000 to 1600 BC. This is a fine trio of terracotta tablet fragments that are impressed with dozens of characters - the completed tablets would have been covered in narrow horizontal bands of cuneiform, a very early form of writing. The largest has script on both sides - though one face contains considerably more characters, due to abrasions on the verso. The other 2 pieces are flatter and marked on one face, the characters are the most discernable at the center. Cuneiform script is one of the oldest known writing systems in the world, made using a reed as a stylus and scratching wedge-shaped marks onto clay tablets. Early cuneiform was pictographic, but in the 3rd millennium BCE it shifted to the more abstract form. While not translated, these tablets are clear enough for to discern some of the cuneiform, perhaps enough to glean some content from these ancient writings. Size of largest: 2.65" L x 0.75" W x 3" H (6.7 cm x 1.9 cm x 7.6 cm)

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#137736

All are fragments of larger pieces as shown. Chips and abrasions to faces, but characters are visible and sharp.