Ancient Near East, Sumeria, ca. 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE. A fine example of a foundation cone with roughly three-quarters of its conical body wrapped in dense cuneiform text. The body tapers to a rounded point and has a wide, slightly concave other end. Clay nails like this are also referred to as dedication pegs or funerary pegs; they were inscribed, baked, and stuck into walls made of mud-brick to mark ownership either by a god or a ruler. These dedications sometimes include stories or boasts about the rulers they describe, and are some of our earliest sources of written royal history. Size: 6.25" L (15.9 cm)

Provenance: private Healy collection, Studio City, California, USA, acquired over the last twenty years

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#129799

Chip from one side. Very nicely preserved cuneiform.