Albaster statue of nu-banda Ebih-Il, c. 2400 BCE, Mari, Mesopotamia. Louvre
This intense blue gaze in lapis lazuli against a background of shell underlined with black clay is that of Ebih-Il. Around 2340 BC, he was a ‘nu-banda’ or superintendent, an important position including political and military responsibilities. He worked in Mari, in present-day Syria, in an era when the Eastern world was organised into realms ruled by princes or kings. Ebih-Il wears a kaunakès, a skirt with long tufts of wool, worn by both men and women. He is seated, his hands joined, in a praying or ‘orant’ position. This type of statue was set up in temples in order to perpetuate an act of devotion towards a divinity. The scale and dimensions of these statues vary according to the wealth of the commissioner. That of Ebih-Il is of extraordinary quality and in an excellent state of preservation. (Louvre)
