Description
The shaven head, a sign of ritual purity, may identify this figure as a priest. A partially preserved inscription on one shoulder states that he prays to Ninshubur, the goddess associated with the planet Mercury.
Provenance
[Found at Bismya]; Sale, Sothebys, December 13, 1928, no, 41; Edgar J. Banks, January 4, 1931, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1931, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Inscriptions
[Translation] Seven line inscription on shoulder and back: (For) Ninshubur / [...] / [...] / [...] / His statue, / for his life, / may it stand (praying to Ninshubur).