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The Old Babylonian period describes south
Mesopotamia in the period about 2000-1600 BC.
The early years saw a number of important states
dominating the region: Isin, Larsa, Eshnunna
and, from 1894 BC, Babylon. Babylon was ruled
by a dynasty of Amorite kings. The sixth ruler
was Hammurapi, who defeated the other
southern states and expanded his control into
north Mesopotamia. On the death of Hammurapi
the empire gradually shrank over about 150
years. Nonetheless, Babylon remained an
important power until it was sacked by the Hittite
king, Mursili I, in about 1595 BC. During the Old
Babylonian period literary activity flourished with
scribes composing and recording religious,
poetic and 'scientific' works in Sumerian and
Akkadian cuneiform. Perhaps the most famous
monument is the stele of Hammurapi, now in the
Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Ceramic plaques of this sort were mass-
produced from moulds and represent a form of
art available to a wide audience. The casting of
plaques was a simple and inexpensive way to
produce relief images, since numerous plaques
could be made from a single mold. They have
been excavated in temples as well as household
shrines in private homes. Their subject matter
varies widely, including religious images,
mythological and erotic scenes, and
representations of rulers and gods.
The female figure on the plaque is depicted
crowned, wearing a long tufted garment
covering her lower body, with an arrow in her left
hand and with weapons emerging from her
shoulders, suggesting that she is indeed Ishtar,
the Semitic form of Inanna, the goddess of
fertility and of war, in her warlike attire. As in
many images of Ishtar, her lower body is
depicted in profile and her upper body is shown
frontally, with her head en face and fully
engaging the viewer’s attention. This depiction
was already popular during the Akkadian period,
as suggested by a mould fragment datable to the
reign of Naram-Sin (2220-2184 BC) in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and
kept on being favoured during the Old
Babylonian period.
Reference: for a comparable depiction of Ishtar
on the Naram-Sin mould see J. Aruz, ed., Art of
the First Cities, NY, 2003: p.206, no.133. Also
D.P. Hansen, “ Through the love of Ishtar”, in Of
Pots and Pans,: Papers on the Archaeology and
History of Mesopotamia and Syria Presented to
David Oates in Honour of His 75th Birthday, Ed.
By Lamia al-Gailani Werr et al., pp. 91-112,
London.
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