Standard of Ur

E128272

The Standard of Ur is an ancient Sumerian artifact from around 2600–2400 BCE, a richly inlaid wooden box depicting scenes of war and peace that offers key insights into early Mesopotamian society.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Standard of Ur canonical 5

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Mesopotamian artwork
Sumerian artifact
archaeological artifact
work of art
artStyle register composition
city London, England
surface form: London
civilization ancient Mesopotamia
collection Department of the Middle East of the British Museum
surface form: British Museum Department of the Middle East
country United Kingdom
culture Sumer
surface form: Sumerian
date circa 2600–2400 BCE
depicts animals
banquet scene
captives
chariots
infantry
musicians
servants
warfare
discoveredBy Leonard Woolley
discoveryDate 1927
foundIn Royal Tombs of Ur
surface form: Royal Cemetery at Ur

Ur
function unknown
hasFeature hieratic scale of figures
three horizontal registers on each side
hasSide Peace side
War side
height about 21.6 cm
hypothesizedFunction musical instrument soundbox
standard
storage box
length about 49.5 cm
locatedIn British Museum
material bitumen
lapis lazuli
red limestone
shell
wood
modernCountry Iraq
museumInventoryNumber BM 121201
originatesFrom city-state of Ur
period Early Dynastic period
surface form: Early Dynastic III period
shape trapezoidal box
shows early state organization
feasting practices
military technology
social hierarchy
significance key source for understanding early Mesopotamian society
technique inlay
width about 12 cm

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

British Museum notableWork Standard of Ur
Near Eastern art hasNotableWork Standard of Ur
Royal Tombs of Ur notableArtifact Standard of Ur
Tell el-Muqayyar hasDiscovery Standard of Ur