Cuneiform inscription on fragment of Manishtusu statue (Amiet P., L'art d'Agadé au Musée du Louvre, Paris 1976: 82, no. 14)
Susa, Iran
Paris, Louvre Museum (Sb 51)
Olivine gabbro; H 21, W 33
Akkadian period - Kingdom of Manishtusu (2269-2255 BC)
This fragment of statue preserves only a portion of skirt with, behind, a lower part of a human leg, broken at the ankle.
It constitutes a very important document because of the cuneiform inscription engraved on it. The text relates about the military expedition of Manishtusu at the Lower Sea (i.e. the land of Magan), from where the ‘black stone’ for the statue itself was quarried.
Conventionally reported as diorite, but olivine-gabbro from petrographic analysis. (AL)
