nexus of the performed rite. The image of the Sacred Marriage links the Protoliterate
vase with the palm vase libation, but it also presents a problem. The Uruk Vase depicts
the ruler (identified by his distinctive net-skirt and tassel) and the “naked priest” side
by side on the top register. This would seem to confirm that these figures cannot be the
same person in the Protoliterate.
The apparent inconsistency can be resolved by reconsidering the spatial configura-
tion of the Uruk Vase. Beginning with the first description by its excavator (Heinrich
1936 : 16 ), discussions of the Uruk Vase have followed a pattern. The ring posts in the
top register, which are understood to symbolize Inanna and her temple, are typically
mentioned first and function as a fixed point of reference. Things to their left are
perceived as “outside” the temple; things to right are “interior fittings” (for early and
recent examples see van Buren 1939 – 1941 : 33 ; Collins 1994 ; Szarzyn ́ska 2000 : 67 – 68 ;
Hockmann 2008 ). A second assumption that runs through the literature is the frequent
comparison of the Uruk Vase with the Standard of Ur (Perkins 1957 : 56 ; Winter 1985 :
–– Kathleen McCaffrey ––Figure 11.4
The Lion-Hunt Stele
from Protoliterate
Uruk ( 3300 – 3000 BC)
(Iraq Museum, IM
23477 , courtesy
Hirmer Verlag)