originally mounted on a pole, and he considered it a kind of military
standard—hence its nickname. Art historians usually refer to the two
long sides of the box as the “war side” and “peace side,” but the two sides
may represent the first and second parts of a single narrative. The artist
divided each into three horizontal bands. The narrative reads from left
to right and bottom to top. On the war side (FIG. 2-8), four ass-drawn
four-wheeled war chariots mow down enemies, whose bodies appear
on the ground in front of and beneath the animals. The gait of the asses
accelerates along the band from left to right. Above, foot soldiers gather
up and lead away captured foes. In the uppermost register, soldiers
present bound captives (who have been stripped naked to degrade
them) to a kinglike figure, who has stepped out of his chariot. His cen-
tral place in the composition and his greater stature (his head breaks
through the border at the top) set him apart from all the other figures.2-8War side of the Standard of Ur,from tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 bce.Wood inlaid with shell, lapis
lazuli, and red limestone, 8 1 7 . British Museum, London.
Using a mosaic-like technique, this Sumerian artist depicted a battlefield victory in three registers. In the top band, soldiers present bound captives
to a kinglike figure who is larger than everyone else.
2-9Peace side of the Standard of Ur,from tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 bce.Wood inlaid with shell,
lapis lazuli, and red limestone, 8 1 7 . British Museum, London.
The feast on the peace side of the Standard of Urmay be a victory celebration. The narrative again reads from bottom to top, and the size of the
figures varies with their importance in Sumerian society.
Sumer 371 in.1 in.