at Ur, had three seals associated with her person. The one inscribed with her name
shows in a two register scene the banquet above, and the celebration with musicians
and dancing below (Figure 16. 16 ). Both the combat and the banquet scenes appear not
only on seals but also on other media suggesting that their symbolic and sociological
meaning was integrated and continually reinforced. A survey of the association of the
seals with other grave goods in the Royal Cemetery (Rathje 1977 ) concluded that
contest scenes are associated with members of the court and “public economy. “ The
most common materials for seals in the Royal Cemetery were blue lapis lazuli and
white shell or calcite. Roger Moorey ( 1977 ), associating the contest scene with males,
observed that those cut in lapis belonged to members of the royal court, while those
of calcite or shell were most often found with individuals buried with weapons.
Scenes with any kind of historical reference are rare in glyptic art during the Early
Dynastic period. Depictions of warfare, showing a ruler figure in a chariot together with
troops and defeated enemy (Mayer-Opificius 2006 ) similar to the war side of the
Standard of Ur, are known, especially from the northern cites of Mari, Ebla, and Tell
Beydar. Also rare, but present during the Old Sumerian period, are images of the divine,
ritual performances and scenes with narrative structures that refer most probably to
myth. Both in glyptic and in monumental arts we now see the earliest images of gods
–– Holly Pittman ––Figure 16.15Drawing of seal impression of Mesannepadda: inscribed: Mes.anne.padda,
the king of the universe, the spouse of the Hierodule (= the goddess Inini)
(Ur. U. 13607. After Legrain 1936 : 518 )Figure 16.16Modern impression of seal found
near Puabi’s body in PG 800. Inscribed: Pu
Abi, Queen (U. 10939. British Museum WA
121544. Courtesy of the Trustees of the British
Museum)