Ur-Nammu on his stela is wearing the long fringed garment, is bearded and is wear-
ing the brimmed cap. One difference from the portrayal of Gudea, Ur-Nammu is
depicted on the third register wearing a necklace (Aruz 2003 : 444. cat. no. 317 ; also, 445 ,
fig. 109 a and b).
Gudea, on his stela, is beardless and bareheaded, and wears the long fringed garment
(Aruz 2003 : 437 , cat. no. 311 ). Ordinary male worshippers are also depicted in similar
dress. It is possible that by this period both royalty and the rest of the citizens had one
style of dress. The style is similar to the dress worn by worshippers of the Akkadian
period with some refinements. One lapis-lazuli cylinder seal from Tell Suleimeh in the
Hamrin, originally cut in the Akkadian period and then reused in the Ur III period,
illustrates this (Figure 19. 6 ). Part of the scene was erased to make a space for the
inscriptions. However, there was little alteration to the figure of the worshipper because
of the similarity in the style of the dress in the two periods.
Female representations are rare in this period. The upper part of a small statue from
Tello (Aruz 2003 : 436 , cat. no. 310 ) shows a female wearing an inner garment with a
decorated edge just below the neck, a shawl with similar decoration to its edges is draped
over it covering both shoulders, the back shows the two ends of the shawl crossing over.
The statue is broken at the waist, making it difficult to ascertain the length of the
garment. It is similar to another statue of the same period, also broken at the waist
(Figure 19. 10 ), which wears a necklace made from five rigid hoops, a headband round
her forehead, and the hair is pulled to the back and gathered into a chignon.
–– A note on Sumerian fashion ––Figure 19.10
Ur III statue of a female (possibly the
wife of Gudea?), c. 2120 BC(Telloh,
Louvre Museum AO 295. © RMN-GP
(Musée du Louvre)/Les frères
Chuzeville)