Agate Bead Dedicated to the Moon God by Ibbi-Sin
Unknown · Ur III period, reign of Ibbi-Sin, c. 2010 BC
A polished oval of banded agate, only seven centimetres long, carries a short cuneiform inscription in Sumerian. The stone is pierced so that it could be strung, and its warm layers of colour would have shown well when worn or hung in a temple. The lines read, in the museum's translation: to the god Nanna, his lord, Ibbi-Sin, the god of his land, the mighty king, king of Ur, king of the four regions, has dedicated this for his life. Nanna was the moon god and the patron of the city of Ur, so the bead was an offering made in his temple.
Ibbi-Sin was the last king of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the title 'god of his land' shows that he, like his predecessors, was worshipped as a living deity. His reign ended around 2004 before our era when the Elamites sacked Ur and led him into captivity, so this tiny object comes from the final years of the last great Sumerian state. Inscribed beads of this kind were prized as royal gifts to the gods and were sometimes reused centuries later. The Louvre purchased the bead in May 1908.
Did You Know? Ibbi-Sin calls himself 'the god of his land' on the bead; a few years later he was carried off as a prisoner when the Elamites destroyed Ur.
Unlock the Full Guide
Read every room and listen to every work in all museums with premium.