Engraved Plaque: Baal, God of Storms
Unknown · Late Bronze Age, undated in the museum record
A thin plaque of stone, eleven centimetres high and less than a centimetre thick, engraved on both faces. On one side a god stands with his arm raised to the left, the striking pose of the storm god Baal that you can compare with the great stele in this room. On the other side is a circle with a central dot, a sign that in this region often stands for the sun or for a divine presence. Look closely: the lines are fine and shallow, drawn rather than carved, so the plaque rewards patience and good light.
The plaque was found on the acropolis of Ras Shamra, ancient Ugarit, in the trench along the great wall, and came to the Louvre in the division of finds with Syria. Small engraved stones like this were personal objects, possibly amulets or pendants, that let an ordinary worshipper carry an image of the god that the temple displayed on a monumental scale. The raised arm is the essential gesture: it is Baal about to hurl his thunder. Between the huge stele and this pocket-sized version you can see the same god serving both the state cult and private devotion.
Did You Know? The raised arm on this tiny plaque is the same striking gesture as on the monumental Baal stele nearby, the god's signature pose.
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