16. Standard of Ur Location: Royal Tombs at Ur (modern-day Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq Artist: N/A Date: 2,600-2,400 B.C.E Culture: Sumerian Period/Style: Ancient Near East Medium/Material: Wood inlaid with shells, lapis lazuli, and red limestone Theme(s): war, peace, migration Form: A trapezoidal prism that uses color, lines, and shape to show and describe times of peace conflict. Function: likely to have been the sound box for a musical instrument.  Content: The war side shows representations of a Sumerian army. Chariots, each pulled by four donkeys, trample enemies; infantry with cloaks carry spears; enemy soldiers are killed with axes, others are paraded naked and presented to the king who holds a spear. The peace panel shows animals, fish and other goods brought in procession to a banquet.  Context: found in one of the largest graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, lying in the corner of a chamber above a soldier who is believed to have carried it on a long pole as a standard, the royal emblem of a king.
{}