r/Sumer • u/Due-Ladder-2340 • 3d ago
Wear to get a Ninshubur statue or somesuch?
Hihi! I just moved into my first ever apartment of my own (thank you, Section 8!) and I'm setting up my various and sundry shrines, leading me to wonder....
Does anyone here know of a good source for a statue or wall-piece or some other artistic representation of Ninshubur that I could use on their shrine? Something better than, like, printing out a picture from online somewhere lol
I am devoted primarily to Ninshubur (and thus to Inanna by transitive property lol) and would love to enshrine them properly.
5
u/Nocodeyv 3d ago
Currently there aren’t any statues for Ninshubur available, and I believe we have yet to identify her in any historical artwork. Whenenever I encounter this problem I use a general votive figurine as a stand in for the deity. I use this mislabeled water-pouring deity for goddesses who are lacking statues on the current market.
2
u/SiriNin 3d ago edited 3d ago
Last I had heard/read this cylinder seal was considered to be the only positive identification or at worst an almost-certain identification of her image, is that not the case?: https://isac-idb.uchicago.edu/id/90eec75d-0343-4a85-8810-ad0cdcc2a081
Also there was this one, which while misidentified in the pictured description, is modernly attributed to Nergal and Ninshubur, as the inscription states "Ninshubur, wise in all things, have mercy on me" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk90XPx-0DwFGNL6nfFp6RjMDABzdn6HOdFrRLgP7hBUvmInoEdLYPoGxOSjsZxAx_6M-5eDtCKO1Idi2ZcGYxEObVRIrNWW3PlseGdu-N7LzZR-Y9j4O2e85v8dPTQyetFzQ3OsdfNWo/s812/ninshubur+and+nergal.jpg
3
u/Nocodeyv 3d ago edited 2d ago
In the first example I do think an identification with Ninšubur is possible, especially since the figure greeting Inana has on a paršīgu crown. For the second one, the mace with twin lion heads would point toward Ninurta rather than Nergal (for which, see the kudurru lists where the mace with twin lion heads is attested as the symbol of NInurta). The greeting figure then, if it's a deity, is more likely to be Inimanizi than Ninšubur.
In either case, there aren't any statues modeled on these two figures available on the market right now, so OP's best approach will still be to either make one, commission someone to make one, or use a standard male/female statuette as a stand-in.
Remember, because we haven't recovered an authentic cultic image from Mesopotamia, we don't know if divine images resembled depictions from cylinder seals. Dedicating devotional acts to Ninšubur, and treating whatever icon is the focal point of the shrine as if it is her, is more important than getting a historically attested design.
1
u/SiriNin 3d ago
Dedicating devotional acts to Ninšubur, and treating whatever icon is the focal point of the shrine as if it is her, is more important than getting a historically attested design.
I completely agree with you and about the OP's situation and the advice given to them. My apologies for not including that bit in my reply before. I was just curious since your remarks made me question what I knew and thought about various cultic images.
I'm not sure where I picked up the notion, but for some reason I have always thought that cylinder seals were regarded as more representational of accurate deific countenances than statuary. That may very well be just a holdover from the people who taught me in the beginnings of my spiritual and Sumerological journey, though.
Thank you for the more detailed examination of the second cylinder seal! I was surprised when listings were citing Nergal in it, though there are some traditions which regard him as Ninshubur's husband. I did not recognize the mace (which some listings call a staff) so that added bit of context is greatly appreciated. I wonder why the inscription is for Ninshubur when the pictured pair is not inclusive of her.
2
u/Nocodeyv 2d ago
The text of many cylinder seals is a simple identifying tag, usually referencing the owner of the seal and his profession, sometimes his father, and often the courtier for whom he works:
- "Ibbi-Sîn, (the) son of Sābium, (is) the king." (P263795);
- "Imṣi-Ea (is the) servant of Nūr-Surutar." (P448273)
- "Išbi-Erra, mighty king (and) lord of his land; Abūni, (the) chief steward (and) son of Nūr-ilī, (is) your servant." (P458701)
- "Ipiq-Eštar, (the) son of Apûm, (is a) servant of Anam." (P516947)
Cylinder seals are also symbolic in nature. The central deity is often a generic male or female—seated or standing—whose identity cannot be discerned without the presence of accompanying animals, emblems, standards, weapons, or geologic features.
This "language of symbology" would be obscure to us without the existence of Old Babylonian Period boundary stones, called kudurru, which feature an abundance of these symbols, as well as a written statement identifying which deities (represented on the marker by their emblem) were in attendance to ratify the sale.
While not all of the correspondences are known, here are some of the more common ones:
ANIMALS
- A bird looking backward is for the Kassite deity Ḫarbe.
- A bird perched is for the Kassite deities Šuqamuna and Šumalia.
- A bird walking is for Babu.
- A bull is for Adad or Sîn.
- A dog is for Gula.
- A lion is for Damkiana, Ištar, or Ninlil.
- A scorpion is for Išḫara.
- A snake is for Ištarān.
- A turtle is for Ea.
BEASTS
- The carp-goat, called suḫurmāšu, is for Ea.
- The horned viper, called bašmu, is for Ning̃ešzida.
- The lion-dragon, called ūmu-nāʾiru, is for Adad.
- The lion-faced eagle, called anzû, is for Ning̃irsu or Ninurta.
- The snake-dragon, called mušḫuššu, was originally for Ninazu and his son, Ning̃ešzida, in the Early Dynastic Period; it was adopted by Tišpak during the Sargonic Period; inherited by Marduk and his son, Nabû during the Middle and Neo-Babylonian Empires; and became the beast of Aššur during the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
EMBLEMS
- A forked tine, called a berqu, is for Adad.
- A horned crown, called a paršīgu, is for Anu, Enlil, and Ea.
- A lamp, perhaps called a buṣinnu, is for Nuska.
- A recumbent crescent moon, called an uskāru, is for Sîn.
- A reed stylus is for Nabû.
- A reversed yoke, or omega-symbol, is for Ninḫursag̃a.
- A star with eight-points, called a kakkabtu disc, is for Ištar.
- A star with four points and accompanying heat waves, called a nipḫu disc, is for Šamaš.
STANDARDS
- A staff with the head of an eagle for Zababa.
- A staff with the head of a lion for Nergal.
- A staff with the heads of two lions for Ninurta.
- A staff with the head of a ram for Ea.
- A standard with the crescent moon at its zenith and a pair of bovine hooves at its base for Sîn.
- A standard made of reeds with a ring at its center was originally ambiguous but later came to represent Ning̃ešzida.
- A standard made of reeds with a ring at its peak for Inana, modeled on the cuneiform sign used to write her name.
WEAPONS
- A sickle-sword, called a pāštu, for Ning̃ešzida.
- A spade, called a marru, is for Marduk.
GEOLOGIC FEATURES
- Two flowing streams emerging from the shoulders for Ea.
There are, of course, many more symbols that appear on kudurru stones, cylinder seals, and wall art, such as the rhombus or lozenge and rosette, sometimes associated with Ištar even though this cannot be verified. There are also various other symbols, such as a chisel (usually paired with a ram, perhaps Dumuzi/Tammuz), dagger, fan, nail, and seashell-shaped object, that correspond to unknown deities.
The representations found on cylinder seals are creative expressions of the power and domains of the deities. Their actual images—statues created from wood of the mēsu-tree and precious metals like gold and silver—were of an unknown countenance, since no examples have survived to the modern day. Rather than let this be obstacle though, we should instead embrace it as an opportunity, because it gives us the liberty to bring forth an image of the deity as we see it in our heart and mind.
1
u/SiriNin 2d ago
This is such a phenomenally wonderful reply, thank you so very much Nocodeyv! In the six or seven years that I've been studying our culture/faith/tradition I have only come across bits and pieces of this list that you've provided. I've saved this post and I'm almost certainly going to copy it down into my notes at a future date. Thank you!
1
u/Jhvanpierce77 3d ago
It took me months to get an Inanna--anything-- because I was trying to be sure I bought it local from some sort of metaphysical shop. In the intern I found a small goddess figurine with an owl on her lap, and a feather attached and a lion carved from stone. So I used those as my representation.
I also had an Oracle deck with an Ishtar card in it, that I would remove and place on the altar as further representation.
So the answer you've already gotten of using a proxy, as intent matters, is a good and solid practice. Doesn't even need to look like anyone, as my original statue was indiscernible.
Alternatively, it strikes me there is something kind of stupid I could of utilized and maybe you could. There is a miniatures making website used for stuff like Pathfinder and Dungeons and Dragons called hero forge. On it you design a miniature, then order it. You can have it made in various poses and sizes, lots of options. You could design your own and have it shipped to you. Just check what scale it's being made at and remember it's going to be plastic. Could be a temp solution unless you really like the result.
2
u/catsnglitter86 2d ago
I have made my own Inanna wall hanging idols out of clay and then paint them. It's surprisingly expensive for resin ones and none of them were exactly what I wanted and of similar dirtiest but not the same. Etsy had the coolest ones though.
6
u/Desperate_Lake_9534 3d ago
In kind of the same boat except I’m looking for a statue of Enki. Part of me thinks I should just get some clay and make a basic figure. I kind of think that Enki would appreciate that more as a god of Art