In the Presence of the Gods: Art from Ancient Sumer in the Collection of the Oriental Institute

July 1, 1997 – March 8, 1998

This exhibition displayed over forty artifacts from ancient Sumer, one of the most important city-states of ancient Mesopotamia, located in present-day Iraq.

Dating from the third millennium, B.C.E., these objects ranged from stone and metal statuettes of praying priests and worshippers to ritual vessels and ceremonial inlaid plaques. Once adorning the sanctuaries of ziggurat temples that dominated Sumer’s civic life, most of these pieces were originally used in the worship of local deities.