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The Ur Jewellery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

K. R. Maxwell-Hyslop
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Extract

In the years which have passed since Sir Leonard Woolley published the two magnificent volumes devoted to the Royal tombs in 1934, much that has been found in Western Asia throws light, not only on Early Dynastic craftsmanship but also on its relationship to other centres of manufacture where inter alia fine jewellery was produced. At the time that Sir Leonard was writing little was known about Asiatic jewellery of this period. His superb material seemed a relatively isolated phenomenon, and, with the exception of the Troy treasure the succeeding periods down to the 8th century B.C. had yielded little evidence for a continuation or development of the extraordinary technical ability shown by the Sumerian smiths. The picture today is very different; and two points should be stressed when attempting to re-assess the importance of the Ur finds in their relation to later discoveries. First, the great conservatism of jewellery workers both in matters of design and technique. This can perhaps be explained by the fact that while there seem to have been very few technical methods unknown to Sumerian craftsmen, it is now possible to trace the development of these methods right through the succeeding Sargonid and Third Dynasty of Ur periods and into the Second and First millennia B.C. It is also possible to compare the goldwork of the Early Dynastic period with the products of later phases in Mesopotamia, and thus a continuity can be established which relates not only the different Asiatic centres together but also shows their influence all over the Eastern Mediterranean area, the Aegean, and as far west as Italy.

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Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 22 , Issue 1-2: Ur in Retrospect. In Memory of Sir C. Leonard Woolley , Spring-Autumn 1960 , pp. 105 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1960 

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References

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