Hittite, North Syria / c. 1600 BCE
Priest-King or Deity
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Priest-King or Deity as sculpture (Hittite, North Syria · c. 1600 BCE).
The left eye of the sculpture is the original bone inlay while the right eye is a modern restoration done after the piece was damaged.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as basalt with bone eyes (left, ancient; right, restored).
The museum's collection notes: The Hittites migrated into Anatolia in the 3rd millennium BCE and spoke an Indo-European language, a group that includes Greek, Latin, Persian, Sanskrit, English, and most modern European languages. They were the first ancient people to use iron for weapons. From about 1600–1200 BCE their empire was at its peak, extending from central Anatolia to Syria, and south along the eastern Mediterranean. Their vast empire and interest in commerce enabled the Hittites to spread Mesopotamian ideas and culture throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. This large basalt sculpture is exceptionally rare in depicting a Hittite god or priest-king wearing a
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPriest-King or DeityOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.