The document discusses several artifacts from ancient Sumeria including paintings on a box from the Standard of Ur depicting war and peace scenes, a harp sculpture featuring a blue beard and human-headed bulls, statues of the ruler Gudea posing before subjects, votive statues from a temple, a carved alabaster vase that would hold flowers, and a carved scene of a ram climbing a golden tree. It also describes the evolution of temples from platforms to stepped ziggarats and mentions the goddess Inanna and the Uruk Vase depicting her. The artifacts demonstrate the skill of Sumerian craftspeople and provide insights into their religion and culture.

2.  This is also called “The Battle
Standard of Ur” When I first looked at
this picture. I thought it was a bunch of
dolls on a shelf but if you look closer it
is a painting on a box. It’s very Unique
with the sides of it brown with more
people on it. I assume the people are
Sumerians. The paintings are from
what is usually called the "war" panel.
The "peace" panel shows the other
side of Sumerian life - a banquet with a
musician playing the a lyre type
instrument. No one knows the
painting’s full purpose

3.  When I first say this picture. I found it
very creative and pretty. The blue
beard was a little funny. I thought of it
as a Harp, which is an instrument. It is
fashioned of gold leaf over a wooden
core. The hair, beard, and details are
of lapis lazuli. The sound box also
features bearded but here human-headed
bulls in the uppermost of its
four inlaid panels.

4.  When I first looked at this picture. It
seemed as if Gudea was praying. His
hands together an eyes closed. I finally
changed my mind. I think he might be
soundly in sleep. I was totally wrong. It
is actually He is posing of a ruler
before his subjects, his hands folded in
a traditional gesture of greeting and
prayer. This sculpture belongs to a
series of diorite statues commissioned
by Gudea, who devoted his energies to
rebuilding the great temples of Lagash
and installing statues of himself in
them.

5.  To me this painting or carving was of
a Family of Sumerians. the platform
variety and that built at ground level -
persisted throughout the early
dynasties of Sumerian history (c.
2900-c. 2400 BC). It is known that
two of the platform temples originally
stood within walled enclosures, oval
in shape and containing, in addition
to the temple, accommodation for
priests. Votive Statues, from the
Temple of Abu, Tell Asmar
c.2500 BC, limestone, shell, and
gypsum

6.  This is a face of a woman. Her
name is Inanna. nanna can be
considered the most prominent
female deity in ancient
Mesopotamia. As early as the Uruk
period (ca. 4000–3100 BC), Inanna
was associated with the city of
Uruk. The famous Uruk Vase
(found in a deposit of cult objects of
the Uruk III period) depicts a row of
naked men carrying various
objects, bowls, vessels, and
baskets of farm produce, and
bringing sheep and goats, to a
female figure facing the ruler.

7.  This is a very beautiful vase. If you
would put flowers in it. It would look
Gorgeous. The carving were hand
carved which says that Sumerians
were very skillful. The Warka Vase is a
carved alabaster stone vessel found in
the temple complex of the Sumerian
goddess Inanna in the ruins of the
ancient city of Uruk , located in the
modern Al MuthannaGovernorate, in
southern Iraq.

8.  I love this painting/carving. Its unique
an I can tell was well thought. It shows
a Ram climbing in a golden tree. The
Ram in a Thicket is one of a pair of
figures excavated in Ur, in southern
Iraq, and which date from about 2600-
2400 BC

9.  Temples were originally built on
platforms. During the third
millennium B.C., these were made
higher and bigger. Eventually it was
decided to build even higher
temples on platforms which were
stepped. In the picture. You called
that a Ziggurat. It’s like a pyramid
but Sumerian style. No one knows
for certain why ziggurats were built
or how they were used. They are
part of temple complexes, so they
were probably connected with
religion.

10. http://www.historywiz.com/galleries/standardofur.html
http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/v
rc/id/384/rec/2
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/
search/329072
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumerart.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warka_Vase