This magnificent bronze Sumerian plaque depicting the god Gilgamesh is one-of-its-kind and in excellent condition. Gilgamesh, in all his mightypowerr, is holding two ibex by their legs. Gilgamesh was the mythological god of Uruk was two-thirds god and one-third man, known for his strength, wisdom and for his epic friendship with Enkidu.

The iconography of this plaque is the one conventionally called "Master of the Beasts" or "Lord of Animals", a cherished motif in ancient art showing a human between and grasping two confronted animals. This iconography is well attested in Mesopotamian cultures from the Late Ubaid Period (c. 4000 BCE). In this case Gilgamesh is represented frontally, with the feet in profile toward the left. The head is crowned with a conical diadem or headgear. The eyes are heavily lidded and the mouth fleshy. The beard is well worked in parallel strands, with a horizontal fabric band. He wears a tunic and an animal skin covering the left leg. This attire is comparable with the one of a later relief from the palace of King Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin (8th century BCE) and now at the Louvre.

The ibex is mentioned twice in the Epic of Gilgamesh as a prey of the hunts of the main character. One mention seems particularly relevant to the iconography of this plaque: "I have killed the bear and hyena, the lion and panther, the tiger, the stag and the ibex, all
sorts of wild game and the small creatures of the pastures. I ate their flesh and I wore their skins". The other is in one of the most moving passages of the Epic, the lamentation of Gilgamesh for the death of his friend Enkidu: "And the beasts we hunted, the bear and hyena, tiger and panther, leopard and lion, the stag and the ibex, the bull and the doe, they weep for you."

This is an oustanding piece of Sumerian Art befitting the most discerning collectors.