Decorated door catch with central perforation and scenes in low relief divided in three registers. containing eleven human figures and two animals.

The scene represented begins progressing from the lower right corner of the relief and continues evolving on the upper registers in boustrophedon and could be interpreted as a procession of animal and human figures which carry goods, culminating in the banquet scene on the upper register, where a seated couple in regal posture is drinking out of goblets.

Lower register, from the viewer’s right to the left:
Long-coated ram is being lead by a man, partially covered by standing behind the animal. In front of them a man holding a stock goad behind a large bull, lead through the muzzle by a third man. Both human and animal figures are represented in profile to the left. The three males sport clean shaved heads and are bare–chested, wearing the a kind of wraparound middle-calf skirt, held up by a narrow rounded belt, tied at the back. This type of skirt is well documented from other Sumerian works of art and is typically decorated with long spear-shaped fringes around the hem. This skirt seems to have been worn by all classes of men, distinction of social rank based exclusively upon the material employed for the garment in question.

Middle register, from the viewer’s left to the right:
Two men are carrying a conical apparently very heavy container transported by hanging from a carrying pole on their shoulders. They are preceded by a group of three men, the first two carrying on both hands semispherical vessels while the third is carrying a large tray on his head. All figures are in profile to the right, clean-shaven and dressed in the same fashion as the figures on the lower register.

The scene on the upper register can be approached, read and in consequence interpreted from both sides: The two principal figures, a male and a female, are seated on thrones with high backs. The man, dressed and groomed in exactly the same fashion as all the other males on the door catch, he is holding a cluster of... with his left hand while being given a conical shaped vessel (possibly a rhyton) by a man servant in the front, with a third man holding a fan is in attendance at his back.

The composition of this group is reflected by the triad of a seated woman with a fan on her right hand who is being given a conical vessel by a female attendant in front of her, while a third woman is approaching from back carrying a possible musical instrument.

The seated lady is clothed in a large piece of material draped around her body over a skirt. This garment, very similar to a shawl, is characteristically edged with tassels. She is wearing a polos, or perhaps a crown. Both her female attendants are dressed in the exact same way as their mistress, with lengthy oblique coverings which leave their left hand somehow capped, at the same time permitting a greater mobility on the right hand, with the right shoulder being left visibly uncovered. This clothing covers their bodies all the way down almost to their ankles without any specific indication of closely outlining their physiques. Their hair is long, bonded in chignons at their nape.

The represented couple are the protagonists of the scene and have been carved much grander in scale to the rest of the figures, as to denote their greater importance.

Although all the males on this door catch come under the general characteristics which make them look truly similar to one another (portrayed clean-shaven, shorn-headed, bare-chested and bare-foot, the head in profile while the broad shouldered torso is carved as seen from the front) every single person has been carved with distinctive and singular facial characteristics, as to appear an individual. Sumer, was an historical region between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates corresponding to the actual territory of modern-day southern Iraq, inhabited by an ancient population which lasted from the year 6.000 BC until 2000 BC, when they were succeeded by the Akkadians, and later by the Babylonians. Sumerians invented the wheel, the writing, the clock with the sexagesimal number system, calculation based on arithmetic and geometry, the beer, and the agriculture with organised cultivation systems.

Testimonies of this civilisation are the large number of tables written in Cuneiform scripture and many graphic representations and sculptures. They didn't call themselves "Sumerians", as this was the name later given to them by the Akkadians; they named themselves "Ug sag-giga", which literally translates into "the black-headed people ", assuming that black was referring to the color of their hair.

The new society emerging in the early 3rd millennium was primarily dominated by a financially florid elite, whose desire for ostentation stimulated the arts, especially the minor arts and sculpture. In unison to or because of this social development, plaques decorated with historiated reliefs and drilled with a rectangular hole in the center were being created. Serving a dual purpose, as both decorative and votive, these plaques also had a functional role as door catches. The decoration of this plaque depicts a banquet scene, the most frequently illustrated theme at the time these reliefs were made. These banquets may have been like later Greek symposia with important ritual and social meanings. In all probability These liturgical banquets were the occasion of a communion with the god and seem to have been one of the main forms of worship during this period.

The following is an excerpt from an earlier condition report:

Alabaster perforated relief
Date: Early Dynastic (middle of the 3rd millennium B.C.) Material: alabaster?
Measurements: 25.5 x 25.8 cm?
Provenance : Syria (Mari ?)

1. Description This piece has the shape of a square plaque, with a large quadrangular perforation in the middle and four smaller circular holes in the corners. The face is surrounded by a projecting band and divided in three registers by two others.

2.
Particularities Face: projecting band of the frame damaged on the left and scratched on the right; a crack through the inferior part, between the central perforation and the inferior edge.
Sides: lower part of the right side damaged; traces of brown colour on the left side; similar traces on the upper side. Back: upper right corner damaged.
Upper register: A banquet scene, including a seated couple and four servants (fig. 1). As everywhere on this relief, men have bare heads, while all figures wear one row kaunakes, skirts for the men and robes for the women. The female seated figure wears a polos on her head (fig. 2-3). Two of the servants hold out drinking cups to their masters, both of whom are holding branches (fig. 2-4). On the right end, a male servant crosses his arms, while on the opposite end a female servant holds a quadrangular object with a pointed upper edge (fig. 2-4). The surface of this object is divided into triangles by horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. Middle register Five men facing right, carrying a tray (the first man), bowls (the following two), and a jar hanging from a pole (the last three) respectively (fig. 5-6). Lower register Three men are facing right: the first one is pulling a bull by a nose-rope, the second man is holding a rod and the third one is guiding a goat with both hands (fig. 7-8).

Iconography:
Banquet scenes, common on Early Dynastic perforated relieves, are standardised and codified, following a sort of "grammar" with a specific meaning, nowadays difficult to specify. Although quite uniform all over the Sumerian world, the scenes vary iconographically and stylistically according to the choice of individual artists. Ritual banquets took place in temples, sometimes after a military success or maybe as part of ceremonies celebrated at the beginning of the New Year to ensure fertility. All the people, including the sovereigns, participated in these festivities, while the divinities where supposed to be present as well.

Perforated relieves referring to these banquets generally show a feasting couple. As all human beings of the same sex look almost identical in Sumerian art, the social status of the couple cannot be defined - although the dignity of the banqueting figures of our relief and the "polos" worn by the woman suggest a noble rank or a religious function (fig. 1-3). The branches, a common attribute of drinking couples, are probably a symbol of joy (fig. 1-4, 12-13, 15). The presence of servants, often holding out goblets, is also constant in scenes of this kind (fig. 1-4, 12-15). Here, the rare object held by a female servant in the upper left corner (fig. 1-2), which is similarly depicted as small portable tables in other banquet scenes (fig. 10a-c), is more likely to be a fan or a standard, in the manner of the perforated relief found at Nippur, in the temple of Inanna (fig. 11).


The vases, offerings and animals, currently occupying the following registers, can be interpreted either as a tribute or booty, or, more convincingly, as a sign of wealth and prosperity (fig. 1, 5-8, 12-15). Parallels Some perforated relieves show similar themes to those depicted in our relief : a feasting couple holding branches or leaves, servants passing goblets, men bringing a jar or leading goats and bulls.

• Fig. 12: found at Eshnounna (Tell Asmar), in the temple of Abu, 2700 B.C., Bagdad Museum.?
• Fig. 13: found at Khafadjeh, in the temple of Sin (level IX), 2700 B.C., Chicago, Oriental Institute Museum (inv. A. 12417).
• Fig. 14: found at Nippur in the end of the XIXth century, 2700-2600 B.C., Istanbul, Museum of Antiquities.
• Fig. 15: found at Nippur, in the temple of Inanna (inv. 7N133-134), middle of the third millenium B.C. 3.

Style:
The symmetry and balance of composition characteristic of Sumerian sculpture is evident in this relief: two protagonists facing each other in identical attitudes; figures walking in opposite directions in the two lower registers. The artist respects the principles of the genre, but avoids monotony or dullness, interrupting the symmetry, introducing various gestures and postures and arranging the figures irregularly. Although shallow, space is suggested, which is not the case in other perforated relieves, and it is as if the figures were moving on a stage. The rendering of human heads, profiles, bodies and feet obeys to rules of Sumerian art. Gestures are codified and clothes stylised. However, forms are less angular than in older relieves of the same type and plasticity is obtained by careful modelling. Details, including the goat’s teats, are finely depicted and the texture of the clothes is convincingly rendered. Although conventional, the attitudes seem calm and relaxed, the gestures are noble, the garments look soft and comfortable. The body of the goat has an almost geometric shape, but its head is sculpted with a remarkable naturalism, also found in the fluid outline of the bull. The whole atmosphere combines solemn dignity and pastoral serenity.

Parallels:
- Perforated relief found at Nippur, in the temple of Inanna, middle of the third millennium ?B.C. (inv. 7N133-134, fig. 15). Although movements are livelier, volumes dryer and outlines sharper, the modelling, the sense of space and the naturalism of the animal figures connect this piece to our relief.
- The "standard of Ur", found in a royal tomb of Ur, 2550-2400 B.C., British Museum (inv. 121201, fig. 9). The nature and shape of this object are different but a banquet scene, comparable to those of the perforated relieves, is depicted. Some of the figures composing this scene have similar postures, profiles and expressions as their counterparts on our piece. The high quality, precision and fineness of the rendering bring these two documents together. ?

Nature and function:
Perforated relieves, characteristic of the Early Dynastic period, are thought to have been fixed against walls, probably those of temples. Their exact function and position remain unknown, but a plaque found in situ in the "north temple" of Nippur (fig. 16) suggests that their central perforation was intended to receive a knob. This element was set in the middle of a second plaque, like the one found at Nippur, fastened to the wall. Additional smaller holes of circular shape, identical to those of our piece, were sometimes opened at the rim of the outer relief plaque, to consolidate the hanging (fig. 17-18). As these pairs of plaques were often discovered near doorways, their function may be related to the closing of the doors. However, this functional role seems to have been progressively forgotten, in favour of a more ornamental value.

Although many of the perforated relieves are in limestone, alabaster was also used. Two examples, the one from the temple of Ninhursanga on the acropolis of Susa (2650-2550 B.C., fig. 19) and the other from the temple of Abu at Eshnounna (Tell Asmar), kept in the Museum of Badgad (2700 B.C., fig. 12), are quite well preserved, some parts of the surface being almost intact. Alabaster was frequently used in the sculpture of Mari, where our relief seems to have its origins. In fact, the history of this piece, brought to France from Alep in 1913, as well as the polos worn by the seated female figure, a type of hat mostly in evidence at Mari, suggests a Syrian provenance. The dry climate and soil of this region explain the exceptional state of conservation of the plaque.

5. Conclusions
As Claude Doumet remarks in his catalogue of seals of the Chiha collection, forgeries can be distinguished from authentic pieces by the clumsiness of the execution and the incoherent combination of misunderstood elements. The issue in relation to this alabaster relief is similar. However, after having conducted an iconographical, stylistic and scientific analysis, and asked for the advice of a sculptor and a restorer, we found no incoherence betraying the intervention of a forger. The scientific analysis provided by the laboratory MSMAP (218-228 av. du Haut-Lévêque - F. 33600 PESSAC - Tel.: 33 (0)5 56 07 00 35, directed by professor Duboscq) has confirmed the antiquity of this document and attributed its excellent state of conservation to the action of bacteria which formed a protecting layer over the surface of the relief.

One of the closest parallels (fig. 15), reliably dated according to stratigraphical criteria, provides solid chronological evidence. The technical features of our piece contain no suspicious elements either. The shape is well known from archaeological sources, and lateral, circular holes, in addition to the central one, can be seen in other examples (fig. 17-18). The iconographical motives and schemes are equally coherent and follow the established conventions of Sumerian art. Moreover, the curious object held by the female servant in the upper left corner is too rare to have been picked out and reproduced by a forger. Finally, the harmony and originality of the composition could only be attained by an experienced artist in perfect control of his means of expression. All the results of the study agree, defending the antiquity of this relief and corroborating its authenticity.
6. Museum sources ¥ Paris, Musée du Louvre
¥ London, British Museum
¥ New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
¥ Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art
¥ Bagdad, Bagdad Museum
¥ Chicago, Oriental Institute Museum
¥ Istanbul, Antiquities' Museum
¥ Alep, Alep Museum
7. Bibliography
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P. Amiet, Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités Orientales, Guide sommaire, ?Paris, 1971. ?
P. Amiet, L'Art antique du Moyen-Orient, Paris, 1977. ?
J. Aruz éd., Art of the First Cities. The Third Millenium B. C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New ?York, 2003. ?Au Pays de Baal et d'Astarté, 1000 ans d'art en Syrie, catalogue d’exposition, Musée du Petit Palais, 26 ?octobre 1983-8 janvier 1984, Paris, 1983. ?
G. Contenau, Manuel d'archéologie orientale I, Paris 1927. ?
G. Curatola dir., L'Art en Mésopotamie, Paris, 2006. ?
H. Frankfort, More Sculpture from the Diyala Region, Chicago, 1943. ?
H. Frankfort, The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient, 1954. ?
H. de Genouillac dir., Fouilles de Telloh, Paris, 1936. ?
D. P. Hansen, "New Votive Plaques from Nippur", Journal ofNear Eastern Studies 22,3, 1963. ?J.-L. Huot, Les Sumériens - entre le Tigre et l'Euphrate, Paris, 1989. ?
J.-L. Huot, Une Archéologie des peuples du Proche-Orient. Des premiers villageois aux peuples des cités-Etats, ?Xème-IIIème millénaire av. J.-C., Paris, 2004, tome 1. ?
¥ A. Joundi, Musée National de Damas, Département des Antiquités Syro-orientales, Damascus, 1976. Louvre (musée du), Les Antiquités orientales, Paris, 1994.?A. Parrot, Sumer, Paris, 1960.?H. Schäfer, W. Andrae, Die Kunst des alten Orients, Berlin, 1925. ¥ Syrie, Mémoire et civilisation, catalogue d’exposition, Institut du Monde Arabe, 14 septembre 1993- 28 février 1994, Paris, 1993.?L. Woolley, Mésopotamie, Asie antérieure. L'art ancien du Moyen-Orient, Paris, 1963.