Senior welcomes Queen of the Underworld

Ereshkigal - Queen of the Underworld?

Dr Dominique Collon, Circle 91, who is Assistant Keeper of the British Museum’s Ancient Near East department, has been in the news over the Museum’s acquisition of a remarkable terracotta relief created over 4,000 years ago in what is now Iraq. The naked female figure, purchased for £1.5 million, is winged and wears a horned headdress, in each hand she holds the rod and ring of justice.

It is believed to have been made by a craftsman in Babylon, Ur or Nineveh – the cradle of civilisation – and Dr Collon says “It could be a manifestation of Ishtar, who could be called the deity of the brothels, but my best guess is that it is Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld”.

The relief is to be taken on tour to Glasgow, Sunderland, Leicester, Cardiff and Birmingham – and one day, when the situation is safe, to Baghdad.