Mesopotamia, 6000–1500 BC

Mosaic figures march and gather across the object called the Standard of Ur. Its two main scenes show warfare and prisoners on one side, tribute and a banquet on the other. The traditional name leaves its original function uncertain. Room 56 follows early urban life in Mesopotamia, including Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian material. Objects connect writing and exchange with the organization of cities and the display of wealth. The Ur Royal Cemetery finds bring burial, skilled making and status into that story. The excavations at Ur were a joint project involving the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania, with finds divided afterwards. On the Standard, the present support reconstructs wood that decayed. The surviving pieces of mosaic let you examine the scenes even though the object’s full use has been lost.