Mari Archaic Dynastic IIIb

Statue of Ebih-Il

Ebih-Il, a devotee of Mari

The embedded eyes make a seated figure appear to be looking back at us.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

**PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · Musée du Louvre, Oriental Antiquités · CC BY 2.5 for the photograph**
Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Detail of head, torso and hands of the original statue of Ebih-Il; The photograph does not show the entire seated figure.
Jastrow (Marie-Lan Nguyen) · Musée du Louvre, Oriental Antiquities · Inventory: AO 17551 A · M. 177 · CC BY 2.5 for photography
Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

History and context

Ebih-Il remains seated with his hands folded. The light stone, inlaid eyes and inscription allow recognition of an individual dedication in the Ishtar temple of Mari. This is not an anonymous figure to whom we have added a modern name.

Its title, nu-band, indicates a role of responsibility. The piece brings the visit to other cities on the Euphrates, not just those in the south. Nor does its inscription in Akkadian automatically make it a work of the later empire of Akkad: a language and an empire are not the same.

Evidence and interpretation

Incomplete statue found in 1934. The foot fragments have separate records. No private experiences or thoughts of the dedicator are reconstructed from his expression.

Catalogue facts

Date of piece: Towards 2400 BCE
Culture and period: Mari Archaic Dynastic IIIb
Provenance: Temple of Ishtar, Mari, present-day Syria
Material: Alabaster, shell, lapis lazuli and bitumen
Inventory: AO 17551 A · M. 177

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

You are viewing

Towards 2400 BCE

Statue of Ebih-Il

Sumer

Approximate dating according to the record.

Current record

Stone19 dated objects

12 / 19In the centre: Statue of Ebih-Il

Also connected, without a comparable date (10)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

A White Wall on the DanubeCeltic worlds · 6th century BCE
CemeteryIndus civilisation · ca. 2600–1900 BCE
Engraved stonePrehistory · Before ≈39,000 cal BP
Four gardens and waterAchaemenid Persia · 6th century BCE
Kumbi SalehMande Worlds · medieval occupation; prominent phases between the 11th and 13th centuries
Soma stonesVedic and later Indian worlds · Rigvedic strata; later ritual tradition
The quarry remained visibleGojoseon and early Korea · Mainly 6th–5th centuries BCE
The Thracian HorsemanThracians · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE
Tichitt wallsMande Worlds · II–I millennia BCE
Writing with gapsGaramantes · Diverse chronologies

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Shell and mother-of-pearl

'Jamila's' necklace · ≈7250–7000 BCE · Prehistory
Worshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · Sumer
Royal Game of Ur · 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
The goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Standard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Statue of Ebih-Il · Towards 2400 BCE · Sumer — You are viewing
The Gallery of the Conch Shells · Main use c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Ornamental stones

'Jamila's' necklace · ≈7250–7000 BCE · Prehistory
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Standard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Statue of Ebih-Il · Towards 2400 BCE · Sumer — You are viewing
Carnelian beads · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Beads from Cerro de los Vientos · 8th–7th centuries BCE · orientalizing · Iberians

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Meluhha · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation

Human imagery

Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
Hohle Fels · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · Prehistory
Willendorf · ≈29,500 years · Prehistory
Brno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · Prehistory
Dolní Věstonice I · ≈29,000–27,000 years · Prehistory
Lespugue · ≈28,000 years · Prehistory
Kostenki I · ≈23,000–21,000 years · Prehistory
Shigir Idol · C. 10,000 BCE · approximation; debated dating · Prehistory
Nahal Hemar mask · Eighth millennium BCE · context dating, not direct dating of the stone · Prehistory
El Miradero spatula-idols · ≈4000–3800 cal BCE · Prehistory
Warka Mask · End of the 4th millennium BCE · Sumer
Cueva de las Manos · Sequence ≈9300–1300 BP · Prehistory
Uruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · Sumer
Worshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · Sumer
Standard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Statue of Ebih-Il · Towards 2400 BCE · Sumer — You are viewing
Akkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Bassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Before Pre-Inca Cultures · Kotosh-Mito Tradition, c. 2200–1500 BCE; the enclosure is usually situated around 1800 BCE. · Pre-Inca cultures
Queen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · Sumer
Bull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worlds
Wooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worlds
Head 2 · c. 1200–900 BCE · Maya worlds
Ivory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Las Limas · c. 1000–600 BCE · Maya worlds
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Phoenicians
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Iberians
Lamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · Sumer
The Lanzón · c. 900–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Offering 4 · c. 800–600 BCE · Maya worlds
Kushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Iberians
Heads on the wall · c. 800–300 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Shabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Two voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Glazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Twenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid Persia
Banquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · Iberians
A battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
The Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Faces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Punic head pendant · Mid 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Lady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
The Raimondi Stele · c. 400–200 BCE according to MNAAHP · Pre-Inca cultures
Chão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · Iberians
Vas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · Iberians
Warriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Iberians
The dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds
The walls of San Bartolo · c. 100 BCE · Maya worlds
Gladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Thracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Torreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and Rome
Articulated doll from Tarragona · Late 3rd–4th century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Seven heads · c. 500–700 CE · Bantu-speaking worlds
Seated figure · 13th century, date attributed by the museum · Mande Worlds
Kongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds
Kuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Worship and offerings

Uruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · Sumer
Worshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · Sumer
Statue of Ebih-Il · Towards 2400 BCE · Sumer — You are viewing
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Jue · c. sixteenth century BCE · Ancient China
Rubber before the stadium · c. 1600–1200 BCE for the oldest specimens · Maya worlds
Wooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worlds
Liding · 12th–11th centuries BCE · Ancient China
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Phoenicians
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Iberians
The invisible mosaic · c. 900–600 BCE · Maya worlds
Offering 4 · c. 800–600 BCE · Maya worlds
Uni was also Astarte · Towards 510 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Thoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Poroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Eight voices in one hand · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Thirty-nine buried bells · Buried towards the 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Yayoi Japan
Betatun altar · 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Kongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A tradition that invents · collected in 1993 or 1995 · Batwa / Twa histories
Four offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · Iberians
Lararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and Rome
Livestock and mounds · c. 2050–1500 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Rome learns in terracotta · End of the sixth century BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Soma stones · Rigvedic strata; later ritual tradition · Vedic and later Indian worlds
The altar cord · Approximate composition and transmission c. 800–500 BCE, with revisions · Vedic and later Indian worlds
The Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · Thracians
Translating faith · 16th–18th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 14, 2026.

Carving different materials on a stone

The sculptor represented a basketry stool and a skirt of the type called kaunakès, in addition to contrasting the shaved head with the beard. They are different surfaces built on the alabaster figure; The seat represented is not a fiber piece of furniture that has come down to us. The Louvre believes that eyebrows and beard must also have received inlays. Looking at these areas allows us to recognize a work whose original combination of materials was more extensive than the one preserved.

Museum · Louvre · Nu-banda Ebih-IlAccess recorded: September 14, 2026.

Where it is held

Musee du Louvre, Paris

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

Institution that preserves the piece; Check with the museum about its availability to visit.

Musee du Louvre

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Louvre · Nu-banda Ebih-Il

Consult the part documentation

Did you enjoy this exhibit?

Your opinion helps us improve the museum. You can change it whenever you like.

Loading your rating…

Statue of Ebih-Il

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Statue of Ebih-Il

Swanscombe handaxe

Engraved ochre from Blombos

Before the San

Before the name San

Engraved stone from Çakmaktepe

Grinding stone from Çakmaktepe

Warka Mask

Cylinder seal

Uruk Vase

Narmer Palette

Worshiper of Tell Asmar

Statue of Ebih-Il

Weights

Lamassu of Khorsabad

Ashurbanipal Hunt

Heads on the wall

Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar

The statue was the urn

The inscription of Pistiros

A closer look

Carving different materials on a stone

Where it is held

Musee du Louvre, Paris

Musee du Louvre

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?