Ancient Goddesses in New York

About the Ancient Near Eastern Goddesses at The Met

The goddess photos on this page were taken in 2022 when the Gallery Ancient Near Eastern was still open. I wanted to share them because these artifacts will not be on view again until 2025,

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is working on completely renovating its galleries for Ancient Near Eastern and Cypriot Art. In a statement, they shared: "The reimagined space will introduce an innovative and forward-thinking approach to presenting art from Cyprus and ancient West Asia—a vast region that includes ancient Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean coast, Yemen, and Central Asia—by creating a more deeply engaging experience and providing spaces for contemporary discourse and discussion."

These galleries will reopen in 2025. Read more here.

Sources

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "The Metropolitan Museum of Art to Renovate Its Galleries for Ancient near Eastern and Cypriot Art - the Metropolitan Museum of Art," www.metmuseum.org, accessed March 4, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/press/news/2022/anec-renovation.

"Reimagining the Galleries for the Art of the Ancient near East and Cyprus," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed March 4, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/ancient-near-eastern-art/ane-renovation.

Captions

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Figure of a Reclining Woman | Parthian | Parthian," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed March 4, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/322114.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Furniture Support: Female Sphinx with Hathor-Style Curls | Old Assyrian Trading Colony | Middle Bronze Age–Old Assyrian Trading Colony," accessed March 4, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/322890.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Helmet with Divine Figures beneath a Bird with Outstretched Wings," Metmuseum.org, 2022, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/325584.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Human-Headed Winged Bull (Lamassu)," Metmuseum.org, 2020, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/322608.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, " Nude Female Figure -Israelite ," Metmuseum.org, 2022, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/323163.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Stele of the Protective Goddess Lama," Metmuseum.org, 2022, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/325092.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, " Seated Goddess with a Child -Hittite," Metmuseum.org, 2019, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/327401.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Statuette of a Female | Iran | Iron Age II," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed March 4, 2024, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/325688.

Ancient Near Eastern Goddess Art - The Met

Mesopotamian Goddess Lama

Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Stele of the protective goddess Lama - The Met

The detail page for this goddess is titled Stele of the Protective Goddess Lama. It shares this important information: "The'interceding goddess' with arms raised in a gesture of prayer is well-known in earlier Mesopotamian art. where she is shown as an intermediary between a human (usually the king) and a high-ranking god or goddess. Here, she is identified by the inscription as the protective goddess Lama. The stele was dedicated to the goddess Inanna "for the life of" the Kassite king Nazi-Maruttash. Written in Sumerian, an ancient language which had ceased to be spoken centuries earlier, the inscription also places a curse on anyone who would tamper with the stele or remove it from view."