A note about an ewer of probable Anatolian production, from one of the tombs of the Assyrian queens at Nimrud
Among the findings from the queens’ tombs of Nimrud, great interest was stirred by a small gold ewer placed inside sarcophagus 2, belonging to Mullissu-mukannišat-Ninua, MÍ.É.GAL of Ashshurnasirpal II, and mother of Shalmaneser III. The ewer was the object of detailed studies concerning technical aspects, as well as the figurative and decorative patterns. In both instances the final judgement was that the diadem and ewer were eclectic productions, made by the Assyrian palace workshops, in order to meet the needs of purchasers of refined and ‘international’ tastes. I argue that it seems possible to maintain that the decorative apparatus of the ewer belongs fully to the Urartian cultural milieus of the 8th-7th century BC, that this is a masterpiece of the Urartian goldsmiths’ art, certainly made for local Urartian purchasers of a very high level, and that it reached Nimrud as part of the personal belongings of a high ranking person, or as part of a booty or tribute after a successful Assyrian military campaign.