Thoughts & life experiences of a Chicago area graphic artist

04 September 2023

Ancient Super Hero Action Figure?

 

Photos by O. Douglas Jennings taken at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Cast in solid copper and executed with a remarkable degree of sophistication, this Mesopotamian statuette (3000 BC–2800 BC) is thought to represent a supernatural being that served as an intermediary between the physical world and the spiritual realm. It depicts a muscular, bearded male wearing a headdress of goat horns and ears, a raptor skin over his shoulders, a cylindrical belt around his trim waist, and ankle boots with long, curved toes. His eyes are inlaid with bits of shell or stone; the now-missing pupils were probably made from a contrasting material. It is one of a pair of virtually identical figures (the other is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) that are unlike anything else that is known today.

I've learned that this figure represents a Psychopomp

Psychopomps are creatures, spirits, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply to guide them.”  Source

In any case, I feel that speedster super heroes like The Flash and Quicksilver carry on his legacy.

No comments: