Napir-Asu (fl. 14th century BCE) was an

Elamite Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Scythic, Median, Amardian, Anshanian and Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was recorded in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite i ...

queen, who was the wife of King

Untash-Napirisha Untash-Napirisha was king of Elam (in present-day southwest Iran) during the Middle Elamite period, circa 1300 BCE. He was the son of the previous Elamite king, Humban-Numena and of a daughter (or granddaughter) of Kurigalzu. He was named afte ...

. A statue of her by the bronzeworkers of

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

is one of the finest examples of bronze metal-working to be discovered.

Biography

It is likely that Napir-Asu corresponds to the daughter of the Babylonian Burnaburiash (perhaps the king Burna-Buraish II) married by

. A statue of the god Immiriya in Chogha Zanbil was dedicated by Napir-Asu's husband Untash-Napirisha to his father-in-law Burnaburiash. There is a letter that has survived which describes Untash-Napirisha marrying a daughter of a Burna-Buraish. However there is some debate as to whether the Burna-Burnish in the letter is in fact the king, or a later descendant. Nevertheless it does appear that Napir-Asu was the first Elamite royal woman to be depicted on a limestone stele with her husband. She appears to also be the first Elamite queen whose name is inscribed on her body in statue form. The stele depicts Napir-Asu, Untash-Napirisha and his mother, the priestess Utik. Historians Esfandyar Rahmati Kia and Kolsoum Ghazanfari have argued that Napir-Asu held some power in her own right.

Statue

In 1903 archaeologist

Jacques de Morgan Jean-Jacques de Morgan (3 June 1857 – 14 June 1924) was a French mining engineer, geologist, and archaeologist. He was the director of antiquities in Egypt during the 19th century, and excavated in Memphis and Dahshur, providing many dra ...

, working as part of the ''Délégation scientifique française en Perse,'' discovered a 130cm high statue, made of a bronze core, covered by a layer of copper, with cast and chased decoration, weighing 1750 kg. It was found in the upper rooms of the temple of

Ninhursag Ninḫursaĝ ( ''Ninḫarsang''; ), sometimes transcribed Ninursag, Ninḫarsag, or Ninḫursaĝa, also known as Damgalnuna or Ninmah, was the ancient Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She ...

in Susa. It is also the largest example of Elamite bronze sculpture known. Since the statue was placed in the temple, curator Françoise Tallon has argued that the statue represented the queen in "perpetual prayer". The statue was originally created with a series of processes that enabled the casting of its core and creation of its surface. The copper shell was created first by building a core of clay and bricks, which was then covered in wax, into which designs were made, followed by encasement in another layer of clay. Heated, so that the wax melted away, copper was then poured into the mould. Once the copper was cooled, the clay core was removed and layers of bronze were poured into the hollow of the body. At one time the surface may have been covered with gold and silver leaf. The statue's decorations are an important source for the study of Elamite textiles and clothing. The head and the left arm of the statue are missing. On the fringed skirt of this statue, the names of the queen and the great gods of Susa are engraved in

Elamite cuneiform Elamite cuneiform was a logo-syllabic script used to write the Elamite language. The corpus of Elamite cuneiform consists of tablets and fragments. The majority were created during the Achaemenid era, and contain primarily economic records. Hi ...

. There is a ring on the queen's left hand, which is probably her wedding ring. On the skirt of this statue and in the

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

of the queen, a curse is written:

I, Napir-Asu, wife of Untash-Napirisha. He who would seize my statue, who would smash it, who would destroy its inscription, who would erase my name, may he be smitten by the curse of Napirisha, of Kiririsha, and of Inshushinak, that his name shall become extinct, that his offspring be barren, that the forces of Beltiya, the great goddess, shall sweep down on him. This is Napir-Asu's offering.

The statue is held in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

collections. In 1993 the statue, alongside other works from the Louvre, was loaned to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

for exhibition. It is recognised as a masterpiece of Elamite art.

Notes

References

External links

Statue of Queen Napir-Asu
{{Authority control Ancient queens consort Elamite people 14th-century BC women