Tile with half of a theater mask
1st century B.C. - 1st century A.D.
Every aspect of life in ancient Iraq and Iran was ruled by the gods. To curry favor, plants, liquids, oils and animals were regularly brought to temples and ritually offered to the gods. The wealthy could purchase sculptures of animals and even "portraits" of themselves in stone-votive figures that also were left in temples as clever attempts to deceive the gods into thinking that the animal offering, or the patron himself, perpetually remained in the temple.
Amulets were popular as daily protections against harmful magic, particularly those depicting Humbaba-a mythical giant with a face of entrails-and animals like frogs, especially favored among the Babylonians.
Glass mosaic
1 1/4 x 1/2 x 1/8 in. (3.1 x 1.3 x 0.3 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
55.120
Provenance: [Nassar Bros., Cairo, Egypt]; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum / Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, Seattle, Washington, April 28, 1955
