Antique Handmolded Rare Terracotta Plaque Depicting Babylonian Goddess Ishtar or Lilith

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Rare, mysterious, old replica of the Burney Relief, an ancient Mesopotamian terracotta plaque from the Old Babylonian period (circa 1800–1750 … Read more Rare, mysterious, old replica of the Burney Relief, an ancient Mesopotamian terracotta plaque from the Old Babylonian period (circa 1800–1750 BCE). It is widely celebrated as the "Queen of the Night" relief and the original masterpiece resides in the British Museum in London.

The model is hand molded and Fired in India from Ganges river clay, appears in good condition
Measures: Height 5 1/2 in x Width 4 in x Depth 1 in.

The nude female figure wears a horned headdress, a universal symbol of supreme divinity in ancient Mesopotamia. In her hands, she firmly holds the rod-and-ring symbols, representing divine authority, measurement, and cosmic order.

Archaeologists and historians have heavily debated the exact identity of this supernatural figure, focusing on three primary candidates:

Ishtar (Inanna): The powerful goddess of love, fertility, and warfare. The lions are strongly tied to her traditional iconography.

Ereshkigal: The dark ruler of the underworld and sister to Ishtar. Her downward-pointing wings and the original black-painted background of the authentic relief heavily favor an underworld connection.

Lilith (Lilitu): A prominent demoness or night spirit. While highly popular in early 20th-century theories, modern scholarship largely discounts this identity because the horned crown firmly proves she is a major goddess, not a demon. See less