“Divine (Re-) Presentation: Authoritative Images and a Pictorial Stream of Tradition in Mesopotamia.” In The Materiality of Divine Agency, edited by B. Pongratz-Leisten and K. Sonik, 142-193. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 2015 By Karen Sonik

https://www.academia.edu/18402233/_Divine_Re_Presentation_Authoritative_Images_and_a_Pictorial_Stream_of_Tradition_in_Mesopotamia_In_The_Materiality_of_Divine_Agency_edited_by_B_Pongratz_Leisten_and_K_Sonik_142_193_Berlin_and_New_York_de_Gruyter_2015 Focusing on the divine image in Mesopotamia, this essay explores the construction and implications of the anthropomorphized divine body; the nature of the relationship between the image (specifically the ṣalmu) and its divine referent; and the means by which the authoritative and authorized status of a divine image might be established, in order that the image might successfully presence the deity. Taking the ninth century BCE Sun God Tablet (SGT) from Sippar as case study, Sonik specifically examines the embedding of images within the pictorial stream of tradition as a means of establishing their authoritative status. Such an embedding might be accomplished through both pictorial and written strategies: pictorial compositions may be deliberately designed to incorporate archaizing motifs or elements, visually announcing their ties to the (or even a specific period of the) ancient and esteemed past; written accounts, for their part, might trace or deliberately construct an object’s relationship to a more ancient model or even authoritative prototype with origins in the divine sphere ...