Human, Divine or Both? The Uruk Vase and the Problem of Ambiguity in Early Mesopotamian Visual Arts By Claudia E. Suter

https://www.academia.edu/5751296/Human_Divine_or_Both_The_Uruk_Vase_and_the_Problem_of_Ambiguity_in_Early_Mesopotamian_Visual_Arts?rhid=40606417877&swp=rr-rw-wc-18402233&nav_from=cf541c26-086f-4024-a8b1-0c0ca0e15b78 Early Mesopotamian images are several millennia removed in time from us. Their interpretation poses numerous difficulties, beginning with the identification of the represented figures. There are ongoing debates about the identity of quite a few anthropomorphic figures depicted on major early Mesopotamian monuments. They usually revolve around the question of whether the figures represented mortals or deities. Is it reasonable to solve the conundrum by reading ambiguity into the figures? This contribution discusses difficulties of interpretation by re-examining the Uruk Vase as an example of the complexities involved. Moreover, it aims at breaking the reiteration of the prevalent interpretation of this image, which was formulated eighty years ago and rests on a scholarly construct. ...