We’re exploring themes from the current Getty Villa exhibition “Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins,” and today’s theme is kingship! ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Meet Gudea. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Gudea was the ensi (ruler) of the city of Lagash in Sumer around 2120 BC. Gudea's image has survived in a group of over twenty statues found at Tello, Iraq (ancient Girsu). ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Many of Gudea’s statues show him in a prayerful pose, fulfilling his duty of worshipping the gods. He is beardless and has a shaved head, and usually wears a brimmed cap decorated with rows of spiral curls, perhaps representing lamb wool. His serene, steady gaze conveys clear-eyed leadership. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ In the first statue pictured, Gudea holds a vessel from which flow stylized streams of fresh water, inhabited by tiny fish. The inscription on his garment tells us that the statue was a dedication to Geshtinanna, a goddess of life-giving water. It would have been placed in a temple to Geshtinanna in Girsu, where Gudea’s statues were found. ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ The seated statue i...