This is a museum-grade handmade replica of a Sumerian Foundation Peg, suitable for museum use when the original is removed for cleaning. It is indistinguishable from the original artifact under close scrutiny. This artifact was hand-made to be a faithful recreation of the ceremonial pegs buried beneath temples during the Early Dynastic to Ur III periods (c. 2900–2000 BC) in ancient Mesopotamia, modern-day Southern Iraq.
These pegs were ritually embedded at the foundations of temples to sanctify the ground, invoke divine protection, and assert royal legitimacy. They often depict a standing or kneeling king holding a peg or spike, symbolizing the act of physically founding the temple. The originals record dedications to gods and commemorate temple construction by city rulers.
Only a few dozen examples of these pegs have survived antiquity. They are displayed in The British Museum in London, the Louvre, the Iraq Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago.
This replica is 32 centimeters in length (over one foot), and is very heavy, at more than a pound (484 grams; see photo for weight comparison). It is made of reconstituted limestone over an acrylic-fused copper and zinc core. It is identical in touch and feel to the original oxidized copper alloy original. Though the original pegs were not designed as display pieces that could stand vertically by themselves, this replica can do so, precariously. Museum putty is recommended if you intend to display it in this fashion.
Museum display tag included.
Made in the USA.
