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A cuneiform architectural brick fragment stamped with an inscription commemorating king Nabuchanezzar II. The full inscription reads: “Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, Who provides for Esagil, And Ezida, Firstborn heir, Of Nabopolassar, King of Babylon.
Inscribed bricks such as this were built into important buildings such as temples and palaces to record the builder or restorer of the structure. This example probably originates from a temple to Esagil or Ezagil within the city of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar is perhaps most famous for the sacking of Jerusalem and his transportaiton and enslavement of Jews in Babylon as described in the Bible.
Culture
Mesopotamia, Neo-Baylonian, Babylon, reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, 605-562 BC
Size
13.4 x 12 cms
Condition
Fragment as shown, extant text very well preserved
Provenance
Ex. private collection, Newton Abbott, Devon, UK; acquired in a provincial house clearance auction from a deceased estate. Accompanied by a c. 1970’s-1980’s British Museum general information sheet on inscribed bricks of Nebuchanezzar II.
For another example of the same brick inscription in the British Museum please see:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1865-0726-1
Also an example in the Pearson Collection, Jerusalem:
https://www.academia.edu/figures/7747228/figure-1-inscription-following-the-reading-of-walker-pgs-on
Shabti figures
