12357B | 30-12-702
| Analytic: | Shell in fleece is Pinctada margaritifera, shell in eyes is Conus or Strombus according to David Reese (2013) |
| Conservation: | 1930s: Woolley reconstructed the object in the field, using waxed muslin with heat. He pushed the body into shape with the fragments of fleece adhering to an inner coating of wax. Tools were inserted into the gold of the legs in order to press them out and then copper wires and a heated mixture of wax and bitumen were added to form the body. 3 |
| Conservation: | 1940s: Legrain sent the object out for repairs in order to place it on display. During this time the body was filled with a plastic wood substance and secured to the wires of the legs. UPM conservator Tamsen Fuller noticed significant differences between this object and the previous version based on photographs. Most notably, it seems that a number of pieces of the shell fleece had been removed and discarded, giving the object a more noticeable hunch.3 |
| Conservation: | 1970s: The object went through a series of cleanings, a repair to the flowers, and the removal of adhesives for the traveling exhibit. 4 |
| Analytic: | Based on the ears, the goat may be a markhor (Capra falconers). The markhor is a wild goat of central Asia and probably would have been somewhat exotic to the inhabitants of Ur. According to Richard Zettler and Yelena Rakic (1998) |
| Conservation: | 1982-: Another round of cleaning occurred, with the removal of some wax. X-rays were also taken of the object at this point in time. 4 |
| Conservation: | 1997-8: A massive conservation project was undertaken to stabilize the statue and prepare it for travel and exhibition, as well as to investigate the accuracy of the first reconstruction and make any changes that might be necessary. The 1997-98 conservation project also revealed new information about Woolleys original reconstruction. The most dramatic change was the discovery of joints in the branches of the tree. These joints, when stretched made the tree taller, and the legs came to rest on the branches, much like they did in the original field photograph. The copper wire that Woolley used was replaced with teflon encased stainless steel. The plastic wood body was replaced with polyethylene foam coated in a glass microballoonlacrylic resin mixture to support and adhere the shell and Lapis fleeces. Lastly, the decision was made to leave the hunch of the object that was produced by the 1940s reconstruction. Theobject went through a CT scan and was photographed under UV lights before this project was started. 3 |
| Description (Catalog Card): | [A, B] Statues of rams. A pair. With gold heads and legs; lapis horns, eyes and manes; shell fleeces; silver bellies; the plants and flowers gold; mounted on silver stands with pink and white mosaic diaper. The ram stands on his hind legs, the front legs doubled up and shackled to the stems of tall plants whose arrowhead shaped leaves & rosette flowers rise on each side of the head. Gold sockets rising from the shoulder shows that they were supports for something : of this the only possible trace was a white substance, perhaps leather, which lay under the second animal found. The first animal [A] is rather badly broken & the legs & part of the rump are separate but the thickness of the body is preserved : the second [B] is squashed quite flat but keeps its silhouette & only 3 of the flowers are detached.1 |
| Find Context (Catalog Card): | PG 1237 |
| U Number: | 12357B |
| Object Type: | Figural Objects >> Figurines >> Zoomorphic |
| Museum: | University of Pennsylvania Museum |
| Season Number: | 07: 1928-1929 |
| Popular Name: | Ram in the Thicket |
| Description (Modern): | The "Ram in the Thicket" statuette is composed of gold foil, lapis lazuli, shell, and limestone. The elements originally had a wood and bitumen core and silver components, but these were lost before and during excavation. The ram or goat stands upright on its hind legs, with its forelegs resting in a gold stylized flowering tree or shrub. Both stand upon a rectangular mosaic-topped base with white and orange tesserae. 2 |
| Material: | Inorganic Remains >> Metal >> Gold |
| Material: | Inorganic Remains >> Metal >> Silver |
| Material: | Inorganic Remains >> Stones and Minerals >> Mineral >> Semi-precious >> Lapis Lazuli |
| Material: | Organic Remains >> Shell |
| Museum Number (UPM Date Reg Number): | 30-12-702 |
| Measurement (X): | 425 |
| Measurement (Y): | 270 |
| Measurement (Z): | 180 |
| [1] Woolley's description |
| [2] Modern description |
| [3] Rakic 1998 |
| [4] Fuller 1998 |
Files
| Location | Context Title | Context Description | Description (Modern) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG/1237 | Woolley called this the 'Great Death Pit' because it is the largest of all the death pits in the royal cemetery. He found 74 bodies within but did not find a built chamber, an aspect he believed essential to royal tombs. Woolley declared the chamber must have been completely looted away and pointed to small amounts of rubble as evidence of this, but in fact the large size of this death pit and the particular wealth displayed by Body 61 may indicate that the primary burial was among the attendants in this case. | (none) |
- 1 Location
| Media | Media Title | Title | Label | Author | Omeka Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ur Excavations II; The Royal Cemetery | Ur Excavations II; The Royal Cemetery | 1934 | Woolley, Leonard | (none) |
| A History of the World in 1,000 Objects | A History of the World in 1,000 Objects | 2014 | Kindersley, Dorling | (none) |
| A Makeover for the Philadelphia "Ram caught in a Thicket" | A Makeover for the Philadelphia "Ram caught in a Thicket" | 1998 | Fuller, T. | (none) |
| Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus | Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus | 2003 | Aruz, Joan and Ronald Wallenfeis | (none) |
| Conservation: The Ram in the Thicket. An online exhibition of the University of Pennsylvania Museum | Conservation: The Ram in the Thicket. An online exhibition of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology | 2006 | Book, Victoria | (none) |
| Magnificent Objects from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology | Magnificent Objects from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology | 2004 | Quick, Jennifer and Deborah I. Olszewski | (none) |
| Rescue and Restoration: A History of the Philadelphia Ram Caught in a Thicket | Rescue and Restoration: A History of the Philadelphia Ram Caught in a Thicket | 1998 | Rakic, Yelena | (none) |
| The Babylonian Collection of the University Museum | The Babylonian Collection of the University Museum | 1944 | Legrain, Leon | (none) |
| Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur | Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur | 1998 | Zettler, Richard and Lee Horne | (none) |
| U12357 Catalog Card | U12357 Catalog Card | 1924-1936 | Woolley et al | (none) | |
| UPM Field Photo numbers | UPM Field Photo numbers | (none) | (none) | (none) |
| Woolley's Catalog Cards | Woolley's Catalog Cards | Card -- BM ID:194 Box:52 Page:228 | Card -- BM ID:194 Box:52 Page:228 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Catalog Cards | Woolley's Catalog Cards | Card -- BM ID:194 Box:52 Page:229 | Card -- BM ID:194 Box:52 Page:229 | (none) | |
| Woolley's Field Note Cards | Woolley's Field Note Cards | Royal Cemetary Notes 1130-1237_p212 | Royal Cemetary Notes 1130-1237_p212 | (none) |
- 14 Media
Share
Context
Ur >> Royal Cemetery | PG >> Private Graves 1201-1300 >> PG/1237
References
Woolley, Leonard. (1934) Ur Excavations II; The Royal Cemetery, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fuller, T. (1998) A Makeover for the Philadelphia "Ram caught in a Thicket", .
Woolley et al. (1924-1936) U12357 Catalog Card, Unpublished.