Harvard Art Museums > 1983.97: Fragment of Cuneiform Tablet: Old Assyrian Letter Tablets Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Fragment of Cuneiform Tablet: Old Assyrian Letter , 1983.97,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 20, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/289226. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1983.97 Title Fragment of Cuneiform Tablet: Old Assyrian Letter Classification Tablets Work Type tablet Date c. 1900-1750 BCE Period Assyrian Colony period Culture Assyrian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/289226 Physical Descriptions Medium Clay Technique Impressed Dimensions 5.2 x 6.1 x 2.2 cm (2 1/16 x 2 3/8 x 7/8 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Nanette Rodney Kelekian, New York, formerly in the possession of her father Charles Dikran Kelekian; gift to Fogg Art Museum, 1983. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Nanette B. Rodney Accession Year 1983 Object Number 1983.97 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Fragment of clay tablet with cuneiform writing. The tablet is inscribed on both sides with ruled lines of text written in the Old Assyrian dialect of the Akkadian language. There are no seal impressions preserved. The tablet probably comes from the trading colony (karum) by the mound of Kültepe (ancient Kanesh) near Kaiseri in Cappadocia (central Anatolia). Only the upper half of the tablet remains so that the six first lines of the text on the obverse and the last three lines on the reverse are partially preserved. The majority of the reverse that is preserved is uninscribed. The text is mostly broken, but what is preserved of the beginning indicates a standard introductory formula typically used in letters. This letter is written from the "waklum", a title for the ruler of the city of Assur, found mainly in letters, and addressed to the trading colony, Kanesh. The letter concerns a legal verdict given in the sacred precinct of the god Adad, before two divine emblems. The subject of the lawsuit is not preserved, but the final line indicates a penalty was probably imposed (rev. line x+3: "they will pay"). IMAGE: Bottom row, first on right. Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
