Writing the biography of artefacts retired in museums. A methodological approach to the study of Mesopotamian statuary

This contribution explores the ways in which Mesopotamian statuary and associated ritual practices have been understood by modern research. In this sense, several standard interpretative approaches are explored and subsequently scrutinized in the light of four case studies. Firstly, translation difficulties, sometimes influenced by a certain a priori of the message conveyed. This question will be addressed through the treatment of inscriptions added to Mesopotamian artefacts by Šůtrůk-Nahůnte I, in the 12th century BC. Secondly, the difficulties of finding a balance between the symbolic and the concrete
aspects, while reading texts describing rituals. This will be analyzed through a set of texts testifying to redistribution of offerings to a wide range of individuals, after having offered the latter to the deities. Third, the primacy of certain hypotheses, such as the deliberate mutilation of statues rather than simple accidental breakage, in situations where the evidence is weak. From the disk of Enḫeduana to the statues of worshippers of the 3rd millennium BC, I shall question what clues are available to us to identify voluntary or accidental destruction. Fourth, the value of studying a corpus as a whole and the risks
involved in selecting elements. Here I will return to the case of artefacts moved by Šůtrůk-Nahůnte I. These research questions appeared within the framework of my PhD dissertation and are intended to highlight limits rather than to provide infallible solutions.