Due to demonstrations in Paris on Saturday, October 17, 2026, access to the Louvre Museum will be limited.
Only visitors with an admission ticket will be able to access the museum via the Galerie du Carrousel and the Cour Napoléon (Pyramid and Passage Richelieu entrances)
Ebih-Il, of Mari
Secret Treasures of the Richelieu Wing
Statue of the nu-banda Ebih-Il, about 2400 BC, alabaster, shell, lapis lazuli, black clay.
This intense blue gaze in lapis lazuli against a background of shell underlined with black clay is that of Ebih-Il. Around 2340 BC, he was a ‘nu-banda’ or superintendent, an important position including political and military responsibilities. He worked in Mari, in present-day Syria, in an era when the Eastern world was organised into realms ruled by princes or kings.
Ebih-Il wears a kaunakès, a skirt with long tufts of wool, worn by both men and women. He is seated, his hands joined, in a praying or ‘orant’ position.
This type of statue was set up in temples in order to perpetuate an act of devotion towards a divinity. The scale and dimensions of these statues vary according to the wealth of the commissioner. That of Ebih-Il is of extraordinary quality and in an excellent state of preservation.
Dedication:
An inscription may be seen on his shoulder: Ebih-Il dedicated this statue to Ishtar Virile, the goddess of love. Ishtar is one of the most important divinities in the mythology of the ancient East.