Mesopotamian Eye Idol

Metropolitan Museum of Art

by Metropolitan Museum of Art
published on 21 May 2026

Mesopotamian Eye Idol — Gypsum alabaster eye idol from the Middle Uruk period, c. 3700-3500 BCE, Tell Brak, Syria.

Many similar artifacts have been found at Tell Brak; they were likely amuletic objects honoring the Mesopotamian goddess Ningal, wife of Nanna, or talismans reminding the person that the gods were watching over them.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

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© Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. As part of the Met's Open Access policy, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this dataset. Original image by Metropolitan Museum of Art. Uploaded by Ibolya Horváth, published on 21 May 2026. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Public Domain. This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

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APA Style

Art, M. M. o. (2026, May 21). Mesopotamian Eye Idol. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21826/mesopotamian-eye-idol/

Chicago Style

Art, Metropolitan Museum of. "Mesopotamian Eye Idol." World History Encyclopedia, May 21, 2026. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21826/mesopotamian-eye-idol/.

MLA Style

Art, Metropolitan Museum of. "Mesopotamian Eye Idol." World History Encyclopedia, 21 May 2026, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21826/mesopotamian-eye-idol/.

Mesopotamian Eye Idol

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