Queen of the night

The Burney Relief and myself, London. 
Click on any image for a hi-rex view.

If you google the words OWL and GODDESS, The Burney Relief will come up at the top of the list. I know because I've been digging for these words and how they connect. I was recently in London and my hotel was just a few blocks away from The British Museum (home of the Burney Relief). Curiously, I was staying at the Hotel Athens, Athens named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom with a companion little owl.

Anyway, I walked to the museum, and found it within minutes. It as rather small given all that has been written about it.

It is a Mesopotamian terra-cotta plaque depicting a winged, nude, goddess-like figure with bird's talons, flanked by owls, and perched upon supine lions. The relief, known as The Queen of the Night, has dated it between 1800 and 1750 BCE. It originates from southern Iraq, but the exact site where it was found is unknown. There is much debate whether the woman represents Lilith, Lilitu, Inanna, Ishtar, or Ereshkigal. Also, is she a goddess or a demon? All these points are unknown, but open to endless speculation, making any research a bottomless pit of wishy-washiness.

I recognize the temptation to cherry pick the available data (and there is a lot of it), then latch onto someone's conclusion that matches my own avenue of thought. I reference the Burney Relief in my ongoing book project as well as my presentations. All I can really say is that this image seems to represent something more demonic than the goddess Athena (also seen with owls), and that the myth of Lilith was that she could shape shift into an owl, fly at night and drink the blood of babies. So, this tablet might represent the more ominous aspects of the mythology of owls.

the card accompning the Burney Relief

What I can say is that this image is really tidy. As an artist, I am impressed with the simple use of symmetry, and the stylization of the owls and the lions. What is also interesting is that the woman's face is a little bit sloppy and poorly proportioned. From my own direct experience, it is terribly challenging to capture the subtleties of the feminine face. So, I can sympathize with the artist.

The Burney Relief

___________________________________________________