The Queen of the Night

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The British Museum holds a large, intricately modelled plaque made from baked straw-tempered clay. The curvaceous figure of a naked woman was originally painted a deep red and wears the distinctive horned headdress characteristic of Mesopotamian deities. She grasps a rod and ring, potent symbols of her divinity, while her long, colourful wings extend downwards, signifying her role as a goddess of the Underworld. Her legs end in sharp talons similar to those of the two owls that flank her sides. The plaque's dark background, originally painted black, suggests an association with night, and she stands proudly on the backs of two lions. A scale pattern in the design indicates the presence of mountains. This figure may represent Ishtar, Mesopotamia's revered goddess of love and war, or Ereshkigal, her sister and rival who ruled over the Underworld, or even Lilitu, a demoness known as Lilith in the Bible. The plaque likely stood proudly in a shrine. The same goddess appears on small, crude mould-made plaques from Babylonia dating back to around 1850-1750 BC. Thermoluminescence tests confirm that the 'Queen of the Night' relief was crafted between 1765 and 1745 BC. The relief may have arrived in England as early as 1924, and it was brought to the British Museum for scientific testing in 1933. It has been known since its publication in 1936 in the Illustrated London News as the Burney Relief, named after its owner at that time. Until 2003, it remained in private hands before being acquired by the British Museum to commemorate its 250th anniversary.