Historical Context
Editorially reviewedAkkadian through Ur III art of southern Mesopotamia uses the overflowing jar as a compact abundance device that can move between holders. Gudea’s Statue N, from Girsu and dedicated to Geshtinanna, is the named type-object. Enki/Ea’s association with flowing water is real on other figure-types (shoulder-streams) and must not rename this vase.
Provenance: Type-object: Louvre AO 22126, Gudea Statue N from Girsu (Tello), c. 2120–2110 BCE, dedicated to Geshtinanna, holding a vase with fish-filled streams. British Museum 89115 is excluded as a vase exemplar.
Research status: reviewed · reviewed 02/09/2026
Sources
3 referencesStatue de Gudea dite « au vase jaillissant », Louvre AO 22126
Musée du Louvre AO 22126, Statue N of Gudea, Girsu (Tello), Neo-Sumerian, c. 2120–2110 BCE. (Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités orientales)
Supports: Type-object: the prince holds an overflowing jar with fish in the streams; the statue is dedicated to Geshtinanna, so the vase is not an Enki-only attribute.
Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia
Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary (British Museum Press, 1992), s.v. “flowing vase,” “Ea.” (British Museum Press)
Supports: Hegallu/overflowing vase as an abundance device that can transfer between holders; Enki/Ea shoulder-streams are a related but distinct figure-type.
The Adda Seal, British Museum 89115 (discriminator)
British Museum 89115 (1891,0509.2553), Akkadian greenstone cylinder seal of Adda. (British Museum)
Supports: Negative discriminator: Ea’s streams and fish issue from the shoulders without a vase and are not an exemplar of this overflowing-jar type.
How to cite this page
Flowing Vase (hegallu) — Documented Sumerian/Akkadian Motif, Akkadian–Ur III. Sanctum Hex Vault. Reviewed 02/09/2026. https://vault.sanctumhex.com/symbols/historically-documented-sumerian-and-early-akkadian-visual-motif-types-from-southern-mesopotamia-c-3500-1800-bce-drawn-from-cylinder-seals-votive-plaques-temple-fittings-and-royal-standards-motif-types-only-exclude-modern-anunnaki-claims-invented-occult-seals-and-later-neo-assyrian-palace-types-presented-as-sumerian-flowing-vase-hegallu-documented-sumerian-akkadian-motif-akkadian-ur-iii
https://vault.sanctumhex.com/symbols/historically-documented-sumerian-and-early-akkadian-visual-motif-types-from-southern-mesopotamia-c-3500-1800-bce-drawn-from-cylinder-seals-votive-plaques-temple-fittings-and-royal-standards-motif-types-only-exclude-modern-anunnaki-claims-invented-occult-seals-and-later-neo-assyrian-palace-types-presented-as-sumerian-flowing-vase-hegallu-documented-sumerian-akkadian-motif-akkadian-ur-iiiArchaeological Motifs
Flowing Vase (hegallu) — Documented Sumerian/Akkadian Motif, Akkadian–Ur III
A globular vase from which two streams issue, often with fish: a transferable abundance device, not an Enki-only attribute.
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