Historical Context
Editorially reviewedThe extractable badge belongs to Lagash II temple equipment at Girsu, not to a later pan-Mesopotamian snake staff. Gudea dedicated the vase to Ningishzida; Ur III glyptic continues related snake imagery, but the twin-serpent staff is fixed by AO 190. Caduceus comparisons belong to Greek and modern reception, not to this Sumerian type.
Provenance: Type-object: Louvre AO 190, chlorite libation vase from Girsu (Tello), dedicated by Gudea to Ningishzida; excavated 1877-1881. Inscription: RIME 3/1.1.7.66 (CDLI P234563).
Research status: reviewed · reviewed 02/09/2026
Sources
3 referencesLouvre AO 190, Gobelet a libation de Gudea
Musee du Louvre, AO 190. Chlorite libation vase from Girsu (Tello), dedicated by Gudea to Ningishzida; c. 2120-2110 BCE. Departement des Antiquites orientales. (Musee du Louvre)
Supports: Type-object: coiled pair between temple door-posts; material chlorite; Girsu provenance; Gudea dedication to Ningishzida.
RIME 3/1.1.7.66 / CDLI P234563
Edzard, Dietz Otto. Gudea and His Dynasty. The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia, Early Periods, vol. 3/1. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997, E3/1.1.7.66. Vessel AO 00190, CDLI P234563. (Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative)
Supports: Period inscription names Ningishzida as Gudea's god; does not caption the snakes as a healing staff.
Black and Green on Ningishzida and snakes
Black, Jeremy, and Anthony Green. Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary. London: British Museum Press, 1992, s.v. Ningishzida, snakes, p. 167, fig. 139 (AO 190). (British Museum Press)
Supports: Identifies the coiled pair on AO 190 with Ningishzida; caduceus comparison is later, not period meaning.
How to cite this page
Twin Serpents on Staff (Ningishzida) — Documented Sumerian Motif, Lagash II / 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-twin-serpents-on-staff-ningishzida-documented-sumerian-motif-lagash-ii-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-twin-serpents-on-staff-ningishzida-documented-sumerian-motif-lagash-ii-ur-iiiMythic Beasts
Twin Serpents on Staff (Ningishzida) — Documented Sumerian Motif, Lagash II / Ur III
Two snakes in opposed coils around a vertical staff, heads meeting at the top, as on Gudea's chlorite libation vase for Ningishzida.
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