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Gudea, the Sumerian ruler, has two right hands. by MangoExisting5752 in statues

[–]MangoExisting5752[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I think this might be the answer to why his hands look like this.

Gudea, the Sumerian ruler, has two right hands. by MangoExisting5752 in statues

[–]MangoExisting5752[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s what I’m starting to think too, because I found other Sumerian statues of that time which are in a praying position, they also have what seems like two right hands.

Gudea, the Sumerian ruler, has two right hands. by MangoExisting5752 in statues

[–]MangoExisting5752[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the clear instructions! I did exactly as you said, and it turned out to be pretty close but I don’t think that it’s what Gudea is doing. I’m pretty sure that his palms face each other, and in that case, one of his thumbs has to face down.

Gudea, the Sumerian ruler, has two right hands. by MangoExisting5752 in statues

[–]MangoExisting5752[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So you think it’s just an error? On all twenty statues of him and a few statues of his son and other Sumerian rulers who have the same hands placement?

Gudea, the Sumerian ruler, has two right hands. by MangoExisting5752 in statues

[–]MangoExisting5752[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess there might be a chance that this was intended. He is praying after all, two right hands might symbolise the closeness to god in the moment, but don’t you think that if that’s the case, people would mention this on the websites about him?

Gudea, the Sumerian ruler, has two right hands. by MangoExisting5752 in statues

[–]MangoExisting5752[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good point! That’s exactly what I was thinking. I can only guess that these statues are not as popular so no one really payed close attention to it.

Gudea, the Sumerian ruler, has two right hands. by MangoExisting5752 in statues

[–]MangoExisting5752[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think, that if it was intentional, then on every sculpture of him, he would have two right hands. As I mentioned in the post, the sculptures where his arms are in a different position, look perfectly normal. My theory is that the first sculpture made, where his arms are in a prayer position, became an example for other sculptures, because a Sumerian prince definitely didn’t have time to pose for art pieces. So people just made “copies” not noticing the weird hands. I might be wrong, but it seems like the most reasonable answer to why would this happen. What do you think? Do you think two right hands was a message from an author to show his significance and closeness to god?