Guide Note

A tiny, 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian sculpture known as the Guennol Lioness was purchased anonymously at a Sotheby's auction for $57.16 million US. It set a new record for the sale of a sculpture or antiquity. The previous record was for $28.6 million for the "Artemis and the Stag" sculpture.

Fast Facts

1. Sold on December 5, 2007, to highest bidder
2. The figure is 8 cm high
3. Carved from limestone
4. Thought to have symbolic or religious significance for the Ancient Mesopotamians
5. Found by Sir Leonard Woolley during the 20th century

Research indicates that the Guennol Lioness, or "Lioness Demon" as it's otherwise known, was made around 3000-2800 BC. This was close to the time that the wheel was first introduced. It is also believed to have been created around the same time as cuneiform writing. These kinds of figures were located on the Great Lyre from the "King's Grave" around 2650-2550 BC.

The figure was discovered by Sir Leonard Woolley during the 20th century in Iraq.

Before the Lioness was purchased from Sotheby's on December 5, 2007, it was owned by private collector, Alastair Bradley Martin. He acquired it in 1948, and from that point on it was displayed at Brooklyn Museum of Art.