[Illustration: Fig. 58.--Copper head of a colossal votive lance, engraved with the name and title of an early king of Kish. From Tello.--_Déc._ pl 5 _ter_, No 1.] It was clear that the art of the later period was ultimately based upon the formal though decorative conventions of the earlier Sumerian time, but, with the doubtful exception of the copper lance-head and the rude statues of Manishtusu, no example had previously been found of the intermediate period. The missing link between the earlier sculpture of Lagash and that of Akkad has now been supplied by the monolith of Sharru-Gi. Its points of resemblance to the Vulture Stele, both in design and treatment, prove direct continuity with early Sumerian art. The divine net and the vultures were obviously borrowed from the Tello monument, while the guards attending upon Sharru-Gi display the squat and heavy appearance which characterizes the warriors of Eannatum. At the same time, a new element is introduced in the battle scenes, where the designs and grouping are more varied and less conventional. Here the sculptor has allowed his fancy freer play, and has attempted a naturalistic treatment in his delineation of the combatants. He has not fully attained the masterly qualities which characterize the stele of Narâm-Sin, but his work is its direct forerunner. To judge from the striking evidence furnished by a single monument, the art of Kish must have been closely related to that of Akkad. The latter inaugurated no totally new departure, but was dependent on its predecessor, whose most striking qualities it adopted and improved.