It were indeed paradoxical if the Babylonian artists had not invoked the aid of the clay, which they employed so readily and extensively not only in their building operations but also for all ordinary writing purposes, in their attempts to represent human and animal life. Undoubtedly this material was not employed for these purposes so frequently as might have been expected, but this is probably due to the comparative fragility of this substance and its consequent inability to withstand the disintegrating effects of time and climate; as most of the objects fashioned by Babylonian artists would appear to be of a votive character, it is obvious that durability was one of the most important considerations in their production. Notwithstanding this fact however, a sufficiently large number of terra-cotta figures, some of which belong to the earliest periods of Sumerian civilization, have fortunately been preserved. The most ancient of these terra-cotta models are extremely small in size and crude in workmanship. We have a very archaic example in Fig. 85, A. The eyes of this small figure are the most noticeable features; they consist of flattened balls; the bodies of these primitive little models are as unfinished as they can be, sometimes being fashioned merely triangular-wise. In Fig. 85, B, we have another example of the same type and belonging to the same period, though it shows a slight advancement on the preceding figure. A thick head-gear or wig, crowns the head, and in its hands it holds an object of uncertain character, either a child or an instrument of music according to M. Heuzey. The clay, though moulded in the hand, is incised with a number of delicate lines, which are probably due to the application of a sharp and finely pointed tool. These curious figures are about one and a half or two inches high. The next illustration (Fig. 85, C.) transfers us from the early Sumerian period to that of Gudea. The comparative proficiency attained through long cultivation of the art is sufficiently obvious. The figure is that of a god, his head-gear being characteristically furnished with four pairs of horns, and unlike the copper votive statuettes of Gudea the god here has bull’s ears. The upper part of the body is left bare, but the lower part, which unfortunately is not preserved, was evidently covered by a garment fastened round the waist by a girdle. The god’s left hand has hold of a stick or weapon inserted in the girdle, the upper portion of which is seen in the illustration. As usual, the god wears a heavy beard represented by a series of vertical streaks, but the arrangement of his hair in two long tails hanging down over his chest and curled at the ends, is somewhat peculiar. This little plaque is between two and a half and three inches in height. [Illustration: FIG. 85.—A, B (cf. _Déc. en Chald._, Pl. 39; 1, 2). C (cf. Cat., Fig. 183). D (cf. Cat., Fig. 193; _Déc. en Chald._, p. 252). (All Musée du Louvre.)]