# Head of Gudea, ensi of Lagash

- Date: 2144–2124 BCE
- Medium: dolerite
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: Overall: 21 x 17.8 x 20.4 cm (8 1/4 x 7 x 8 1/16 in.)
- Culture: Mesopotamia, Iraq, Lagash (Tello)
- Credit line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.680)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1963.680/1963.680_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Gudea was an ensi or ruler of the southern Mesopotamian city-state of Lagash in the 22nd century BCE. Archaeologists have found over 30 complete and fragmentary statues of his likeness and over 2,400 inscriptions mentioning his name. Gudea was both a political and religious leader, and most of the statues depicting him were housed in temples.