Polymaterism in Early Syrian Ebla

While in Early Dynastic Mesopotamia polymaterism was not such a diffused practice, at Ebla, the use to compose figures with different materials, in large, as well as in miniature size images reached a peak, in the skills manifested in the assemblage of the materials, in the wealth of the raw materials employed and in the variety of objects produced. The evidence provided by this important Early Syrian town will be analysed in detail, and an attempt will be made, also with the aid of the cuneiform evidence, at understanding the reasons for the use of different materials, and the eventual symbolism behind them. Though the palace furniture was found in scattered pieces, as a consequence of the sack following to the fall of the town, the reconstruction of some unique object is proposed, which was peculiar to the Early Syrian culture of Ebla.