The Votive Statue of Gudea

I decided to do my formal analysis on The Votive Statue of Gudea. This sculpture brought attention to my eye when I was reading chapter 2. This piece of work as a whole looks busy at first, but when you look at it longer or at it several times it becomes more peaceful and balanced. The statue was found in Gisru, modern day Telloh, Iraq. While in the book the statue looks big taking up almost a full page it in reality is only 29 inches or about 2 and a half feet. It is made from a harder stone called Diorite that is harder to carve. This statue is really breath taking with it's detail and over all design. It is constantly keeping your eyes moving. also with all of its details it seems like every time I look at it I find something new I never noticed.
At first glance the part my eyes fall on or the focal point is the pot thing Gudea is holding in his hands. The pot and his hands have a rough looking texture though while looking rough with texture his hands do not look tense they look relaxed. The design on the stone gives texture to this sculpture all by its self. It gives the skin look of the stone a blotchy two color look which is somewhat realistic because some skin does have different shades and isn't exactly the same color. This stone also has a marble or granite type look to it.
Then as my eyes look at the pot they move to the wavy lines going out of the top of the pot and traveling almost all the was to the bottom, four thicker lines symmetrical on each side. Not noticeable tome at first when looking at the lines next to every indent there is small fish with details of the scales and fins on each one, which I find incredible. on this sculpture it looks like the fish are swimming up the line or could be up stream to the pot.
At the bottom, towards the center, of the statue of Gudea there are a bunch of different symbols and lines which are called Cuneiform, a type of writing. These symbols are so precise for there being a large group of them in a small area.
The top part of the Votive Statue of Gudea appears smooth. His face has no emotion to me, it looks at rest or just at peace. There are tiny lines, that are symmetrical, that work together to make it look like the hairs that make up eyebrows. His shoulders are sculpted so they lay flat instead of up like when you feel stressed or tense. He has one shoulder open while it looks like the other shoulder has cloth on it from his outfit. the bare shoulder has in depth detail on his muscles and down to his elbow to his fore arm. Also at the top the hat like thing on his head has the most detail in this whole statue. Each little square that make up the hat have a tiny swirl in them. giving the hat the look of wool or knitted.
I am not completely sure of this, but from the look of the statue from the point of view I was given in the book I feel this statue is sculpted in the round and is not just flat on the back. Also clue that give me hints it was sculpted in the round are how the hat wraps around the head and at the bottom the statue is rounded. The light plays a part in this too because the way it is angled it gives the statue a more three dimensional feel to it like its an actual person and not just a statue. Even though I know at one point it was.
Overall, this statue has to much detail and has different things going on all over it, still looks peaceful and balanced, even though it might still look busy in some areas. I still to this moment am finding more hidden little details all over it and I have probably looked at it over a hundred times!