Vorderasiatisches Museum - Berlin, Germany
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
N 52° 31.260 E 013° 23.794
33U E 391209 N 5820196
Four stamps depicting mosaics displayed in the Near East Museum in Berlin
Waymark Code: WM1052Z
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 02/27/2019
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 3
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Ishtar Gate Marduk Processional Street

The Near East Museum (Vorderasiatisches Museum in German) is part of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The most prominent piece of the museum is the rebuilt Ishtar Gate from ancient Babylon.

During the division of Germany, the museum was located in the eastern part of divided Berlin, making the museum one of the most famous museums in East Germany.

The gate is 47 feet high and 100 feet wide (14m x 30m) and its front is made of glazed bricks put together to make 21 images of aurochs (to symbolize the weather god Adad) and 21 mystical animals called Mušhuššu (to symbolize Marduk, God of Fertility and Patron God of Babylon).

The mosaic continues along the adjacent processional street with pictures of lions.

Aurochs and lion were holy animals in Babylon. The Mušhuššu was a mythical gatekeeper, a scaly dragon with hind legs like an eagle's talons, feline forelegs, a horned head and a snakelike tongue.

In 1966, the East German postal service issued four stamps depicting the mosaics of the gate and the processional street.

The 10 Pfennig issue shows an Aurochs, the 20 Pfennig Issue shows a Mušhuššu. The 25 Pfennig and 50 Pfennig issues show two different mosaics of lions.

Stamp Issuing Country: Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) - East Germany

Date of Issue: 11/23/1966

Denomination: 10 - 20 - 25 - 50 Pfennig

Color: Natural colors

Stamp Type: Multiple (blocks, etc.)

Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
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André de Montbard visited Vorderasiatisches Museum - Berlin, Germany 05/11/2013 André de Montbard visited it