‘An eye for an eye’: examining a cuneiform inscription on the Nebraska State Capitol

Abstract

There is little doubt that the Nebraska State Capitol building is a masterwork of art, architecture, history and mythology (fig. 1). Its skin of Indiana limestone records the political and legal growth of human civilization with quotations from Plato, Aristotle and Native American oral tradition, and the figures of great thinkers and leaders from Solon to Napoleon, who laid the philosophical foundation of the modern world. The designers of the Capitol wanted these depictions to shroud the elements of state government, while exposing those who worked there to the legacy of which they were a part. If it were not for a shared history and theme, some of the faces and languages on the Capitol would seem a strange find in Nebraska. Perhaps one of the strangest is Hammurabi1 and the depiction of a portion of his famous Code. While Hammurabi, though probably not his stylized appearance, is familiar to many, the script carved near him is not. The inscription is cuneiform, the wedge-and-line script of several civilizations in the ancient Near East. While the script on the Capitol expresses one of Hammurabi's most famous laws, its depiction is not completely accurate, and the translation given in perhaps the best article on the symbolism of the building needs updating.2The Nebraska State Capitol, built between 1922 and 1932, stands 15 storeys (121 m) high in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. When the previous capitol needed to be replaced, a Capitol Commission was formed to select an architect for what would be one of the largest construction projects in Lincoln at the time. The commission established principles to guide the project, namely that the building be a functional house of government, built with integrity and pride, and that it be:An inspiring monument worthy of the State for which it stands; a thing of beauty, so conceived and fashioned as to properly record and exploit our civilization, aspirations, and patriotism, past, present, and future; intelligently designed, durably and conscientiously built, and of worthy materials; and all beautifully and fittingly set, surrounded, embellished, and adequately furnished.During a competitive process, the commission selected the plan of the architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (1869-1924). Goodhue did not, however, work alone: to address the mandate that the new capitol record the history of civilization, specifically the development of law and government, he engaged the sculptor Lee Lawrie (1877-1963). Lawrie, together with a professor of philosophy at the University of Nebraska, Hartley Burr Alexander (1873-1939), used what is termed 'architectural sculpture': 'The exterior sculpture, a major part of the symbolism on Nebraska's capitol, is best described as architectural sculpture. It is clearly intended to be subordinate to the architecture.'4Lawrie appreciated that architectural sculpture was a critical, almost foundational, element of the entire concept of sculptural art. He noted, 'the sculptures of Babylon, Egypt, Greece and even of the Middle Ages were made almost entirely for and on buildings. The art museum is a recent invention . . . and sculpture in early days was done for a reason.'5 The sculpture of the capitol had a mission to accomplish, and what Lawrie and Alexander did with the canvas of Indiana limestone was breathtaking. The Capitol Commission declared 'The Capitol of a State is the outward sign of the character of its people. Their respect for its traditions and history, their belief in its importance and worth, and their love of its fair name - all find expression in its Capitol.'6 And that is what Nebraskans received. The sculpture of the capitol is, as Alexander wrote, 'a book, logically arranged, with introduction, body and conclusion'.7 This 'book' records the stories of Minos, Hammurabi, Moses, Akhenaten, Solon, Solomon, Julius Caesar, Justinian I, Charlemagne and Napoleon, referred to collectively as the great lawgivers, along with elements depicting the ideals of culture such as history, reason and liberation. …