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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Babylonian Cuneiform Tablet
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Babylonian Cuneiform Tablet

Artifact IDMO 1946.29.3
Object Type Roll, Tax
Maker
Date2350 B.C.
MediumClay
Dimensionsoverall H 2 in x W 1 5/8 in x D 5/8 in (5.1 cm x 4.1 cm x 1.6 cm )
Physical DescriptionA small, double-sided, Babylonian cuneiform tablet. The characters on the clay tablet, which dates to 2350 B.C., record a tax list.
Historical NoteHollywood producer and director Cecil B. DeMille gave Franklin Roosevelt this cuneiform tablet in March 1944. The tablet was found at Drehem, a suburb of the ancient city of Nippur in Babylonia (Iraq). It was part of a collection of tablets that DeMille (who produced many notable Bible stories and historical epics) acquired during the 1920s. A lifelong Republican, DeMille voted for FDR in 1932. But in 1944— the year he sent this gift— he was a prominent supporter of Republican presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDeposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was donated as a bequest of FDR to the Library in 1947.
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesGift Items and Commemorative Artifacts (National Archives Identifier 782690)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
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