One of the most interesting discoveries of the French excavation conducted by Monsieur Parrot at Mari was the beautiful seated figure of Ur-nanshe, “the great singer”, She sits on a basketry seat or cushion smiling, her feet neatly crossed and her hands folded; by her office she recalls the scene on the famous so-called “Mosaic Standard” found by Sir Leonard Woolley at Ur, which Professor Mallowan has suggested is itself part of a musical instrument. In this scene a woman with long black hair, also with folded hands, stands singing behind the figure of a musician playing a large, bull-headed lyre with eleven strings. The musician wears a long garment and across his chest an ornamental band or baldric, which is continued on the lyre behind the bull's head. It seems likely that this band is a support for holding the lyre. The musician holds the lyre high and close to his shoulder and sweeps it with his fingers (Plate XII, a). This type of musical instrument was, of course, also well known at Mari, as a fragment of inlay found by Monsieur Parrot shows.