Fired clay plaques were mass-produced from the second millennium BC in Southern Mesopotamia. They were widely available to their efficient production process using moulds and so became a simple and inexpensive way to produce large numbers of images. The plaques have been discovered at both temples and within the private shrines within homes suggesting they may have had a votive purpose. This scene in particular was a common occurrence not just on plaques but also in documentation from this period. Poetry often correlated alcohol and sexual activity to portray an erotic scene.
Beer drinking, via a large straw, is also depicted in Babylonian art in non-sexual settings, and was clearly a key pillar of social interaction. The straw was a necessary piece of equipment as ancient beer brewing used bread to start the fermentation. This resulted in a layer of thick matter on the surface which either needed to be strained off or pierced with the straw.
