Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T02:24:11.583Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Layard's drawings of the incised decorations on the Nimrud reliefs compared with the originals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

Peter V. Bartl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The orthostats from the North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC) at Nimrud are among the most outstanding works of art from the Ancient Near East. Today they are to be found in museums all over the world and are looked at every day by thousands of visitors. Numerous books and articles have been written about their style, their meaning and their reconstruction. Thus one would think that nothing could have escaped the eye of observers. Nevertheless, some details have been largely overlooked by researchers. Among these is the incised decoration on the edges of the garments of some of the figures depicted, showing a wide range of simple geometric and floral designs as well as complex mythical and narrative scenes. It thus forms a valuable part of the repertoire of Neo-Assyrian artistic motifs and can help us understand the essence and meaning of Neo-Assyrian political art. The evidence of these incised decorations is not only of importance for the history of art but is also fundamental to the understanding of the significance of the clothes and of the figures wearing them, forming an integral and essential part of the mythical symbolic character of the figures.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 67 , Issue 2 , Autumn 2005 , pp. 17 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnett, R. D. 1976. Sculptures from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (668–627 B.C.). London.Google Scholar
Barrelet, M.-T. 1977. Un inventaire de Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta: Textiles décorés assyriens et autres. RA 71: 51–92.Google Scholar
Bleibtreu, E. 1980. Die Flora der neuassyrischen Reliefs. Wien.Google Scholar
Brentjes, B. 1994. Selbstverherrlichung oder Legitimationsanspruch? Gedanken zu den Thronreliefs von Nimrud-Kalah. AoF 2: 50–64.Google Scholar
Brentjes, B. 2001. Ein Kultgewand Assurnasirpals (?). In Meyer, J.-W., Novák, M., Pruß, A. (eds.), Beiträge zur Vorderasiatischen Archäologie. Frankfurt am Main: 52-3.Google Scholar
Budge, E. A. W. 1914. Assyrian Sculptures in the British Museum. London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canby, J. V. 1971. Decorated Garments in Ashurnasirpal's Sculpture. Iraq 33: 31–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, J. E., Reade, J. E. 1995. Art and Empire. Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum, London.Google Scholar
Guralnick, E. 2002. New Drawings of Khorsabad Sculptures by Paul Emile Botta. RA 96: 23–56.Google Scholar
Guralnick, E. Forthcoming. Drawings of Khorsabad Sculptures: Paul Emile Botta, and Optical Aids. Proceedings of 4ICAANE.Google Scholar
Layard, A. H. 1849. The Monuments of Nineveh I. From Drawings Made on the Spot. London.Google Scholar
Meuszyński, J. 1981. Die Rekonstruktion der Reliefdarstellungen und ihre Anordnung im Nordwestpalast von Kalhu (Nimrud) (BaF 2). Mainz.Google Scholar
Meyer, G. R. 1965 Altorientalische Denkmäler im Vorderasiatischen Museum. Leipzig.Google Scholar
Oppenheim, A. L. J. 1949. The Golden Garments of the Gods. JNES 8: 172-93.Google Scholar
Paley, S. M. 1976. King of the World, Ashur-nasir-pal II of Assyria 883-859 B.C. New York.Google Scholar
Paley, S. M., Sobolewski, R. P. 1987. The Reconstruction of the Relief Representations and their Position in the Northwest-Palace at Kalhu (Nimrud) II (BaF 10). Mainz.Google Scholar
Paley, S. M., Sobolewski, R. P. 1992. The Reconstruction of the Relief Representations and their Position in the Northwest-Palace at Kalhu (Nimrud) III (BaF 14). Mainz.Google Scholar
Petzel, F. E. 1987. Textiles of Ancient Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt. Corvallis.Google Scholar
Ravn, O. E. 1952–1953. Die Reliefs der assyrischen Könige. Zweite Reihe. AfO 16: 231-52.Google Scholar
Rittig, D. 1992. Bemerkungen zur Gewandverzierung des Königs Assurnasirpal II. In Hrouda, B., Kroll, S., Spanos, P. (eds.), Von Uruk nach Tuttul. Eine Festschrift für Eva Strommenger. München: 181-3.Google Scholar
Russell, J. M. 1998. The Program of the Palace of Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud: Issues in the Research and Presentation of Assyrian Art. AJA 102.4: 655–715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stearns, J. B. 1961. Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II (AfO Beih.15). Graz.Google Scholar
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Great King of Assyria – Assyrian Reliefs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, photographed by Sheeler, C. with essays by Hare, S. and Porada, E.. New York 1945.Google Scholar