Although the individual names of the creators of Assyrian sculptures are unknown, the hallmark attention to detail and narrative quality of their works identify them as Assyrians. Assyrian artists were especially skilled at sculpting continuous narrative scenes across stone surfaces to depict images of royal campaigns, sieges, conquests, successful hunts, and important rituals.
The Assyrians represent the first Mesopotamian culture to employ the use of large-scale narrative and secular imagery in their sculptural work. This panel of an eagle-headed and winged deity depicts a mythological figure from the Assyrian pantheon that was often associated with rites of purification and with fructifying the palm tree (the act of providing the tree with fruit). This deity was considered a protector of rulers and crops. Its body is human-like, with powerful, muscular arms and legs. He wears a fringed robe and, as in this panel, is usually depicted carrying a “magic” cone from a sacred tree and a small bucket. Images of this deity were often displayed behind or beside the king’s throne, in royal bedrooms, and at gateways to the palace, and were typically painted to give them a heightened effect.
The majority of Assyrian sculptures were carved in bas-relief, in which the projection from the surrounding surface is slight. Although scenes of the monarch in battle or hunting exhibit a strong sense of naturalism and fluidity, imagery of deities was consistently rendered in a static frontal profile, reminiscent of figural representation in Egyptian art. On this panel, the deity’s shoulders appear slightly turned toward the front, but the head and legs are shown in profile. Another similarity in style to Egyptian art is the depiction of figures with one foot in front of the other. Scholars believe that the Assyrians and Egyptians were well known to each other. Assyrian sculptures also contain written cuneiform, a system of wedge-shaped characters learned from the Sumerians, who were probably among the first cultures to use writing as a communicative tool. The inscription at the top of this relief represents a phrase common in Assyrian works that refers to the glory of the king.
The Eagle-Headed Winged Deity from Kalhu (modern day Nimrud), that had replaced Nineveh as the Assyrian capital, was excavated from the Northwest Palace of King Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 B.C.), by Sir Henry Layard during the mid-19th century. During the 13th century B.C, the Assyrians won control of Mesopotamia, which lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern day Iraq). In the subsequent centuries the Aramaeans, who occupied Syria and parts of the upper Tigris and Euphrates river valleys, were considered the Assyrians’ foremost rival. Under the rule of King Ashurnasirpal II and his successor, Shalmaneser III (859–824 B.C.), the Assyrians conquered Bit-Adini, then considered the most powerful Aramaean state along the upper Euphrates. By the 7th century B.C, Assyria had also conquered Babylon, now known as Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, as well as parts of Egypt.
