DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5253#0118
86 SCULPTURE IN WESTERN ASIA.
bands, which fall behind the back. He is attended by bearded officers of state,
who stand before him with hands humbly folded ; or by beardless eunuchs, who
protect him with umbrella or fly-fan raised above his head. The costume of
this king varies from that of later times ; his tiara being lower and less pointed,
and his garments simpler. Sometimes he appears engaged in war : he attacks
a fortress; fights in his chariot, protected by the symbol of divinity floating in
mid-air above him, or receives prisoners. Again, he is engaged in the hunt, or
receives wine at the hands of his attendants. But there is no trace of por-
traiture in the features; king, humble attendant, and winged god, all being
repetitions of the same type.
Although many of these scenes from daily life are interesting, as throwing
light on the customs of ancient Nimroud, still none are so characteristic of its
art as others representing religious ceremonies in which the king constantly
takes part, and which are repeated with incredible monotony. In one cham-
ber, for instance, the king was repeated all around the walls, holding up a cup
in one hand, and a bow in the other. Attending him were two equal-sized
figures, wearing garlands of rosettes, and having wings, but otherwise thor-
oughly human.122 Around another room were repeated colossal winged figures,
wearing horned caps, and carrying mystic symbols, — a square basket, a fir-cone,
or a necklace (Fig. 45). These beings stand facing a conventionally arranged
combination of palm and fir, the "sacred tree," a most important feature
in these religious services, the exact significance of which is, however, not
clear.I23 Some of these figures, if we may judge from the long hair, peculiar
robe, and elaborate necklace, seem to be intended for goddesses ; although the
absence of breasts, and the masculine type of the face, do not support this
view : nor do inscriptions give us the name.
Besides such gigantic figures which, in regular array, cover the surface of
the large slabs, there was found in the North-west Palace a long, narrow apart-
ment, where two rows of similar but smaller subjects decorated the walls.
Above, in wearisome repetition, two horn-capped, winged forms knelt on either
side of the tree; and, below, two eagle-headed, winged monsters appeared, like-
wise worshipping the ever-recurring tree. What these strange beings repre-
sent is enigmatical. It is possible that some represent deity itself, and others
priests clad in robes of office.
As artistic compositions, these figures from Nimroud are tedious beyond
degree ; but, on close examination, their details offer much that is curious.
Combined with a gross and extravagant rendering of the form, we find a most
astonishing tendency to run into ornamentation. The muscles and joints curve
according to decorative lines : no stray lock ventures to flutter out of its
regular place, no feather to encroach on its fellow. Gracefully shaped neck-
laces, ending sometimes in a pomegranate, and calling to mind the descriptions
of the adornments of the Jewish high-priest, clasp nearly every throat. Ear-
bands, which fall behind the back. He is attended by bearded officers of state,
who stand before him with hands humbly folded ; or by beardless eunuchs, who
protect him with umbrella or fly-fan raised above his head. The costume of
this king varies from that of later times ; his tiara being lower and less pointed,
and his garments simpler. Sometimes he appears engaged in war : he attacks
a fortress; fights in his chariot, protected by the symbol of divinity floating in
mid-air above him, or receives prisoners. Again, he is engaged in the hunt, or
receives wine at the hands of his attendants. But there is no trace of por-
traiture in the features; king, humble attendant, and winged god, all being
repetitions of the same type.
Although many of these scenes from daily life are interesting, as throwing
light on the customs of ancient Nimroud, still none are so characteristic of its
art as others representing religious ceremonies in which the king constantly
takes part, and which are repeated with incredible monotony. In one cham-
ber, for instance, the king was repeated all around the walls, holding up a cup
in one hand, and a bow in the other. Attending him were two equal-sized
figures, wearing garlands of rosettes, and having wings, but otherwise thor-
oughly human.122 Around another room were repeated colossal winged figures,
wearing horned caps, and carrying mystic symbols, — a square basket, a fir-cone,
or a necklace (Fig. 45). These beings stand facing a conventionally arranged
combination of palm and fir, the "sacred tree," a most important feature
in these religious services, the exact significance of which is, however, not
clear.I23 Some of these figures, if we may judge from the long hair, peculiar
robe, and elaborate necklace, seem to be intended for goddesses ; although the
absence of breasts, and the masculine type of the face, do not support this
view : nor do inscriptions give us the name.
Besides such gigantic figures which, in regular array, cover the surface of
the large slabs, there was found in the North-west Palace a long, narrow apart-
ment, where two rows of similar but smaller subjects decorated the walls.
Above, in wearisome repetition, two horn-capped, winged forms knelt on either
side of the tree; and, below, two eagle-headed, winged monsters appeared, like-
wise worshipping the ever-recurring tree. What these strange beings repre-
sent is enigmatical. It is possible that some represent deity itself, and others
priests clad in robes of office.
As artistic compositions, these figures from Nimroud are tedious beyond
degree ; but, on close examination, their details offer much that is curious.
Combined with a gross and extravagant rendering of the form, we find a most
astonishing tendency to run into ornamentation. The muscles and joints curve
according to decorative lines : no stray lock ventures to flutter out of its
regular place, no feather to encroach on its fellow. Gracefully shaped neck-
laces, ending sometimes in a pomegranate, and calling to mind the descriptions
of the adornments of the Jewish high-priest, clasp nearly every throat. Ear-