Stone panels from the North-West Palace of
Ashurnasirpal II (Room G, nos. 2-3)
Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), northern Iraq
Neo-Assyrian, 883-859 BC
The King enthroned between attendants
These panel may have come from a banqueting hall at the palace
of King Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC). The relief carving is
particularly fine, with very delicate incisions on the clothes
indicating embroidery. Large areas of the surface would originally
have been highlighted in paint, traces of which survive on the
sandals. Unlike many of the reliefs from Ashurnasirpal's palace,
this series of panels was not divided into distinct registers.
Nonetheless, the 'standard inscription', repeated on many of
Ashurnasirpal's monuments, is inscribed across the middle. It
records his titles, ancestry and achievements.
An Assyrian king is almost always identifiable by his crown: a
fez with a pointed top, surrounded by a diadem with two strips,
possibly of cloth, hanging behind and down his back.
Behind the king an attendant holds a fly-whisk and the king's
weapons. Since he is beardless the figure may be identified either
as a young man or possibly a eunuch. Eunuchs are mentioned in
ancient texts and were often employed at court. Being castrated
they were unable to raise a family to rival that of the king.
Attendants are usually depicted bareheaded as here, though they are
sometimes shown wearing headbands.
D. Collon, Ancient Near Eastern art (London, The British Museum Press, 1995)