Ancient Assyrian artwork at the British Museum

Part of my visit to the British Museum is my plan to study the art of the ancient civilizations.

The Assyrians are an ancient civilization. I knew a friend at Cambridge who studied assyriology. They covered Mesopotamian and eventually into Syria, Armenia and Egypt itself. They sacked Thebes around 1500 BC. Their civilization ended with the destruction of Nineveh (their capital) in northern Mesopotamia around 612 BC.

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The colossal Lammassu of Assyria

Their art is principally focused on the glorification of their absolute monarch.

   

(The head piece is "Ashurbanipal king of the world, king of Assyria". The colossal human-headed winged bulls (Lammassu) guarded the entry to the Assyrian palaces (see here), especially at Khorsabad (excavated at Nimrud) and each had 5 legs.)

Pretty amazing carvings. The winged bulls are very imposing and beautiful. Lammassu is a clear representation of the Kin: wings of the eagle, strength of the bull, brain of man.

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Wall relief at the Royal Palace of Nineveh depicting Ashurbanipal's lion-hunt

The early Assyrian art has been lost, it seems; but the later Assyrians had access to plentiful durable stone for low relief carving.

The Assyrian relief sculptural highpoint was the decoration of the palace at Nineveh of King Ashurbanipal. The continuous processional reliefs at Nineveh lined the approach to the throne room of a length of more than 100m. The slaying of lions was a ritual reserved for the king only. Lions were quite common in those days and a terror of the village-folk. It was a betokening demonstration of the King's power.

These were absolutely stunning in person. A fascinating window into an ancient history.

The craftsmanship is mind-blowing; I think more impressive than the Elgin Marbles.

What is striking is sheer visceral naturalism in the scenes of bloodshed and agony. I wonder whether this degree of naturalism is found generally in Mesopotamian art.