Lamassu
Lamassu is an Neo-Assyrian / Akkadian term used to designate a composite creature, conceived of as a winged lion- or bull-figure with a human head. As protective deities or genii, larger than life-size statue-blocks of lamassi (pl.) were placed on either side of late Assyrian palace doorways and entrances in order to guard against the entry of evil and chaotic forces. As such, they are characteristic of this late phase in the development of Assyrian art (Neo- or Late Assyrian) when sculpture in the round was otherwise rare, compared to earlier periods.Lamassi in sculptural form are usually depicted as "double-aspect" figures, apparently possessing five (5) separate legs (when viewed from an oblique angle). This allows for two simultaneous depictions:
Each monolithic colussus was carved partly in relief and partly in the round from a single block of stone, measuring up to 5. The hybrid or composite iconography is powerfully evocative of strength (body of lion / bull), speed (an eagle's wings) and intelligence (human head). Gift of Norbert Schimmel Trust, 1989 (1989. The works come from ancient Mesopotamia, Iran, Syria, Anatolia, and other lands in the region that extends from the Black and Caspian Seas in the north to the southwestern Arabian peninsula, and from western Turkey on the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus River Valley in modern-day Pakistan and India. These objects are joined by an extraordinary group of Assyrian stone reliefs depicting scenes of warfare and ritual and by enormous guardian figures, all from the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.
Common topics in this essay:
Late Assyrian,
Lamassu Neo-Assyrian,
Near East,
BC Nimrud,
Parthian Sasanian,
Eastern Art,
BC Neolithic,
East Fifty,
Caspian Seas,
Afghanistan Turkmenistan,
ancient near,
silver gold,
near east,
late assyrian,
883-859 bc,
ancient near east,
human head,
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Acceptance Essays
