Winged protective genius from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud

Relief Fragment of a Winged Genius (from the Palace of Assurnasirpall II at Nimrud)

Iraq

Limestone

H.90 x W.41 in Background Information on the Culture

The Assyrian kings ruled in Mesopotamia from the ninth through the seventh century B.C. They always created an image of themselves as the most powerful, divine and sovereign monarchs. In order to show their power they decorated their palaces with huge sculptures which portrayed their power, authority and wealth.

Formal Qualities

In this figure, the "genius" is wearing a horned cap, knee-length tunic and a long cape which shows the divinity. The text in this panel is the Cuneiform writing, which is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. This writing style was used for more than thirty five centuries (Adkins, 2003). This writing was slowly replaced by the Phoenician alphabet during the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Cuneiform writing was done on the clay tablets with the help of blunt reed which was used as a stylus. The impressions formed by the stylus were of wedged shape, that is why it was named as cuneiform, which means "wedge shaped" and has been taken from Latin word "Cuneus" which means "wedge."

The cuneiform text shown in this panel which is covering the surface is a message or dedication in order to express the greatness and victories of Ashurnasirpal and also explains the building of his palace. The traces remaining of the sculpture are of bright colors which indicate that the panel was painted with bright colors in order to increase its visual impact.

Symbolism

The above picture is of genius, also known as demi-god. It was one of the creatures from the winged creature group, facing a stylized tree. This scene was repeated various times in the palace. Date palm tree was considered holy by the Assyrians due to the reasons that it not only provides food but also drinks, shelter and wood. Therefore, they also use to perform fertility rites which are associated with the date palm tree.