SINCE THEIR ARRIVAL AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM some 150 years ago, the palace sculptures of Assyria have drawn crowds of admirers to view what are undoubtedly some of the greatest stone carvings from antiquity. Commissioned by powerful kingsbetween the ninth and seventh centuries BC, when the small kingdom of Assyria in northern Iraq expanded through conquest to dominate the area from Egypt to Iran, the carved images
are impressive and eloquent witnesses to their remarkable achievements. This book presents a beautiful photographic tour of some of these sculptures, which rank among the most magnificent artistic creations from ancientIraq. The majesty of the Assyrian king, along with his glorious court and protecting divinities, is revealed in complex designs and astonishing details such as the incised embroidery on robes, the decoration of weapons, or the order within the apparent chaos of battle.
In a fasdnating introduction, Paul Collins explores the historical context of the sculptures and surveys the artistic traditions in which they are rooted. The following chapters dramatically illustrate carvings from five Assyrian royal palaces and the changing styles over a period of more than 200 years. These unforgettable images range from early symbolic scenes of royal achievements to the final flourishing of Assyrian relief decoration, in which astonishing scenes of conquest and the hunt capture the raw emotion and energy of animals and humans with extraordinary vitality. |
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