Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much
appreciated.
Close
Ad Feedback
Ad Feedback
Rare 3,000-year old sculpted panel from ISIS-destroyed site goes under the hammer
Painted Genius —
Based on traces of pigment discovered on other relief panels, Christie's New York has created a digital reconstruction to show what the rare Assyrian relief panel it is auctioning might have originally looked like.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Winged Genius —
The panel was excavated from the Northwest Palace of King Ashurnasirpal II who ruled the Assyrian Empire from 883 to 859 BC.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Portrait of the king —
The face of the winged genius, with its almond-shaped eye, broad nose and tightly-curled beard, bears a close resemblance to King Ashurnasirpal II.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Up close —
The huge relief panel is embellished with small-scale, finely detailed carvings illustrating the king's glory.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Toned legs and tassels —
The carving depicts the deity as having great muscular strength. He wears a fringed and tasseled tunic.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Sandal style —
The winged genius's sandals would not look out of place in a modern shoe shop.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Situla —
The winged genius carries a bucket-shaped vessel known as a situla in his left hand.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Pine cone —
With his right hand, he anoints a stylized palm tree with a pine cone.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Weapons —
The winged genius carries two daggers and a horse-head whetstone in his waistband.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Wings —
The feathers of his wings are intricately rendered.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Cuneiform inscription —
A band of text written in cuneiform -- one of the earliest systems of writing -- runs across the center of the panel.
CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2018
Story of the king —
The cuneiform inscription is repeated on almost all the 400 plus panels that lined the palace's walls. It tells of Ashurnasirpal's ancestry, his military triumphs, the extent of his empire and the construction of the Northwest Palace.