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Home Palace complex of Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (modern Nimrud), Iraq, relief, Assyrian archers pursuing...

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Palace complex of Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (modern Nimrud), Iraq, relief, Assyrian archers pursuing enemies.

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Larger Image	Larger image may be viewed by UofL faculty, staff, and students only (log-in required using ULink username/password) at: http://echo.louisville.edu/login?url=http://vrc-web.louisville.edu/Jpegs/320/327-09.jpg
Title	Palace complex of Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (modern Nimrud), Iraq, relief, Assyrian archers pursuing enemies.
Alternative Title	Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (modern Nimrud), Iraq.
Date	875-860 BCE?
Cultural Context	Iraqi Middle Eastern Asian Near Eastern
Style/Period	Assyrian Mesopotamian Near Eastern
Theme	Architecture (object genre) Complexes Buildings Dwellings Palaces Royal palaces Houses Sculpture (visual work) Reliefs (sculptures) Bas-reliefs (sculpture) Panels (ornament areas) Narratives (document genres) Narrative (artistic device) Narrative cycles Storytelling Documentaries Scenes (depictions) Battles Armed conflicts Wars Victories Triumphs Figurative art Figures (representations) Profiles (figures) Composite views Men (male humans) Soldiers Military personnel Swimmers Costume (mode of fashion) Helmets Headgear Hairstyles Archery Bows (weapons) Weapons Arrows Quivers Swimming Kneeling Motion Inflated skins Bodies of water Rivers Coastlines Shores (landforms) Trees Plants (vegetation) Vegetation Forts Fortifications Safety Architectural elements Turrets (towers) Towers (building divisions) Battlements Crenellations
Subject	Architecture Buildings Dwellings Residential facilities Castles & palaces Houses Sculpture Bas-reliefs Architectural decorations & ornaments Architectural sculpture Storytelling Campaigns & battles War Warfare Military mobilizations Military tactics Military retreats Victories Escapes Men Soldiers Military personnel People associated with military activities Enemies Clothing & dress Helmets Headgear Beards Hairstyles Archery Bows (Archery) Arrows Arms & armament Swimming Locomotion Human locomotion Floating Hides & skins Bodies of water Rivers Coastlines Trees Plants Forts & fortifications Safety Architectural elements Battlements Towers
Description	"For their palace walls the Assyrian kings commissioned extensive series of narrative reliefs exalting royal power and piety. The sculptures record not only battlefield victories but also the slaying of wild animals. […] The degree of documentary detail in the Assyrian reliefs is without parallel in the ancient Near East […]. One of the most extensive - and earliest - examples of a cycle of historical narrative reliefs comes from the palace of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 883-859 BCE) at Kalhu. […] Throughout the palace, painted gypsum reliefs sheathed the lower parts of the mud-brick walls below brightly colored plaster. Rich textiles on the floors contributed to the luxurious ambience. Every relief celebrated the king and bore an inscription naming Ashurnasirpal and describing his accomplishments. [��] The example we illustrate probably depicts an episode that occurred in 878 BCE when Ashurnasirpal drove his enemy's forces into the Euphrates River. In the relief, two Assyrian archers shoot arrows at the fleeing foe. Three enemy soldiers are in the water. One swims with an arrow in his back. The other two attempt to float to safety by inflating animal skins. Their destination is a fort where their compatriots await them. The artist showed the fort as if it were in the middle of the river, but it must, of course, have been on land, perhaps at some distance from where the escapees entered the water. The artist's purpose was to tell the story clearly and economically. In art, distances can be compressed and the human actors enlarged so that they stand out from their environment. (Literally interpreted, the defenders of the fort are too tall to walk through its archway.) The sculptor also combined different viewpoints in the same frame, just as the figures are composites of frontal and profile views. Viewers see the river from above while observing the men, trees, and fort from the side. The artist also made other adjustments for clarity. So as not to hide the archers' faces, the sculptor depicted their bowstrings in front of their bodies but behind their heads. The men will snare their own heads in their bows when they launch their arrows! All these liberties with optical reality result, however, in a vivid and easy legible retelling of a decisive moment in the king's victorious campaign. This was the artist's primary goal." (Excerpt, p.47)
Location Depicted	Euphrates River
Material	Gypsum
Measurements	2' 10 5/8" high
Technique	Sculpting Carving (processes) Relief (sculpture techniques) Bas-relief (sculpture technique)
Work Type	Architecture Complexes Buildings Dwellings Castles & palaces Houses Sculpture Architectural sculpture Reliefs (sculptures) Bas-reliefs (sculpture)
Repository	British Museum (London, England, United Kingdom)
Source	Kleiner, Fred S., and Christin J. Mamiya. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005. (fig.2-22, p.47)
Digital Publisher	University of Louisville Department of Fine Arts/Allen R. Hite Art Institute Visual Resources Center
Format	image/jpeg
Digital File Name	VRC 327-09.jpg
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Home Palace complex of Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (modern Nimrud), Iraq, relief, Assyrian archers pursuing...

Palace complex of Ashurnasirpal II, Kalhu (modern Nimrud), Iraq, relief, Assyrian archers pursuing enemies.

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