Reproduction of Saluting Protective Spirit, 883–859 BCE Gypsum Neo-Assyrian (91–609 BCE), Iraq, Nimrud, Northwest Palace, reign of Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE) Learn about this artwork’s historical context: Notice the large size of this sculpture. It is almost seven-and-a-half-feet tall! What message do you think it sends? Look at the raised right hand, wings, and strong muscles. The figure is a spirit offering fierce protection. Today it is one color, but long ago it was brightly painted. The small carvings across the surface are a type of writing. It tells stories about a king’s victories. Nearly 3,000 years ago, this sculpture was one of hundreds that decorated a royal palace. Imagine standing in front of many of these figures. How would you feel as a visitor to the palace? This is a reproduction. To see the real sculpture, visit gallery 102A. Purchase from the J.H. Wade Fund 1943.246 INTERACTIVE Reveal the pigments that once decorated this artwork with Paint the Past Wave your hand to restore the object’s former colors and surroundings and to uncover a vivid layer of its history.

Striding forward with muscular arms and legs, this winged deity offers a gesture of salutation along with symbols of agricultural bounty. Inscribed with an account of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II's military conquests and victories, this relief once stood alongside hundreds of similar ones that decorated the palace at Nimrud.

ArtLens Reimagined: The Intersection of Art, Technology, and Innovation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 23, 2026-September 1, 2031).

ArtLens Reimagined: The Intersection of Art, Technology, and Innovation

Light gray-brown rock panels feature a relief of a muscular, winged figure in profile, facing our left. The figure's right arm bends up, their palm facing us. Their left arm extends slightly forward and down, holding a branch with flowers. They wear an ankle-length robe and have a rectangular beard and hair finely detailed with waves and spirals. Constructed from three panels, one atop the other, text scrawls over the carvings on the middle panel.

Excavated by Austen Henry Layard at the palace of Ashur-nasirapal II in Calah (Nimrud)

Gift of Dr. Henry John Lobdell (Class of 1849), to Amherst College

Amherst College, sold in even exchange for lot of objects to Joseph Brummer Gallery

(Joseph Brummer Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Written in cuneiform, this inscription describes the great king Ashurnasirpal II as "the valiant, the mighty, passing over the heads of his enemies . . . crushing the assemblages of the wicked." Cuneiform, which derives from the Latin cuenus, means wedge-shaped. This form of writing first appeared in Sumer (modern Iraq) around 3000 BC and was used throughout Mesopotamia until AD 200.

Cuneiform

The spirit pictured here is a protective deity called an Apkallu, who may be holding part of a date tree in his left hand. Dates&mdash;abundant, high in calories, and easily dried&mdash;were a vital food source in ancient Mesopotamia. Because these trees require human cultivation to produce fruit, this act of fertilization became highly ceremonial.

Dates

This relief, one of several hundred, came from the palace of Nimrud, built in 879 BC by King Ashurnasirpal II. Meant to inspire a sense of awe, the toned musculature of the figure implies great strength and power. These figures represented demigods and their imposing presence would have been enhanced by brightly painted details, which have long since faded&mdash;though you can see traces if you look closely at his sandals.

Saluting Protective Spirit

Neo-Assyrian (911–609 BCE), Iraq, Nimrud, Northwest Palace, reign of Ashurnasirpal II

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Saluting Protective Spirit

Neo-Assyrian (911–609 BCE), Iraq, Nimrud, Northwest Palace, reign of Ashurnasirpal II

Did You Know?

Description

Saluting Protective Spirit

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Contact Us