Kneeling winged spirit
Type:
Sculpture
Year:
Neo-Assyrian Empire, reign of Ashur-nasir-pal II (883-859 B.C.)
Material and technique:
Alabastrine limestone
Origin:
From northern Mesopotamia, Nimrud (Kalkhu), Northwest Palace, Room I
Inventory:
Inv. MB 47
This relief adorned one of the two entrances to Room I in the Northwest Palace at Nimrud. It portrays a winged spirit who is wearing the multiple-horned tiara that symbolized divinity. In his left hand he holds a small lustral bucket; in his right, he must have held a pinecone-shaped asperger. The work must have been the upper register of a large panel; according to reconstructions, the lower frieze was the Vatican Museums’ relief of an eagle-headed winged spirit (VAT/14990).
