Unknown Artist, Assyrian Relief: Head of Ashurnasirpal II from Kalhu (Nimrud), Iraq, Northwest Palace, Room B, panel 14, ca. 875 - 860 B.C.E., gypsum (Mosul alabaster), 13 9/16 in. x 7 1/16 in. (34.5 cm. x 18 cm.), This portrait of the Assyrian king came from a large relief, the majority of which still resides in Iraq. This portrait once adorned the throne room of the palace. The remarkable state of preservation suggests that the sculpture lay unexposed from the sac of the site, in ca. 614 B.C.E., until its excavation in the nineteenth century. Paint is still visible around the eye, the beard, and decorating the tiara portion of the crown. The large profile eye, prominent nose, and stylized rendition of the beard are all features of the imperial style preferred by the Assyrians. A similar visage was applied to divine figures, thus blurring the lines between regal and divine.
Unknown Artist, Assyrian Relief: Head of Ashurnasirpal II from Kalhu (Nimrud), Iraq, Northwest Palace, Room B, panel 14, ca. 875 - 860 B.C.E., gypsum (Mosul alabaster), 13 9/16 in. x 7 1/16 in. (34.5 cm. x 18 cm.), This portrait of the Assyrian king came from a large relief, the majority of which still resides in Iraq. This portrait once adorned the throne room of the palace. The remarkable state of preservation suggests that the sculpture lay unexposed from the sac of the site, in ca. 614 B.C.E., until its excavation in the nineteenth century. Paint is still visible around the eye, the beard, and decorating the tiara portion of the crown. The large profile eye, prominent nose, and stylized rendition of the beard are all features of the imperial style preferred by the Assyrians. A similar visage was applied to divine figures, thus blurring the lines between regal and divine