Lightboxes
Carrito
alb3600242

Handle of a flywhisk or fan

Handle of a flywhisk or fan. Culture: Assyrian. Dimensions: H. 4 x W. 1 3/8 in. (10.2 x 3.5 cm). Date: ca. 8th-7th century BC. Both sides of this handle are decorated with two figures kneeling before a stylized tree, an image perhaps related to similar ritual scenes on reliefs from Assyrian palaces. Such Assyrian style ivories are usually carved using an incised technique, but this is a rare example carved in relief. As the figures are beardless, they may be eunuchs or, more likely, women. They are shown plucking what may be pomegranates, a fruit whose many seeds led it to be associated with fertility. Handles in a similar form are shown on the reliefs of Ashurbanipal, an Assyrian king who ruled during the seventh century B.C., with long feathers inserted in the hollow cylinders at the top, suggesting how this handle may have originally looked. Based on the scene depicted on the handle and the location where it was excavated, within the private residential areas of the palace, it has been suggested that the fan was used by Assyrian royal women. Built by the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II, the palaces and storerooms of Nimrud housed thousands of pieces of carved ivory. Most of the ivories served as furniture inlays or small precious objects such as boxes. While some of them were carved in the same style as the large Assyrian reliefs lining the walls of the Northwest Palace, the majority of the ivories display images and styles related to the arts of North Syria and the Phoenician city-states. Phoenician style ivories are distinguished by their use of imagery related to Egyptian art, such as sphinxes and figures wearing pharaonic crowns, and the use of elaborate carving techniques such as openwork and colored glass inlay. North Syrian style ivories tend to depict stockier figures in more dynamic compositions, carved as solid plaques with fewer added decorative elements. However, some pieces do not fit easily into any of these three styles. Most of the ivories were probably collected by the Assyrian kings as tribute from vassal states, and as booty from conquered enemies, while some may have been manufactured in workshops at Nimrud. The ivory tusks that provided the raw material for these objects were almost certainly from African elephants, imported from lands south of Egypt, although elephants did inhabit several river valleys in Syria until they were hunted to extinction by the end of the eighth century B.C.
Compartir
pinterestPinterest
twitterTwitter
facebookFacebook
emailEmail

Añadir a otro lightbox

Añadir a otro lightbox
add to lightbox print share
¿Ya tienes cuenta? Iniciar sesión
¿No tienes cuenta? Regístrate
Compra esta imagen
Título:
Handle of a flywhisk or fan
Descripción:
Traducción automática: Mango de un batidor de moscas o abanico. Cultura: Asiria. Dimensiones: H. 4 x W. 1 3/8 pulg. (10,2 x 3,5 cm). Fecha: ca. Siglo VIII-VII a.C. Ambos lados de este mango están decorados con dos figuras arrodilladas ante un árbol estilizado, una imagen quizás relacionada con escenas rituales similares en relieves de palacios asirios. Tales marfiles de estilo asirio generalmente se tallan utilizando una técnica de incisión, pero este es un ejemplo raro tallado en relieve. Como las figuras no tienen barba, pueden ser eunucos o, más probablemente, mujeres. Se les muestra arrancando lo que pueden ser granadas, una fruta cuyas muchas semillas llevaron a asociarla con la fertilidad. Asas de forma similar se muestran en los relieves de Asurbanipal, un rey asirio que gobernó durante el siglo VII a. C., con largas plumas insertadas en los cilindros huecos en la parte superior, lo que sugiere el aspecto original de este asa. Según la escena representada en el mango y el lugar donde fue excavado, dentro de las áreas residenciales privadas del palacio, se ha sugerido que el abanico fue utilizado por mujeres reales asirias. Construidos por el rey asirio Ashurnasirpal II, los palacios y almacenes de Nimrud albergaban miles de piezas de marfil tallado. La mayoría de los marfiles sirvieron como incrustaciones de muebles o pequeños objetos preciosos como cajas. Si bien algunos de ellos fueron tallados en el mismo estilo que los grandes relieves asirios que revisten las paredes del Palacio del Noroeste, la mayoría de los marfiles muestran imágenes y estilos relacionados con las artes del norte de Siria y las ciudades-estado fenicias. Los marfiles de estilo fenicio se distinguen por el uso de imágenes relacionadas con el arte egipcio, como esfinges y figuras que llevan coronas faraónicas, y por el uso de elaboradas técnicas de tallado, como calados e incrustaciones de vidrio coloreado. Los marfiles de estilo del norte de Siria tienden a representar figuras más robustas en composiciones más dinámicas, talladas como placas sólidas con menos elementos decorativos añadidos. Sin embargo, algunas piezas no encajan fácilmente en ninguno de estos tres estilos. La mayoría de los marfiles probablemente fueron recolectados por los reyes asirios como tributo de los estados vasallos y como botín de los enemigos conquistados, mientras que algunos pueden haber sido fabricados en talleres en Nimrud. Los colmillos de marfil que proporcionaron la materia prima para estos objetos procedían casi con seguridad de elefantes africanos, importados de tierras al sur de Egipto, aunque los elefantes habitaban varios valles fluviales en Siria hasta que fueron cazados hasta su extinción a finales del siglo VIII a.
Handle of a flywhisk or fan. Culture: Assyrian. Dimensions: H. 4 x W. 1 3/8 in. (10.2 x 3.5 cm). Date: ca. 8th-7th century BC. Both sides of this handle are decorated with two figures kneeling before a stylized tree, an image perhaps related to similar ritual scenes on reliefs from Assyrian palaces. Such Assyrian style ivories are usually carved using an incised technique, but this is a rare example carved in relief. As the figures are beardless, they may be eunuchs or, more likely, women. They are shown plucking what may be pomegranates, a fruit whose many seeds led it to be associated with fertility. Handles in a similar form are shown on the reliefs of Ashurbanipal, an Assyrian king who ruled during the seventh century B.C., with long feathers inserted in the hollow cylinders at the top, suggesting how this handle may have originally looked. Based on the scene depicted on the handle and the location where it was excavated, within the private residential areas of the palace, it has been suggested that the fan was used by Assyrian royal women. Built by the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II, the palaces and storerooms of Nimrud housed thousands of pieces of carved ivory. Most of the ivories served as furniture inlays or small precious objects such as boxes. While some of them were carved in the same style as the large Assyrian reliefs lining the walls of the Northwest Palace, the majority of the ivories display images and styles related to the arts of North Syria and the Phoenician city-states. Phoenician style ivories are distinguished by their use of imagery related to Egyptian art, such as sphinxes and figures wearing pharaonic crowns, and the use of elaborate carving techniques such as openwork and colored glass inlay. North Syrian style ivories tend to depict stockier figures in more dynamic compositions, carved as solid plaques with fewer added decorative elements. However, some pieces do not fit easily into any of these three styles. Most of the ivories were probably collected by the Assyrian kings as tribute from vassal states, and as booty from conquered enemies, while some may have been manufactured in workshops at Nimrud. The ivory tusks that provided the raw material for these objects were almost certainly from African elephants, imported from lands south of Egypt, although elephants did inhabit several river valleys in Syria until they were hunted to extinction by the end of the eighth century B.C.
Técnica/material:
MARFIL
Periodo:
NEOASIRIO
Museo:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Crédito:
Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Autorizaciones:
Modelo: No - Propiedad: No
¿Preguntas relacionadas con los derechos?
Tamaño imagen:
4200 x 3892 px | 46.8 MB
Tamaño impresión:
35.6 x 33.0 cm | 14.0 x 13.0 in (300 dpi)
Palabras clave:
ASIA • HUESO • HUESOS • IRAK • MARFIL • MESOPOTAMIA, NIMRUD (ANCIENT KALHU) • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • NEOASIRIO • NIMRUD