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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.
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Titre:
Handle of a flywhisk or fan
Légende:
Traduction automatique: Poignée d'un fouet ou d'un ventilateur. Culture : assyrienne. Dimensions : H. 4 x W. 1 3/8 in. (10,2 x 3,5 cm). Date : env. 8e-7e siècle av. Les deux côtés de cette poignée sont décorés de deux personnages agenouillés devant un arbre stylisé, une image peut-être liée à des scènes rituelles similaires sur des reliefs de palais assyriens. Ces ivoires de style assyrien sont généralement sculptés à l'aide d'une technique incisée, mais il s'agit d'un rare exemple sculpté en relief. Comme les personnages sont imberbes, il peut s'agir d'eunuques ou, plus probablement, de femmes. On les montre en train de cueillir ce qui pourrait être des grenades, un fruit dont les nombreuses graines l'ont amené à être associé à la fertilité. Des poignées de forme similaire sont représentées sur les reliefs d'Ashurbanipal, un roi assyrien qui a régné au VIIe siècle avant JC, avec de longues plumes insérées dans les cylindres creux au sommet, suggérant à quoi cette poignée pouvait ressembler à l'origine. Sur la base de la scène représentée sur la poignée et de l'endroit où elle a été fouillée, dans les zones résidentielles privées du palais, il a été suggéré que l'éventail était utilisé par des femmes royales assyriennes. Construits par le roi assyrien Assurnazirpal II, les palais et les réserves de Nimrud abritaient des milliers de pièces d'ivoire sculpté. La plupart des ivoires servaient d'incrustations de meubles ou de petits objets précieux tels que des boîtes. Alors que certains d'entre eux ont été sculptés dans le même style que les grands reliefs assyriens qui tapissent les murs du Palais du Nord-Ouest, la majorité des ivoires affichent des images et des styles liés aux arts de la Syrie du Nord et des cités-États phéniciennes. Les ivoires de style phénicien se distinguent par leur utilisation d'images liées à l'art égyptien, telles que les sphinx et les personnages portant des couronnes pharaoniques, et l'utilisation de techniques de sculpture élaborées telles que l'incrustation de verre ajouré et coloré. Les ivoires de style syrien du nord ont tendance à représenter des personnages plus trapus dans des compositions plus dynamiques, sculptées sous forme de plaques solides avec moins d'éléments décoratifs ajoutés. Cependant, certaines pièces ne rentrent pas facilement dans l'un de ces trois styles. La plupart des ivoires ont probablement été collectés par les rois assyriens en hommage des États vassaux et en butin des ennemis vaincus, tandis que certains ont peut-être été fabriqués dans des ateliers à Nimrud. Les défenses en ivoire qui ont fourni la matière première de ces objets provenaient presque certainement d'éléphants d'Afrique, importés de terres au sud de l'Égypte, bien que les éléphants aient habité plusieurs vallées fluviales en Syrie jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient chassés jusqu'à leur extinction à la fin du VIIIe siècle avant JC.
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.
Technique/matériel:
MARFIL
Période:
NEOASIRIO
Musée:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Crédit:
Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Autorisations:
Modèle: Non - Propriété: Non
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Taille de l'image:
4200 x 3892 px | 46.8 MB
Taille d'impression:
35.6 x 33.0 cm | 14.0 x 13.0 in (300 dpi)
Mots clés:
ANATOMIE: OS • ASIA • CORPS OS • IRAK • MESOPOTAMIA, NIMRUD (ANCIENT KALHU) • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • NIMROUD (NIMRUD) • OS • OSSEMENT