British Museum Lends Boston Priceless Artifacts From Assyrian Empire
"In the mid 19th century, the interest of Austen Henry Layard, a British archeologist, was piqued by a large mound near Mosul, which he thought was ancient Nineveh. It proved to be Nimrud, the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Kalhu (known as Calhu in the Bible), and his discoveries there and at Nineveh in the 1840s and '50s form the core of Art and Empire."
(Boston, Mass.)—Biblical art, archaeological, and/or history buffs may find the following article from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston quite fascinating. Though the museum's new exhibit of the Neo-Assyrian Empire features non-Judaic Christian items, its relevance can be traced to the Old Testament and gives an insight, somewhat, into the world the prophet Daniel might have been subjected to. The new exhibit, entitled Art and Empire, borrowed from the British Museum, debuts at the Gund Gallery from September 21, 2008—January 4, 2009. It features art and rare artifacts found in the temples and grand palaces of Assyrian kings along the Tigris River in northern Iraq during the 9-7th centuries B.C.
The following, are extracts detailing the exhibit:
"In the mid 19th century, the interest of Austen Henry Layard, a British archeologist, was piqued by a large mound near Mosul, which he thought was ancient Nineveh. It proved to be Nimrud, the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Kalhu (known as Calhu in the Bible), and his discoveries there and at Nineveh in the 1840s and '50s form the core of Art and Empire.
"The exhibition features artistry created for several great Neo-Assyrian kings, from the first, Ashurnasirpal II (883--859 BC) of Nimrud, to the last, Ashurbanipal (668-631 BC), of Nineveh. Ashurnasirpal II, Assyria's self-proclaimed 'great king, mighty king...,' invited 70,000 guests to a 10-day housewarming party in 860 BC to show off his impressive new home at Kalhu. Constructed on 900 acres in northern Assyria—now modern-day Iraq—it was the most magnificent palace the ancient Near East had ever seen.
"Works on view range from the king on campaign (about 875-860 BC), a regal wall relief of Ashurnasirpal II going to battle in Kurdistan, to Dying Lion (around 645 BC), the moving image of the noble beast in the throes of a painful death from an arrow lodged in his back, created during the reign of Ashurbanipal. (Among the finest wall relief carvings from this period are those of the lion hunts created for Ashurbanipal's North Palace at Nineveh.) These are among the many objects that shed light on the administration of the empire, culture, trade, personal beliefs, and interrelationships between religion, magic, and medicine. Military dress, equipment, and horse trappings illustrating army life, as well as decorative ivory pieces, furniture fittings, and metal vessels showcasing the luxurious cosmopolitan lifestyle enjoyed by royalty, are among the highlights of the exhibition.
"The richness of Assyrian culture is the focus of Art and Empire, which is organized to highlight such subjects as the king and his world of opulence; the palaces and temples of the kingdom; the importance of warfare; royal lion and bull hunts; the significance of magic and religion; the royal fascination with literature and science, and administration and society. Fantastic mythical creatures as well as protective winged genii ward away evil spirits. Such expansive wall reliefs were part of an elaborate decorative plan that glorified the king; they also served as propaganda—proclaiming his...'majesty' while warning of the gruesome death and destruction that would befall his enemies."
