Relief Orthostat

This large relief, acquired together with other Neo-Assyrian reliefs in 1855 and brought to Berlin not much later, can be identified as a part of the wall decoration of Room G of the so-called North-West Palace in Kalhu. This palace, built by Ashurnasirpal II, was for some 50 years the principal residence of the Assyrian kings. Completed shortly before 870 BCE, the royal seat was decorated with more than 310 wall reliefs. In Room G alone, thirty-one slabs decorated the walls. On the long eastern wall there were, repeated several times, representations of the king, members of the royal household and winged genii. The image here, showing 'the adoration or blessing of the king by two demons', is incomplete in that there is another demon facing the king on the relief slab following (on the right of the picture one can see its hand holding a pine cone). The three-figure scene is built up strictly symmetrically. The richly clothed King Ashurnasirpal II, who has a tiara on his head and a bow and two arrows in his hands, is flanked by two demons in caps, their horns signs of their divinity. Each demon has a little bucket in his hand and is carrying out a ritual with a pine cone. The quality of the general execution is exceptional; particularly notable is the very fine incised lines on the clothing, depicting precious embroidery. Above the whole of the picture field there is the completely preserved standard inscription with its twenty lines of cuneiform.