Ivory Carving of the Head of a Roaring Lion
This ivory sculpture depicts the head of a roaring lion from the 8th or ninth century BC. It was discovered at the site of ancient Kalhu (Nimrud).
MET Excerpt
Head of a roaring lion, 9th-8th century B.C.; Neo-Assyrian period; Assyrian style
Mesopotamia
Ivory; H. 3.7 in. (9.5 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1962 (62.269.1)
Description
"Assyrian-style ivory carving, contrasting with Phoenician- and Syrian-style ivories found at Nimrud, is illustrated by this ferocious lion's head. Assyrian craftsmen also carved subjects that appear on the stone bas-reliefs of the Assyrian palaces on flat ivory panels, including scenes of warfare, processions, and divinities approaching the sacred tree" - MET
"In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;" - Isaiah 20:1
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Copyright © 2001 The Metropolitan Museum of Art - MET
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Bibliography on Ancient Art
The Art of Ancient Egypt, Revised by Robins, 272 Pages, Pub. 2008
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