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Relief: battle scene
Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Assyrian
Neo-Assyrian Period, reign of Sennacherib
705–681 B.C.
Findspot: Iraq, Nineveh, South-West Palace
Medium/Technique
Gypsum
Dimensions
Width x length: 64 x 84.5 cm (25 3/16 x 33 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Charles Amos Cummings Fund
Accession Number60.134
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsArchitectural elements – Relief
DescriptionThis relief illustrates a skirmish between Assyrians and Iranian hill tribesmen from the East. Small bands of archers, protected by shield bearers, attempt to repulse the Assyrian cavalry (right), while Assyrian pike men and bow men (left) scale a steep incline, probably in assault on a walled town.
ProvenanceFrom Nineveh (Kuyunjik), South-West Palace, Room XIX, slab 3. By 1851: excavated by Henry Layard (probably 1849-51) and taken to Canford Manor, home of Sir John Guest, Layard's father-in-law. 1959: sold at Sotheby and Company, November 16, 1959; purchasedby the MFA through Spink and Son.
(Accession Date: November 16, 1959)
(Accession Date: November 16, 1959)