Assyrian Human-headed Winged Bull Poster

Assyrian Lamassu or Human-headed Winged Bull. Dur Sharukin, Assyria, 700 BC.

Vertical view of a Lamassu, or an Assyrian Human-headed Winged Bull. These creatures were protective genies known as Shedu or Lamassu. They were placed as guardians at gates or doorways of a city or palace. Symbols combining man, bull, and bird, they offered protection against enemies.

When Sargon II founded his capital around 713 BC at Dur Sharrukin, present-day Khorsabad, he enclosed it within a great wall of unbaked brick pierced by seven gates. Protective genies were placed on either side of these entrances to act as guardians. These giants also had a strictly architectural function, as they bore some of the weight of the arch above.

Carved from a single block, it stands more than 12 ft high by 12 ft wide and is 3 ft in depth. The head is sculpted complete, the rest of the body is carved in high relief, much prized in the time of Sargon II, when modeling became more marked.
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