Assyrian Ram Headed Sphinx
by Weston Westmoreland
Title
Assyrian Ram Headed Sphinx
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Assyrian Ram Headed Sphinx.
Inspired in Egyptian art, this sphinx shows the head of a ram instead of that of a human and is carved on a vegetal background in an ivory openwork plaque.
This piece was found in Nimrud, one of the Assyrian capitals. Ram-headed sphinxes were often depicted in Egyptian art when this ivory was carved, probably by Phoenician artisans. The slender proportions of this creature are typically Phoenician, as are several elements drawn from Egyptian art including the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, the apron, the headdress and the serpent projecting from the apron.
The plaque may have been fitted into a frame, likely as part of a piece of furniture and, like many Phoenician works, the original composition may have been symmetrical, with an identical sphinx facing this one.
Built by the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II, the palaces and storerooms of Nimrud housed thousands of pieces of carved ivory obtained from war booty or tribute. Most of the pieces were part of furniture inlays or small boxes.
Some of them were carved in the Assyrian style, but the majority display images and styles of North Syria and the Phoenician city-states. It was usual to find Egyptian imagery in Phoenician art.
Circa 9th–8th century B.C.
More amazing statues, sculptures and carvings at https://weston-westmoreland.pixels.com/collections/statues+sculptures+carvings
Weston Westmoreland
Uploaded
July 4th, 2019
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