Unknown Artist, Assyrian Relief: Winged Spirit or Apkallu Anointing Ashurnasirpal II from Kalhu (Nimrud), Iraq, ca. 875860 B.C.E., gypsum (Mosul alabaster), 65 11/16 in. x 78 1/8 in. x 6 3/8 in. (166.8 cm. x 198.5 cm. x 16.2 cm.), This relief shows the king Ashurnasirpal with a protective spirit, or apkallu figure behind. The king wears the fez-and-tiara crown that signals his regal status. His robe is long and tasseled with daggers tucked into the folds. Holding a bow in his left hand Ashurnasirpal raises his right. The protective spirit behind wears a horned crown, short kilt, and sports wings that signal his divine status. He anoints the king with a 'purifier,' as it is called in Assyrian texts, which extends a fertile gift to the Assyrian king. The 'Standard Inscription' of Ashurnasirpal, common to many of his reliefs, runs across the middle of the sculpture. It records the King's titles, ancestry and achievements.
Unknown Artist, Assyrian Relief: Winged Spirit or Apkallu Anointing Ashurnasirpal II from Kalhu (Nimrud), Iraq, ca. 875860 B.C.E., gypsum (Mosul alabaster), 65 11/16 in. x 78 1/8 in. x 6 3/8 in. (166.8 cm. x 198.5 cm. x 16.2 cm.), This relief shows the king Ashurnasirpal with a protective spirit, or apkallu figure behind. The king wears the fez-and-tiara crown that signals his regal status. His robe is long and tasseled with daggers tucked into the folds. Holding a bow in his left hand Ashurnasirpal raises his right. The protective spirit behind wears a horned crown, short kilt, and sports wings that signal his divine status. He anoints the king with a 'purifier,' as it is called in Assyrian texts, which extends a fertile gift to the Assyrian king. The 'Standard Inscription' of Ashurnasirpal, common to many of his reliefs, runs across the middle of the sculpture. It records the King's titles, ancestry and achievements.