Show simple item record

dc.coverage.spatialSite: British Museum (London, England, United Kingdom) ME 118809en_US
dc.coverage.temporalca. 710-705 BCE (creation)en_US
dc.creatorunknown (Assyrian sculptor)en_US
dc.date-710--705en_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-01-29T20:22:13Z
dc.date.available2013-01-29T20:22:13Z
dc.date.issued-710--705en_US
dc.identifier189540en_US
dc.identifier.otherarchrefid: 1744en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.3/98076
dc.descriptionDetail, back legs of bull; This is one of a pair of colossal human-headed winged bulls, magical figures which once guarded an entrance to the citadel of the Assyrian king Sargon II (721-705 BC). Late in his reign Sargon built himself a new capital city, which he called Dur-Sharrukin ('the fortress of Sargon'), known today as Khorsabad. Among the buildings was a magnificently sculptured palace, which was discovered by the French archaeologist Paul-Emile Botta between 1842 and 1844. When the French abandoned the site they left behind the pair of bulls because they were too heavy to move. In 1849 Henry Rawlinson, the British Resident in Baghdad, bought them from the French consul, and resolved the problem of their weight - about sixteen tons of alabaster each - by having them sawn into several bits. Source: British Museum [website]; http://www.britishmuseum.org (accessed 6/14/2009)en_US
dc.format.mediumalabaster (gypsum)en_US
dc.rights© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.en_US
dc.subjectdeitiesen_US
dc.subjectliterary or legendaryen_US
dc.subjectrulers and leadersen_US
dc.subjectarchaeologyen_US
dc.subjectmythical beastsen_US
dc.subjectfantastic animalsen_US
dc.subjectNeo-Assyrianen_US
dc.subjectLate Assyrianen_US
dc.subjectlamassuen_US
dc.subjectAssyrianen_US
dc.titleColossal winged bull from the Palace of Sargon IIen_US
dc.title.alternativeHuman-headed winged bullen_US
dc.title.alternativeLamassu (guardian figure)en_US
dc.typeimageen_US
dc.rights.accessLicensed for educational and research use by the MIT community onlyen_US
dc.identifier.vendorcode7A3-A-BM-KPS-A6en_US
vra.culturalContextAssyrianen_US
vra.techniquecarving (processes)en_US
vra.worktypesculpture (visual work)en_US
dc.contributor.displayunknown (Assyrian sculptor)en_US


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record