File:Nineveh and Babylon - a narrative of a second expedition to Assyria during the years 1849, 1850, and 1851 (1882) (14787119553).jpg

Identifier: ninevehbabylonna00laya (find matches)
Title: Nineveh and Babylon : a narrative of a second expedition to Assyria during the years 1849, 1850, & 1851
Year: 1882 (1880s)
Authors: Layard, Austen Henry, Sir, 1817-1894
Subjects: Nineveh (Extinct city) Babylon (Extinct city) Middle East -- Description and travel
Publisher: London : J. Murray
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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rn of the hunts-men from the chase. They areseen bearing dead lions andbirds, probably partridges. Theslaughtered animals appearto have been placed beforethe king, who in one of thebas-reliefs is seen pouring alibation over them before analtar, attended by his fan andarmour-bearers and by musi-cians who celebrate his ex-ploits, accompanying theirsong on a kind of dulcimer. Amongst the sculptures fromthe north-west palace of Kou-yunjik which do not representhunting scenes, the most re-markable is a highly finishedand admirably preserved bas-relief, in which the king is seenlying on a couch or bed,beneath an arbour formed byvines, apparently at a ban-quet, as he is raising a cup in his right hand, and near himis a table on which are probably some viands. By hisside, seated on a raised chair, richly attired and attendedby two fan-bearers, is a woman, probably his queen. Thisis the only instance with which we are yet acquainted of anAssyrian lady of rank being represented in a bas-relief.
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INTRODUCTION. This sculpture, and one or two others from the sameseries now in the British Museum, especially a warrior ona horse at full speed, are carved with the sharpness, preci-sion, and delicacy of a Greek gem. They are singulariy fineexamples of the perfec-tion to which the Assy- ,rians had attained inthe technical part of theart of sculpture. At Nimroud Mr.Hormuzd Rassams re-searches were chieflyconfined to the ruinsof the south-east palace.He found that thebuilding which I hadpartly explored had beenerected over the remainsof a more ancient edi-fice. Amongst the earlierruins, which were at aconsiderable depth be-neath the soil, were nochambers with sculp-tured walls, but bas-reliefs brought from thecentre palace, and seve- (ral detached objects of jgreat interest were ob-tained from them. Alarge tablet, or stele,similar in form to theone obtained from the temple in the north-west corner of themound,* was found in situ. It contained the effigy of a king(believed to be the gran

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