CHAP. V.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SCULPTURES.

83

ing.* The slabs to the right and left, had fallen from their original position, and, with the exception of one, were broken. I had some difficulty in raising the pieces from the ground. As the face of the slabs was downward, the sculpture had been well preserved.

To the right was represented the king holding a bow in one hand and two arrows in the other. He was followed by his attendant eunuch, who bore a second bow and a quiver for his use, and a mace, with a head in the form of a rosette, which may have been one of the wooden clubs, topped with iron, mentioned by Herodotus as a weapon used by the Assyrians, or one of those staffs adorned with an apple, a rose, a lily, or an eagle, described by the same historian as carried by the Babylonians.† Standing before him were his vizier and an eunuch, their hands crossed before them, a posture still assumed in the East as one of respect and submission by inferiors in the presence of persons of rank. It is interesting thus to trace the observance of the same customs in the same countries, after the lapse of so many centuries. In the basrelief representing a similar subject discovered in the S. W. ruins, the vizier raises his right hand before the king—an attitude, apparently denoting an oath or homage, in which dependents are seen on the later monuments of the Achæmenian and Sassanian dynasties. Dejoces, who was the successor of the Assyrian monarchs, permitted no one to see him, except certain privileged individuals; and the person of the Persian king, as we learn from the story of Esther, was considered so sacred, that even the queen, who ventured before him without being bidden, was punished with death, "except the king might hold out the golden scepter that she might live." It might be expected, therefore, that in the Assyrian sculptures those who stand in the royal presence would be portrayed in the humblest posture of submission. These figures were about

eight feet high; the relief very low, and the ornaments rich and elaborate. The bracelets, armlets, and weapons were all

adorned with the heads of norses, bulls, and rams, the style of which would not have been unworthy of the exquisite chasing of the middle ages; color still remained on the hair, beard, and sandals.

The adjoining slab, forming a wall at right angles with these bas-reliefs, was of enormous dimensions, but had been broken in two: the upper part had fallen, the lower was still standing in its place. It was only after

Handles of three Daggers car- many ineffectual attempts that I

ried in the Girdle. (N. W. Palace, Nimroud.į

succeeded in raising the fallen half sufficiently to see the sculpture upon it. It was a winged giant about sixteen and a half feet high in low relief, carrying the fir-cone and square utensil; in other respects similar to those already described, except that it had four wings, two rising from each shoulder, and almost completely encircling the figure.

On the opposite side of the entrance, were also a vizier and his attendant; but they were followed by figures, differing altogether in dress from those previously discovered, and apparently resembling people of another race; some carrying presents or offerings, consisting of armlets, bracelets, and earrings on trays; others elevating their clenched hands, probably in token of submission. They were evidently captives and tribute-bearers from a conquered nation ushered into the presence of the monarch by his minister. Among the objects of tribute were two monkeys, held by ropes; one raising itself on its hind legs, the other sitting on the shoulders of its keeper.* The costume of these figures consisted of high boots

*This bas-relief is in the British Museum.

CHAP. V.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SCULPTURES.

85

turned up at the toes, resembling those still in use in Turkey and Persia; conical caps, apparently formed by bands, or folds of felt or linen; and loose shirts descending to the ankles, ornamented down the center and at the bottom with fringes. The figure with the monkey was clothed in a short tunic, scarcely reaching to the calf of the leg, and his hair was simply bound up by a fillet. There were traces of black paint on the face, but it is probable that it had been washed down from the hair, as no remains of color have been found on the face of any other figure, although it is possible that the Assyrians, like the Egyptians, may have denoted races, sexes, and the orders of the priesthood by various tints.

To the south of the colossal liors forming the principal entrance* to the great hall, the wall was continued by an eagleheaded figure resembling that on the opposite side. Adjoining it was a corner-stone bearing the sacred tree-beyond, the slabs ceased altogether; but I soon found that they had only fallen from their places, and that although broken, the sculptures upon them representing battles, sieges, and other historical, subjects, were, as far as it could be ascertained by the examination of one or two, in admirable preservation. The wall of sun-dried bricks, against which they had stood, was still distinctly visible to the height of twelve or fourteen feet. This wall served as my guide in digging onward, to the distance of about one hundred feet.

The first sculpture discovered still standing in its original position, was a winged human-headed bull of yellow limestone. On the previous day we had found the detached human head now in the British Museum. The bull, to which it belonged, and which had formed one side of an entrance, had been broken into several pieces by falling against the opposite sculpture. 1 lifted the body with difficulty; and discovered under it sixteen copper lions, of admirable execution, forming a regular series, diminishing in size from the largest, which was above one foot

* Entrance a, chamber B, plan 3.

A

in length, to the smallest, which scarcely exceeded an inch.
ring attached to the back of each, gave them the appearance
of weights. In the same place were the fragments of an earthen.
vase, on which were represented two figures, with the wings and
claws of a bird, the breasts of a woman, and the tail of a scorpion.*

*All these remains are now in the British Museum.

Winged human-headed Bull.

(N.W. Palace, Nimroud.)

CHAP. V.

BAS-RELIEFS ON SLABS.

87

Beyond the winged bulls the slabs were stil! upright and entire. On the first was sculptured a winged human figure carrying a branch with five flowers in the raised right hand, and the usual

square vessel in the left. Around his temples was a fillet adorned with three rosettes. On each of the four following slabs were two bas-reliefs, divided by the usual inscription. The upper, on the first slab, represented a castle apparently built on an island in a river. One tower was defended by an armed man, on two others were females. Three warriors, probably escaping from the enemy, were swimming across the stream; two of them supporting themselves on inflated skins, in the mode practiced to this day by the Arabs inhabiting the banks of the rivers of Assyria and Mesopotamia; except that, in the bas-relief, the swimmers were

Palace, Nimroud)