CIRCA 8TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

AN ASSYRIAN GYPSUM RELIEF FRAGMENT
CIRCA 8TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.
17 1/4 in. (43.8 cm.) long

Provenance

Likely from the collection of the Bangor Theological Seminary, Bangor, ME, acquired in the late 19th-early 20th century (based on collection label reading "From Nineveh" affixed to backside).
with Norman Hurst (1944-2011), Cambridge, MA.
with Carole Davenport, New York, acquired from the above, 1983.
Dr. Vallo Benjamin (1934-2021), New York, acquired from the above, 1983; thence by descent to the current owner.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

hsolomon@christies.com +1 212 636 2256

Lot Essay

This panel preserves an Assyrian warrior driving a cart to the left, with another walking along astride the horse. The style recalls one of the lower registers from the three-panel relief depicting the aftermath of the Battle of Til-Tuba, from Sennacherib's Southwest Palace, Nineveh, now in the British Museum (see fig. 250 in G. Brereton, ed., I am Ashurbanipal: King of the World, King of Assyria). The battle was initiated by the Elamite king Teumman after he seized the throne from a rival branch of the Elamite royal family who then fled to Assyria for Ashurbanipal's assistance. Ashurbanipal was successful in the battle and later designated his son Tammaritu to rule Elam.

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