Ashurnasirpal II, shown in typical royal dress and under the protection of a winged spirit (genie), sits enthroned between attendants who fan him with fly-whisks. This is part of a larger scene that filled an entire wall of a ceremonial room in the king’s new palace. Originally, a second arms bearer stood behind the seated ruler along with another genie. Stylized trees flanked the entire group. Both of the protective spirits hold ritual items—a bucket and a cone-shaped item associated with the pollination of the date-palm, and therefore with fertility of the land. His beardless attendants were eunuchs unable to father descendants to rival the king or his heirs.
Kalhu (modern Nimrud, Iraq)
Northwest Palace, Room G, Slab 2-3
Assyrian, mid-late 9th century BC
Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East 1890.7.9
Modern painted resin cast of plaster copy of British Museum, London original 124565
Photogrammetry by Zhejiang University and Mohamed Abd elaziz
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