Bird-headed Genie from the Palace of Sargon II at Khorsabad
- Title:
- Bird-headed Genie from the Palace of Sargon II at Khorsabad
- Collection:
- Cornell Cast Collection
- Creator:
- Musées Nationaux Moulages (reproduction)
Unknown (original)
- Photographer:
- Mericle, Danielle
- Date:
- ca. 1890-1920
ca. 721-705 BCE
- Site:
- Paris, France (reproduction)
Khorsabad, Iraq (original) - Location:
- 726 University Avenue, Cornell University
Paris, France (reproduction)
Khorsabad, Iraq (original) - ID Number:
- CCC_0781
- Accession Number:
- 724
- File Name:
- CCC_0781.tif
- Culture:
- Assyrian
- Style/Period:
- Neo-Assyrian, Sargonid Dynasty
- Work Type:
- casts (sculpture)
- Materials/Techniques:
- plaster cast (sculpture)
gypseous alabaster sculpture in relief (original) - Subject:
- Assyria--Antiquities
- Image View Type:
- overall
- Image View Description:
- from front
- Measurement:
- 113 x 55 x 3.5 (centimeters, height x width x diameter)
- Description:
- This is a cast of a winged, bird-headed genie from a slab from the interior of the Palace of Sargon II at Khorsabad (ancient Dur-Sharrukin), in modern-day Iraq. It likely flanked a doorway in a courtyard of the palace. The figure, facing left, is depicted in low relief with his right foot forward and his torso turned toward the viewer to between profile and three-quarter views. His head is perhaps that of an eagle, with a hooked beak and round eye with three feathers at its back corner. A mane of feathers stands atop his head and neck, and curly locks fall to his shoulder. A strand of large, round beads is around his neck. The genie wears a short, short-sleeved tunic with a belt from which with a thick tassel falls between his legs. He holds a situla in his lowered left hand and a pine cone in his raised right. His muscular arms are adorned with spiral cuffs at the biceps of each and a bracelet at the wrist of the right. This is one of several winged, bird-headed genies discovered at Sargon II's palace at Khorsabad. These were thought to have protective powers. The sculpture on the original slab was never completed, as evidenced by the rough chisel marks that surround the figure and the unfinished situla and wings.
- Notes:
- Items in the Cornell Cast Collection are meant for inventory and reference purposes. Metadata may not be complete in all cases.
no. AO 19867 - Bibliography:
- Pauline Albenda, The Palace of Sargon, King of Assyria (Paris: Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations, 1986), 55 and fig. 15
Choix de moulages du Musée du Louvre, Reproduits par la phototypie (Paris: Société Anonyme "Les Arts", 1901), 1 - Repository:
- Cornell University (current)
Paris, Louvre (original) - Collecting Program:
- Cornell Collections of Antiquities
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The images in the Cornell Collection of Antiquities: Casts are protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are their creators, generally Cornell University Library, Annetta Alexandridis, and Verity Platt. This collection of plaster casts owned by Cornell University was photographed by Cornell University Library, Alexandridis, Platt, and Andreya L. Mihaloew from 2010-2015, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Annetta Alexandridis. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact Annetta Alexandridis and Verity Platt for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.