The Metropolitan Museum itself is a work of art built with columns standing high above few levels of steps. Through the museum’s entrance, across the lobby, there is a grand staircase in the center that leads up to the second floor. Mentally, visitors choose to start their tour going up those stairs.
The Great Hall Balcony is behind the staircase, which leads right into the Ancient Near East Gallery. Even without knowing the layout, the way the museum is designed allows visitors to easily find the gallery.Ancient Near East art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art surrounds the area from the eastern Mediterranean region to the Indus Valley and from the Central Asian plains to the southwestern Arabian peninsula. The gallery holds a collection of relief panels from the walls of the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II. King Ashurnasirpal II ruled Nimrud of Mesopotamia during the Neo-Assyrian period from 883 to 859 B.
C. He was considered one of the most powerful kings during the ninth century who successfully “carried out substantial building projects. ” The gallery is a large opened space with high ceilings and massive walls.It is dimly lit and a bit chilly. The light is focused on the relief panels on the walls.
The huge stone carvings are made in very low relief; not much of the background was carved out by the artist. According to the label text by the panels, Gypsum Alabaster is the mineral used as material by the artist to make these walls. The panels are mainly smooth except for the parts that are cracked and damaged from time. Originally they were painted in bright colors but all of the paint has stripped off leaving only the dull color of stone. Assyrian kings were masters of political propaganda, which was expressed on the walls of their palaces.
The stonewall reliefs depicted different royal activities and were inscribed with the record of the king’s important events. The images stand almost eight feet tall. The king wanted viewers to be intimidated by them. Anyone walking though the palace would have to look up to the humans depicted on the walls and would be reminded of their powerful and strong ruler. In one of the scenes on the panels, the image shows the king and another man performing a ritual act. Assyrian rulers are typically depicted wearing cone shaped hat circled by a diadem.
The man on the left in this image is seen wearing this royal crown, which only proves that it is Ashurnasirpal II. He is also seen holding a bow symbolizing his power and authority. The other man facing him does not have a headpiece and is beardless, making him an official attendant. Both are carved out in composite form, which is two visual views of the human body. The artist used a canon of proportions where each figure has the same dimensions and depicted them in idealized style. The muscles on the figures are most likely exaggerated, making them look big and strong.
The peaceful nature of the scene shows the king and the attendant performing a ritual act. Ashurnasirpal II is holding a ceremonial bowl and the eunuch attendant is holding a flywhisk and a large spoon, for replenishing the royal vessel. The ritual act was a service to the gods. This is a convention used in ancient art; further proving the figure is king because the gods are on his side protecting him. The description of the relief panel in MoMA mentions that the room where the panel would be displayed in would serve as the room where Ashurnasirpal II and his attendants would perform rituals to the gods.
Purification of the king would take place in this room as well. The palace of Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud was decorated in a fashion not seen in earlier Mesopotamian royal buildings. The reliefs didn’t only express Assyrian service to the gods, but also showed their military achievements, divine protection and their successful social status. Each room was designed by the function of that room.
Images of service to the gods would be in rooms where rituals would take place just like military victories would be depicted on the walls where officials would meet.Outsiders would feel the message of power demonstrated in the architecture of the palace as they walked through it. A human-headed winged bull and winged lion, which protected in the doorways of the Assyrian palace, would alone intimidate outsiders. The bull commonly symbolizes stability and strength of a noble leader who is represented by the lion.
The wings express the divine protection the Assyrian leader has from the gods. Everyone wants a leader who is stable, strong and has the gods on their side. King Assurnasirpal II constructed his palace in his new capital city of Nimrud thousands of years ago.He knew he was ruling one of the greatest empires the world has seen and wanted to assure his success by communicating with future groups with the architecture of his palace.
The artist perfected the king’s idea through images that are practical and serve a bigger purpose since many people didn’t know how to read then. The artist was able to depict a human on the panel along with a story for viewers to see. Even though it is in stylized form and not natural, the figures can be easily identified as humans and their roles can be determined as well.It is incredible to have access to study a culture through its art and see what it was capable of. Even though the Assyrian relief panels aren’t colorful as they originally would be and with half of them gone, it is still hard not to be amazed while observing them. Audiences today can still feel how powerful and successful king Assurnasirpal II was by looking at these images in museums.
The same feeling outsiders got as they entered the palace in the ninth century B. C. arises as visitors of the MoMA enter the Assyrian gallery.
