Near Eastern, Assyrian (from the Palace of Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud), 883–859 B.C.
Gypseous alabaster with traces of paint, 88 1/2 x 72 3/4 in. (224.8 x 184.8 cm)
Yale University Purchase
1854.1
This large relief depicts a winged, human-headed, semi-divine male figure, commonly called a genie (though the Assyrian word apkallu, meaning "sage" is sometimes preferred). He wears a kilt beneath a fringed robe, a helmet, sandals, and an assortment of jewelry, body ornaments, and small weapons. Holding a pail in his left hand, he reaches with his right to pick the uppermost cone from a sacred tree. Representations of human- and bird-headed genies, as well as eunuchs and other attendants, lined the walls of the palace built by the Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud (in modern Iraq). Although only traces of pigment survive on most of these reliefs, originally they would have been brightly painted. The inscription running horizontally across the middle of the relief belongs to a longer account of the military, administrative, and religious achievements of the king.
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