Among such stone beasts is the human-headed, winged bull pictured here. The horned cap attests to its divinity, and the belt signifies its power. The sculptor gave these guardian figures five legs so that they appear to be standing firmly when viewed from the front but striding forward when seen from the side.

The lamassu is a celestial being from ancient Mesopotamian religion bearing a human head, symbolising intelligence; a bull's body, symbolizing strength; and an eagle's wings, symbolizing freedom. Sometimes it had the horns and the ears of a bull. It appears frequently in Mesopotamian art.

Assyrian sculpture is the sculpture of the ancient Assyrian states, especially the Neo-Assyrian Empire of 911 to 612 BC, which was centered around the city of Assur in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) which at its height, ruled over all of Mesopotamia, the Levant and Egypt, as well as portions of Anatolia, Arabia and modern-day Iran and Armenia.

Nov 1, 2023 · With the wings of a bird, the body of a bull and the head of a human, the lamassu is an imposing figure—especially when the Assyrian deity’s form is rendered in 18 tons of alabaster. That’s what...

Dec 27, 2020 · Bulls are another common motif in Assyrian art. Whether carved in ivory or stone, the bull was more than just an important food source. Sumerian and Akkadian traditions describe the Bull of Heaven, which features in a conflict between Ishtar and Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The bull remained an important symbol in Assyrian and other ...

The Lamassu are distinctive to Neo-Assyrian architectural sculpture (although the creatures which they represent have a long history in the Ancient Near East, dating to the Early Dynastic period) and several pairs of them survive to this day. The remains of more than 100 Lamassu have been identified at Neo-Assyrian palace sites.

lamassu, monumental Mesopotamian relief sculptures dating from the 9th to the 7th century bce. Similar to Chinese Lions of Fo, or shishi, lamassu are guardian sculptures, typically appearing in pairs, that were often placed outside prominent sites.

Jan 1, 2022 · At one end of the gallery stand a colossal winged, human-headed bull and lion, two of many that stood as guardians in the palace, confronting visitors and helping to ward off evil spirits and demons. Normally these protective figures stood in …

Nov 8, 2023 · A remarkably well-preserved 2,700-year-old Assyrian Lamassu, an ancient deity in the shape of a winged bull with a human head, has been unearthed by archaeologists at Khorsabad in northern Iraq, once the Assyrian capital of Dur-Sharrukin.

Jan 11, 2022 · Lamassu, an ancient Mesopotamian deity also known as Lama or Lamma, was a protective figure often depicted as a human-headed winged bull or lion. Originally emerging during the Sumerian period, she evolved into a hybrid goddess in Assyrian times (900-600 BC), signifying power and protection at entrances of cities and p...