Adorning the edges of this garment are tassels that seem to suggest movement of the figure through the soft curves of each individual fringe. These tassels are strung together and attached along the border of the robe, yet it is unknown whether they were sewn on by hand or woven by skilled artisans. Details like these tassels are an important source of knowledge about Assyrian clothing and textiles, given that very few textiles survive in the archaeological record.
This bracelet, with a rosette motif at the center, was commonly worn on both wrists by many different figures depicted on the reliefs from Nimrud. In addition to decorating the body, it is thought that the rosette may have served a symbolic or protective function. The depiction of jewelry like the rosette bracelets informs us of Assyrian practices of adorning the body.
This object is one of several ritual implements commonly held by the winged spirits (apkallu) that populate the reliefs from the Northwest Palace. It’s precise function and identification is unknown and much debated; suggestions include the male spathe of a date palm, a pinecone, and a citron. In all cases it is held aloft in the right hand of the spirit, who gestures with it towards a stylized, sacred tree, towards an image of the king, or towards a palace doorway. These applications indicate that the cone and its ritual use likely served protective or apotropaic functions
Most often referred to as a “sacred tree,” this stylized tree bears a distinct resemblance to the cultivated date palm, an important agricultural product in ancient Mesopotamia. At the center is a tall and bare trunk crowned by a large and highly stylized palmette, a fan-like arrangement of palm leaves. Surrounding the tree is a dense and symmetrically arranged network of offshoots which may allude to the fertility of the date palm and, in a symbolic way, of Mesopotamia. Here, as in most cases, the offshoots are palmettes, though buds and pomegranates are occasionally depicted instead. The sacred tree was found in many of the rooms of the Northwest palace, often in the corners. In most cases, including this example, the tree is flanked on either side by winged spirits (apkallu) who hold a cone and pail and perform a ritual act, alternatively identified as purifying, protecting, or fertilizing the tree. In rare instances, the winged spirits are replaced by Assyrian kings.
This winged spirit, referred to as an apkallu, was considered a minor deity or wise sage. In the Assyrian cosmology, these minor deities could be eagle-headed, as depicted here, human-headed, or even fish-headed. This protective figure is engaged in the ritual process of purifying and fertilizing the sacred tree with the “cone” purifier and single-handed pail (bandudu). It was common practice in Assyria to create clay figurines that depicted winged spirits, many of which survive to this day and provide further evidence of the importance of these figures in Assyrian belief and thought. These clay figures were often buried underground as a form of protection against disease and evil.
The Assyrian fascination and exploration of the potential of relief carving to capture fine details and textures is evident in the tassels, hair and beards, and extreme detail and attention lavished on the individual feathers of the wings of the winged spirits. This protective spirit, or apkallu, has a human head, but his horned helmet and wings identify him as a mythological creature. These wings are comprised of many oval-shaped outlines filled with a plethora of angled cuts that stem from a relatively thick central shaft. Details like these reveal the extent to which Assyrian stone carvers achieved new and remarkable heights in furnishing Ashurnasirpal’s palace at Nimrud.