- Fringed garments
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Fringed garments
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.
- Assyrian textiles and clothing
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Assyrian textiles and clothing
The Assyrian textile industry was a prominent aspect of Assyrian culture dating back to the Old Assyrian Empire (c. 1850 B.C.E.). While the Assyrians produced both embroidered and woven garments, they often imported textiles and raw materials, specifically wool from Babylonia. The robes of the King and his courtiers depicted on the reliefs were cut from fine-spun wools in natural and dyed colors. The lavish nature of Assyrian textiles is evident in the ornate bands embroidered with floral and geometric designs that decorated edges of many of the robes depicted in these reliefs. King Ashurnasirpal II and his attendants also display rich brocaded panels worn on top of their garments. The clothing details depicted on the reliefs are an important source of knowledge about Assyrian clothing and textiles, given that very few textiles survive in the archaeological record.
- Knives and whetstones
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Knives and whetstones
Many of the figures on the reliefs, including the winged spirits and the King Ashurnasirpal, are depicted with a pair of daggers at their right side, tucked in the folds of their garments at the waist. To the left of these knives is often a whetstone for sharpening. The handles, which may have been made of ivory, can feature ram, goat, or bull’s heads at the ends. These tools were common accoutrements of Assyrian court dress, and their popularity may have corresponded an increase in availability in such tools due technical advances in iron-working during the period. The Assyrian empire overlapped with the era known as the Iron Age across Mesopotamia.
- Royal crown
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Royal crown
The king is first and most easily recognized by the distinctive crown he wears, shaped much like a fez. The gentle curvature of the crown&rqsuo;s body suggests that it was likely made of a stiff wool felt, and drawn tight around the head at the back with an ornamental band (most visible on the libation scene relief). This band may have been embroidered, possibly with gold thread, or bejeweled and gilded. A small cone rises from the top of the crown at the center. The royal crown is distinct from the headdresses of the winged spirits, which feature horns that signify their divinity and lack the pointed cone. While the king does not always wear the crown in the palace relief, in each of the three reliefs at Bowdoin he is depicted crowned.
- The King’s courtiers
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The King’s courtiers
These figures located to the left of King Ashurnasirpal II are identified as eunuchs, lifetime servants of the royal court, by their cleanly shaven faces and rounded cheeks. One holds a parasol over the King while the other stands with a bow and quiver that signal that Ashurnasirpal has just returned from a royal hunt.