Ancient Mesopotamian sculpture took two principal forms: the free-standing, threedimensional statue, figurine, or bust; and the relief, a carved scene raised partially from but still attached to a flat surface, such as a wall. Statues typically depicted gods, human rulers and worshippers, and/or mythical beings. Figurines and other small-scale sculpted works existed in the region well before the Sumerians built the first cities on the plains of southern Mesopotamia in the late fourth and early third millennia B. C. Because of the scarcity of stone in the area, many of these early sculptures were made of wood, although stone was used when and where it was available.
The Sumerians were the first people in the region to produce high-quality sculptures in large numbers. Many continued to be made of wood, but some had wooden cores covered with metal. One of the most famous surviving Sumerian sculptures— the sound box of a lyre (small harp), found at Ur—is a stunning bull’s head; it consists of a wooden core covered by gold leaf and lapis lazuli. Statues were also sculpted from stone, much of which had to be imported from the mountains of Iran, Armenia, or elsewhere. Soft stones such as alabaster, limestone, and gypsum were common, but harder stones were also sometimes employed. A set of twelve figurines found in 1932 at Eshnunna by noted archaeologists Seton Lloyd and Henri Frankfort were composed of gypsum, alabaster, and limestone. Dating from circa 2700 b. c., these statuettes, with their evocative oversized eyes, were votive gifts given to the gods by worshippers and represented the worshippers themselves. A later treasure trove of Sumerian statuary came from Lagash. One of its more famous rulers, Gudea (reigned ca. 2141-2122 b. c.), left behind about thirty sculpted stone images of himself of various sizes. And surviving from approximately the same period is a bronze bust of an Akkadian king, perhaps the famous Sargon of Akkad. The bust was discovered in the city dump at the Assyrian city of Nineveh, perhaps where vandals had thrown it during the city’s destruction in 612 b. c. Now resting safely in a museum in the Iraqi city of Baghdad, the carved face realistically captures individual locks of hair and the subject’s mustache. Unfortunately for interested modern observers, only a few such statues and busts of actual Mesopotamian rulers have survived. In fact, of the more than one hundred ancient Assyrian monarchs, sculptures exist of only two— King Ashurnasirpal II (reigned ca. 883859 B. C.) and his son, Shalmaneser III (ca. 858-824 B. C.). On the other hand, a number of large-scale Assyrian statues of bulls and mythical creatures have survived. The most familiar and impressive are the huge human-headed bulls that guarded the entrances to many of the Assyrian palaces. Bearded and winged, these monstrous gargoyles weigh up to 20 tons (18t) or more each.
Considerably more plentiful, however, are the many surviving examples of Assyrian relief sculptures that adorned the walls
A bronze bust of an Akkadian king, which may be the famous Sargon of Akkad. © Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis of the same palaces guarded by the giant tion, these carvings depict military cam-bull-monsters at Nimrud, Dur-Sharukkin, paigns and victories, major building and Nineveh. The most outstanding artistic projects, and other important activities contributions made by Assyrian civiliza - sponsored by the Assyrian kings. They
Were intended as both decoration and propaganda and effectively achieved both goals. Most of the reliefs were made of gypsum, and because of its relative softness, they were confined primarily to interior corridors and rooms to prevent weathering by wind, rain, and sun. Also, the majority of the surviving reliefs date from the first half of the first millennium B. C., when the Assyrian Empire was rising to its political and cultural height. The sculptors had not yet developed the ability to show true perspective. So, to indicate that object A, for instance, lay behind object B, they placed object A above object B. Nevertheless, these relief panels are stunning in their realism and detail. Like the stelae (stone markers) erected by the Assyrian monarchs during their campaigns, the palace reliefs combined sculpted images with written texts to tell a narrative story, as described here by Seton Lloyd:
The most-oft-repeated... subjects of the reliefs are detailed scenes of military conquest and the ruthless suppression of revolt. . . . The Assyrian army prepares for war. Led by the king, it crosses difficult country on the way to attack a walled city. . . .
The city is taken, burned, and demolished. The enemy leaders are punished with ingenious brutality. A victory is then celebrated. In the inscriptions, the outcome of a minor campaign of this sort is recorded by the laconic comment, “So I came upon them and destroyed them utterly and turned their cities into forgotten mounds.”
. . . The scenes themselves are often arranged episodically—that is, they represent successive developments in the progress of a single action. . . . But what above all distinguishes the Assyrian sculptures is their stylistic vitality and fanciful detail. Horses in particular are drawn with great understanding and expression. Even their movements in swimming seem the result of close observation. (The Art of the Ancient Near East, pp. 196-98)
The Assyrian carved reliefs proved highly influential, inspiring later peoples in the region, especially the Persians. Persian sculpted reliefs at Persepolis and elsewhere borrowed many of the themes and artistic styles of the Assyrian versions. However, Persian sculptures also showed considerable Greek influences since a number of the artisans who worked on the Persian palaces were imported from Greek Anatolia. Greek sculptors, both in Greece and in Persia, frequently tried to infuse a feeling of depth into the figures in reliefs; for instance, they portrayed some aspects of human anatomy beneath the clothes draping the carved figures. The Persian kings also had their sculptors carve large figures in low (shallow) relief on rock walls and cliff faces, perhaps the most famous example being the carvings of King Darius I (reigned ca. 522-486 b. c.) on the Behistun Rock, east of Babylon. Later, the Sassanians, who endeavored to revive Old Persian culture, produced a number of similar cliff carvings, some showing Sassanian kings fighting Romans, others portraying royal hunting scenes.
Both statues and reliefs in ancient Mesopotamia were often painted to make them more realistic and decorative. In many cases the original pigments wore off over the centuries, leaving the wood, stone, or metal surfaces plain, although traces of these paints still survive on some artifacts. Black was used for hair and beards; eyeballs were rendered in white; yellow paint represented gold jewelry; and vegetation was colored green.
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