id: 122979 accession number: 1943.246 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1943.246 updated: 2019-06-14 08:00:08.978000 Saluting Protective Spirit, 883-859 BC. Neo-Assyrian, Iraq, Nimrud, Northwest Palace, reign of Ashurnasirpal II, 9th Century BC. Gypsum; overall: 229.9 x 137 cm (90 1/2 x 53 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1943.246 title: Saluting Protective Spirit title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 883-859 BC creation date earliest: 883 creation date latest: 859 current location: 102A Ancient Near East creditline: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund copyright: --- culture: Neo-Assyrian, Iraq, Nimrud, Northwest Palace, reign of Ashurnasirpal II, 9th Century BC technique: gypsum department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art collection: Near Eastern Art type: Sculpture find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 229.9 x 137 cm (90 1/2 x 53 15/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: Striding forward with muscular arms and legs, this winged deity offers a gesture of salutation along with symbols of agricultural bounty. Inscribed with an account of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II's military conquests and victories, this relief once stood alongside hundreds of similar ones that decorated the palace at Nimrud. digital description: wall description: Assyrian kings ruled the world's largest empire prior to the rise of Persia in the 6th century bc, consolidating lands from Iran to Egypt. In 879 bc the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II began building his new royal residence at Nimrud. Originally brightly painted, this is one of some 300 reliefs that decorated the palace. Masterfully executed with incised details and exaggerated musculature, this giant, fierce, protective spirit raises his right hand in a ritual salute. His left hand grasps a branch bearing rosettes, perhaps a stylized date palm. Across the center of the relief are inscribed lines of Akkadian cuneiform recounting military victories, conquests, plundered loot, and the reconstruction of the city. Destroyed in 612 bc, the palace lay buried for 24 centuries until rediscovered in 1845. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. page number: N5334 url: https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16028coll9/id/18427 The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 667 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958#page=123 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 10 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966#page=34 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 10 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969#page=32 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 3 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978#page=23 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. page number: Reproduced: p. 6 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1991/page/n21 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1943.246/1943.246_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1943.246/1943.246_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1943.246/1943.246_full.tif