The piece of Assurbanipal and his Queen in the Garden is a very strong piece, both compositionally and with what is being featured. The scene is one of the king Assurbanipal and his queen lounging in a garden where the head of his enemy is hanging up side down from a near by tree.
(There are better images online, but this is the best I could find of the full piece)
The king is in a very powerful position, being just off from center in the piece, not to mention he is the ‘highest’ in the picture. That is to say, his head his much higher than everyone else’s, displaying the hieratic scale. This means that the relative size of an object or person indicates their status. Every single figure in this picture is gazing at him, making his figure even more powerful. Even the beheaded enemy is staring at the king, albeit lifelessly and strung up as a decoration. He draws the eye and appears much larger because of the detail carved into his figure. His beard and hair have the intricate carvings of this period though it’s impossible to see what detail had been in his face. For some reason, his face and the goblet he had been holding have been removed.
This composition is also made stronger by all of the vertical shapes. Each of the figures, minus King Assurbanipal, are standing erect, along with the trees’ vertical shapes. This gives the appearance of columns, strong and thick, made all the stronger by the almost shapeless form of their robes. Even the shape of the King and Queen’s furniture adds to the effect. Each leg of their seats is yet another strong supportive shape.
One of the most visually interesting and powerful shapes in composition as I have learned it, is the triangle. There are quite a few of these shapes in this low relief carving. The servants and King make one of the most prominent of these triangles. The servants form the base and they raise their offerings to the king to create the sides of the triangle. The King himself serves as the peak – once more in the most powerful position. Another triangle is formed between the severed enemy’s head, the Kings head, and the King’s weapons. There are many others in this composition. The lyre in and of itself serves as one, along with many of the trees. Even the bow and the feet of the chairs are inverted triangles.
Strength is shown in this seemingly relaxing piece by the fact that it is depicting a victory feast. The book brought the afore mentioned enemy’s head to my attention. If it had not, I may not have seen this minor detail. However, those viewing it when it was first made would probably have spotted it first, perhaps only after they gazed at the figure of the King. This in and of its self serves as being very powerful. In its day, this would have been seen as the King’s power. He was able to kill an enemy and have a party afterward. There wasn’t even a reason to keep his weapons right beside him – they’re sitting off to the side on a table. If that does not speak of power, I don’t know what else would.
Something strikes me as odd though, demeaning the power and strength of this work of art. The face of King Assurbanipal has been marred. In fact, it has been totally scratched off. Even the face of the Queen has been marred by someone. The book did not mention anything about this aspect of the piece however. The book also failed to mention the name of the person who the displayed head belonged to. Too curious not too, I searched online about this piece and found some information on the side of the British Museum where this piece is housed. At least the book informed us of this much. The short piece on the British Museum site explains that the decapitated head once belonged to the King of Elam, Teumman. However, the site also fails to explain how or why the faces of the King and Queen were destroyed. They theorize that perhaps an invading army caused the damage but no one knows for sure. I find it fascinating that only these two faces had been marred in such a way. Not to mention that the King’s goblet was destroyed, but not the Queens. Was it for a purpose? Or just because the vandal could? No one may ever know.
Despite the fact that the face of the royalty has been damaged, the piece overall has the strength fit for the featured King. The shapes are solid and strong, and the composition is made in such a way to emphasize it’s monarch in every way.
Hi Caitlin! I like that your thesis statement about strength was very clear throughout your post. Some more discussion of Teumman's head (and more details of this relief carving) are seen on this video clip at about 6:00. You may find it interesting.
ReplyDeleteI also have not heard if there are any definitive reasons for why Assurbanipal and his queen have been defaced. Good observation! The most likely reason, though, is that invading enemies caused the damage (similar to the other damaged pieces that I discuss in lecture). I wonder if the defacement can actually add to your idea of strength, in an ironic way: the strength of the alabaster stone (and its resistance to the defacement) could arguably be an indication of the inherent strength of the medium itself.
-Prof. Bowen
I enjoyed reading your post it had good meanings and interpretations of this work. By just looking at it I noticed that you made alot more connection with the different items. I still to this moment while looking at it I find it hard to tell that that is a head hanging from the tree. I do agree with you thought though on this piece being strong, I see it thought out the entire piece.
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