Ashurnasirpal II Hunting Lions

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Ashurnasirpal II Hunting Lions is a low relief sculpture depicting Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II on a royal lion hunt. The relief is made out of alabaster and was created circa 875-860 BCE in ancient Kalhu; present day Nimrud, Iraq.
Ashurnasirpal II Hunting Lions is a large rectangular slab of rock, about 2.4 meters long and 88 to 99 centimeters tall. This is a small relief which makes it different form the other low reliefs created at this time because they were much larger and took up entire walls in comparison. The subject, of course, is Ashurnasirpal II; he is hunting some lions from his royal chariot, a passion of his that is depicted in many other reliefs of Ashurnasirpal.
The way a viewer can distinguish which figure Ashurnasirpal II form the others is because Ashurnasirpal is riding in the chariot and he is the only figure actually killing the lions. Also, Ashurnasirpal II is taller and more idealized, or perfect, than the other humans in this relief. For example, Ashurnasirpal has a very idealistic beard; it is braided so perfectly that each of his braids is the same length and width. In addition king Ashurnasirpal has some sort of arm band or bracelets that are …show more content…

Even though the men are all about the same size, Ashurnasirpal is still raised and is the highest part of the relief to suggest that he as a ruler, is more important than everything and everyone around him. Also in regard to the difference between the other men and Ashurnasirpal is the way they are standing. Ashurnasirpal’s men are all standing profile but the king himself is standing in a frontal view with the exception of his head. The reason for Ashurnasirpal to be shown standing a different way from the others could be to show that he is different from everyone and that he is not equal to but greater than all other

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