Besieged Fortress from the Palace of Tiglath-Pileser III (746-727 BC)

Bas-relief from Palace of Tiglath-Pileser III, 746–727 BCE

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This Assyrian relief of a city under siege comes from the palace of Tiglath-Pileser III at Nimrud. English archaeologist and diplomat Sir Austen Layard unearthed it during a mid-19th-century excavation. Two Assyrian soldiers mounting a ladder at the left attack the fortifications; one spears a man on a turret as an ally of the victim throws down stones. Two other soldiers are falling from the towers of the upper and lower gates on the right.

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Besieged Fortress Relief from Nimrud (#887)
Details
Title
Bas-relief from Palace of Tiglath-Pileser III
Role
Artist
Dimension
38 5/8 in. (98.11 cm)
Accession Number
57.42
Provenance
Provenance: ['] Excavated by Sir Henry Austen Layard, Nimrud, Iraq by 1851.[1] [I. Élias Géjou (1868–1942), Paris, '1920s or 1930s] [2]. [Galerie Bing, Paris, '1930s]. [Elie Borowski, Basel, Switzerland (until 1957), sold, December 1957, to the Minneapolis Institute of Art] [1] Layard excavated at Nimrud 1845-1847 and 1849-1851 on behalf of the British Museum [2] Identified in a photo album of artefacts belonging to Géjou, according to Dr Nadia Aït Saïd-Ghanem; see email in object file dated 6/23/22
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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Besieged Fortress from the Palace of Tiglath-Pileser III (746-727 BC)