In the art of working metals the Babylonians showed no small degree of
proficiency: evidence has already been given of the way in which metal
was made to contribute her share to the perfected work of the architect,
as also of its employment as a material whereon the scribe might engrave
his comparatively imperishable memorials, but the part which it played
in the history of the country’s art, as well as in the growth of her
civilization, remains to be considered. The metals which appear to have
been most in use among the dwellers in Mesopotamia are copper and
bronze. As in every other country, before metal became known and
utilized in the Euphrates valley, stone was employed as the material for
making knives, axes, and implements of every kind. Various flints were
found by Taylor at Abû Shahrein (Eridu).[104] At Fâra (Shuruppak) also,
numerous flint knives and saws, together with some hatchets and tools
made of the same material, were discovered by the German excavators, and
tools made of bone were further found on the same site. But the copper
age commenced at a very early period in the history of Babylonian
civilization, at a time previous to the appearance of cuneiform, and
while even the earlier picture-signs were still untrammelled by the
stereotyped formalism of later days, copper had already been adapted to
the needs and requirements of humanity.[105]
[Illustration: FIG. 37.—A (Cat., p. 367; _Déc. en Chald._, Pl. 5 tert.
Musée du Louvre.) B (Heuzey, _Une Villa Royale_, Fig. 19.)]
At Ur (Muḳeyyer) Taylor discovered a large copper spear-head and two
arrow-heads made of the same metal, while in the early strata at Tellô,
M. De Sarzec discovered a copper blade some thirty-one and a half inches
in length, and belonging to a votive-lance; unfortunately the name of
the king by whom it was dedicated is lost owing to the oxydization of
the metal, but the title “King of Kish” is still clearly legible, Kish
being one of the most ancient sites of Euphratean civilization (cf. Fig.
37, A). The tang of the blade is pierced with four holes, and one of the
flat surfaces of the blade itself is engraved with the figure of a lion,
crude indeed, but spirited. This unique object was found at a great
depth, and only six inches above the stratum in which the architectural
remains of Ur-Ninâ were buried. Not far distant, De Sarzec discovered an
immense hollow pipe of beaten copper (cf. Fig. 37, B) over ten feet long
and having a diameter of four inches; a number of copper nails by means
of which this long tube was fastened to a wooden pole being also found.
The pipe itself tapers upwards and the top of it is crowned with a
hollow ball of hardened bitumen, a little below which there is a large
semicircular handle, or what purports to be a handle, consisting in a
hollow tube and likewise made of copper. The use to which this strange
implement was put is unknown, but it is exactly reproduced on some of
the early cylinder-seals as well as on the well-known vase of Gudea.
Various suggestions have been made as to the purpose which it served;
one theory is that it is a chariot pole, another that it is a part of a
standard, but the former is ruled out of court by the position which it
occupies on the seals and on the aforementioned vase. The latter,
however, may be near the truth.
Among the earliest specimens of Babylonian metallurgy may be mentioned a
number of very small copper representations of animals in a crouching
attitude, and all apparently belonging to the domestic order, though in
some cases they are so covered with vert-de-gris that it is difficult to
determine with precision what animals they are intended to represent.
They are probably to be regarded as sacrificial offerings to the gods,
being in fact economical substitutes for actual victims. They were found
by De Sarzec in the lowest and therefore earliest strata of the ruined
mounds of Tellô. Another class of metal objects to which we must also
assign a date earlier than the time of Ur-Ninâ, the founder of the first
dynasty of Lagash, comprises a number of copper statuettes, all much the
same in shape, contour and style, though not in size. They all show a
woman’s bust, her hands clasped across her chest, and her hair hanging
about her neck like a heavy wig, while the waviness of the hair is
indicated by strongly-marked horizontal lines (cf. Figure 38, C). The
style at once recalls the figures on the crude bas-reliefs belonging to
the same period. A further peculiarity of these little figures is the
manner in which they all terminate in the point of a nail, by means of
which they were destined to be fixed in the ground with a view to
deterring the advance of demons from the nether world.
[Illustration: FIG. 38.—A, C (cf. Cat., p. 295). Musée du Louvre. B (cf.
_Déc. en Chald._, Pl. 2 tert., No. 3).]
So too Ur-Ninâ employed copper extensively as the material for his
votive statuettes. A number of these statuettes were found at Tellô by
De Sarzec; they all exhibit much the same characteristics as the earlier
figures referred to above, and represent a woman whose hands are clasped
across her breast, and whose hair hangs down her back in strongly marked
perpendicular streaks, while the body similarly finds its termination in
a nail-point destined to be stuck in the ground (cf. Fig. 38, A). But
the chief point which distinguishes Ur-Ninâ’s statuettes from those
belonging to the earlier period lies in the additional rôle which they
were expected to play; not only were they protective amulets, but they
were also required to carry stone tablets on their heads. To enable them
to bear their burden the more easily, they were fixed into a kind of
flat ring, the end of which was made to resemble the tail of a bird,
which thus assisted the head in its otherwise arduous task (cf. Fig. 38,
B). Five of these little figures still carried on their heads a thick
tablet of greyish stone, convex on the uppermost side, like the bricks
of this same king. They were generally found buried in hollows about
twenty-eight inches in breadth, length, and height, and walled in with
bricks and bitumen. Later on in the dynasty the practice of providing
these statuettes with bird-tailed rings to assist in supporting the
inscribed stone tablet appears to have fallen into disuse; at all events
the statuettes of Entemena, the fourth successor of Ur-Ninâ, show no
such rings; the alabaster tablets are simply bored with holes, into
which the head of the statuette was firmly inserted.
Another class of copper statuettes of somewhat later date is that
comprising the so-called “Kanephores” or basket-carriers. The oldest of
these likewise come from Tellô: they are sometimes male, sometimes
female figures, but they all carry baskets on their heads. One of them
is seen in Fig. 39, B. In this case the garment is arranged in such a
manner as to show the formation of the legs. The inscription informs us
that this statuette was dedicated by Gudea to Nin-girsu. Regarding the
assumed contents of the baskets it is impossible to dogmatize: possibly
they are supposed to contain offerings, but De Sarzec regarded these
figures as representations of the patesi himself, conveying clay in the
sacred basket for the construction of the temple.
The directions issued by the god Nin-girsu to Gudea in a dream regarding
the building of his temple, have direct reference to a symbolical action
which certainly has a close resemblance to that in which these
Kanephorous figures appear to be engaged. Gudea was presented with a
sacred brick on a cushion, which, after the performance of various rites
and ceremonies, he placed upon his head and carried to the temple—an
outward and visible sign of his obedience to the divine will and of his
determination to restore the time-honoured fane of his god. But whatever
the correct interpretation of these Kanephorous figures be, they
certainly recall the task in which Ur-Ninâ is engaged on the famous
bas-relief in which he is portrayed surrounded by his family and the
court (cf. Fig. 26).
Another of the same class of figures and also reproduced in Heuzey and
De Sarsec’s monumental work, bears an inscription of Dungi, king of Ur
(_circ._ 2400 B.C.), but the lower limbs instead of being modelled out,
are in the form of a cone; the other statuette illustrated on the same
plate[106] is on the contrary very carefully modelled, and is clad in a
short garment reaching to the knees, but unfortunately bears no
inscription.
[Illustration: FIG. 39.—A, B, C (cf. Cat., pp. 315, 307, 301; Nos. 164,
158, 146). Musée du Louvre.]
Some centuries later the Elamite conquerors, Kudur-Mabug and his son
Rîm-Sin, who established their supremacy over the whole of Sumer and
Akkad and maintained their position till Khammurabi, the then king of
Babylon, defeated Rîm-Sin in his thirty-first year, caused their names
to be inscribed on similar statuettes (cf. Fig. 39, A).
The figure here reproduced is that of a woman; her garment, which is of
the nature of a skirt, allows us no view of the feet, and itself tapers
downwards and recalls the earlier nail-pointed statuettes. The nudity of
the bust, and the absence of hair on the head, are indications that the
woman in question is a slave, and her vocation was probably to assist in
the building of the temples of the gods. In style this figure is more
boldly executed than the earlier statuette of Gudea seen in Fig. 39, B.
It bears an inscription in which mention is made of Kudur-Mabug and his
son Rîm-Sin.
Sometimes male Kanephores occur, a good example of which is preserved in
the British Museum; it came from Tellô like so many of these early works
of art. Another excellent specimen was presented some few years ago to
the Berlin Museum; it is rather more than ten inches in height, and
bears a very clearly written Sumerian inscription; the names of
Kudur-Mabug and Rîm-Sin occur, and the statuette was dedicated “for the
preservation of life,” as was always the case with these votive-figures.
Another interesting class of copper figures was further discovered by
De Sarzec at Tellô: it consisted in a number of small statuettes most of
which were dedicated by the patesi Gudea; each is in a kneeling posture
and holds a cone between his hands, while the head-dress consists in the
horned cap characteristic of all Mesopotamian deities, whether early or
late. These little figures are about eight or nine inches high. The
cones are inscribed with a votive inscription, and the cones themselves
must probably be regarded as religious symbols. Cones made of clay or
stone belonging to this period are common enough, their occurrence
however in copper and in immediate contact with the statue of a human
being is very rare. A plain long copper cone measuring 1 foot 1-1/2
inches in length, and bearing an archaic inscription, is now preserved
in the British Museum, this is however an exception, metal cones being,
on their rare occurrence in Babylonian art, in nearly all cases
associated with human or quasi-divine figures.
One of the best and also earliest examples of these copper
cone-statuettes is that of Ur-bau (_circ._ 2500 B.C.) patesi of Lagash,
now preserved in the Louvre, and reproduced in figure 39, C. This figure
was found enclosed in a clay vase in the bottom of which three holes had
been bored, and it was accompanied by a fine white marble tablet, the
inscription upon which is a kind of résumé of the text found on the
statue of this patesi. The god is kneeling on one knee, and his hands
are fixed firmly on an elongated cone which resembles the nail-pointed
terminations of the earlier figures. The head-dress consists in the
horned cap. The features are full of expression and force in spite of
their heaviness, and the statuette as a whole shows a great advance on
the artistic products of the time of the first dynasty of Lagash, and
also compares very favourably with the later work of Gudea’s time.
Among other early copper objects of interest we may especially mention
two bulls’ heads the casting of which is not solid, as is the case with
all the figures hitherto referred to, but hollow, and a curious vase,
all found together at Tellô in the stratum immediately above that
representing the age of Ur-Ninâ.[107] The bulls’ heads (cf. Fig. 40, A)
are practically identical in type though not in size; the horns are long
and the muzzle short, but notwithstanding their crudeness these heads are
full of vitality, and are not without a charm of their own. The larger of
the two, which is seen in Fig. 40, A, has its eyes inlaid with
mother-of-pearl, while the pupils of the eyes are made of lapis lazuli;
it is some seven and a half inches high (including the horns), the
smaller head being only five and a half inches in height.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.—A, C, D (Musée du Louvre) Cat., pp. 318, 310,
324. B (from Hilprecht, _Explorations_, p. 540). E (from Harper, _A. J.
S. L._, XX, p. 266).]
At Fâra an exquisite head of a Markhur goat was discovered (cf. Fig. 40,
B); the head itself is made of copper, but the eyes were made of shell,
the white of them being represented by white shell, and the pupils by
dark brown. Between the eyes there is a three-cornered ornament of
mother-of-pearl inlaid with white and brown shells. The gazelle’s neck
is hollow, and its head was attached to a wooden body overlaid with
copper.
Another interesting representation of the animal world in metal, has
been bequeathed to us by Dungi, king of Ur, and consists in a bull
reclining on the top of a long nail (cf. Fig. 40, C). The bull recalls
the sacrificial animal portrayed on the little sculptured block
reproduced in Fig. 27. The horns are short as there, but the thick neck
and inflated throat at once give us the idea of a bellowing bull, the
attitude being wonderfully natural, and the whole work full of vigour
and animation. It is about twenty-six inches in height.
In Fig. 40, D[108] we have an illustration of another little metal bull,
the metal in this case being bronze—an indication of a somewhat later
date—and the posture a standing one. The place of its discovery is
uncertain, but as M. Heuzey says, it shows no trace of hard Assyrian
conventionalism, but on the contrary has all the characteristics proper
to early Babylonian art. The bull, which is twelve inches in height and
thirteen inches in length, stands on a narrow plinth to the bottom of
which a nail was apparently fixed, recalling the nail-pointed statuettes
from Tellô. The particular interest of this little figure lies in the
fact that it is inlaid with silver, the object of which was clearly to
represent the markings of a certain breed of bulls. The eyes were once
inlaid with this metal, and the thin plates of silver with which the
body of the animal was inlaid are still in place. This little figure
thus proves that the Babylonians had not only acquired the art of
inlaying objects made of stone, but also those that were made of metal.
Among other early Babylonian representations of animals in metal, may be
mentioned a “bronze lion-headed object” (cf. Fig. 40, E) discovered at
Bismâya.[109] The spike itself, apart from the lion, measures nineteen
inches. As it was found over eight feet below a platform of plano-convex
bricks, its antiquity must be very great, and in the light of subsequent
research it may probably be assumed that it is bronze only in
appearance, like so many of the products of early Sumerian metallurgy,
any alloy there may be in the copper being at this date accidental and
not intentional. The lion is crude, but the artist’s inexperience has
not prevented him from producing an animal both natural in its pose, and
therefore artistic in its effects.
Various other objects and weapons made of copper have been discovered at
Nippur, Fâra, Tell Sifr, and other Babylonian sites, and they include
hammers, knives, daggers, hatchets, fetters, mirrors, fish-hooks,
net-weights, spear-heads, vases, dishes and caldrons, the weapons
sometimes having rivets for wooden handles, which have long since
perished.[110]
The moulds in which all these copper objects, both hollow and solid,
were cast were probably made of clay, though in later times stone was
frequently used as a material for making moulds for metal-casting, and
various examples of such moulds made of steatite, wherein were cast
ear-rings and other articles of jewellery, are now in the British
Museum, while at the same late period bronze itself seems to have been
employed, and bronze moulds for arrow-heads are still extant. But there
is no evidence for the use of either stone or metal moulds among the
Sumerians, and it is to their use of clay moulds that we must doubtless
ascribe, at least in part, the extraordinary animation which these early
Babylonian figures exhibit, for obviously the fashioning of the head of
a bull or of a human being in clay would be a comparatively easy work to
chiselling it in stone, and the work would consequently lack the heavy
laboriousness which is so often the outstanding characteristic of early
stone sculptures. The copper remains of this age are far from being as
ample as one might wish, but many weapons, tools and other objects which
must undoubtedly have been made of metal, and therefore probably of
copper at this time, are portrayed on some of the earliest Babylonian
reliefs and seals, and give us some idea of the extensive use which the
Babylonians of this remote period must have made of metal, and of the
numerous purposes for which they employed it. Sometimes it would appear
that instead of fashioning the required objects by means of moulds, they
relied entirely on the hammer: evidence of this was forthcoming by the
discovery of a portion of the horn of an ox by De Sarzec at Tellô.
Unfortunately no other part of the animal to which this horn belonged
was brought to light, but the horn is life-size and well made. The core
consisted of wood upon which the copper plates were fixed by means of
small nails.
The exact time when the Mesopotamians acquired and practised the art of
adding a percentage of tin to the copper, thereby making it bronze—a
metal possessed of greater strength than copper—is not known, but a
judgment based on the evidence afforded by the cases which have been
actually chemically analysed, would indicate that the artificial
combination of copper and tin was not known till the Assyrian era, and
that any percentage of tin or antimony found in the copper objects of
earlier date is a natural and not an artificial alloy. It is however
worthy of note that apparently as early as the time of Bur-Sin, king of
Ur (_circ._ 2400 B.C.), the art of mixing metals was not unknown. At all
events a copper statuette of the Kanephorous order, and bearing an
inscription of this king, contains an alloy of lead, the percentage of
lead being as much as eighteen per cent. But with the rise of Assyrian
power, bronze gradually supplanted copper; copper was indeed still used,
and Esarhaddon, for example, informs us that he made the doors of one of
the palaces which he erected for himself, of cypress wood, and that he
further overlaid them with silver and copper; it was also used for
subordinate purposes, as for example in the manufacture of colour,[111]
but it ceased to occupy an important place in the life of the people,
though of course as the principal contributor to the artificially
composed bronze it was still used extensively, though in a less
conspicuous manner.
A good example of the use of bronze in the early Assyrian period is to
be found in a scimitar (cf. Fig. 41, A) bearing an inscription of
Adad-nirari I, king of Assyria about 1325 B.C. The whole length of the
sword is just over twenty-one inches, the length of the blade being
sixteen inches, and that of the hilt about five, while its width varies
from just over one to just under two inches. The sword was evidently a
ceremonial one, and possibly was at one time placed in the hand of a
god’s statue; its hilt was apparently jewelled and inlaid with
ivory,[112] and it resembles that found by Macalister at Gezer in
Southern Palestine. It is interesting to compare the scimitar of
Adad-nirari with the sword found by Andrae at Ashur (cf. Fig. 41, B)
from which it differs entirely in character and design, the latter being
perfectly straight. Another interesting discovery made by Andrae on the
same site is a bronze axe (cf. Fig. 41, C), which is quite modern in its
appearance, and is not unlike a short-handled ice-axe.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.—A (cf. _T. S. B. A._, vol. IV, Pl. 2, p. 347). B
(cf. Andrae, _Der Anu-Adad Tempel_, p. 53).]
_PLATE XXVIII_
[Illustration: _Photo. Mansell_ _British Museum_
BRONZE OBJECTS, FROM NIMRÛD]
Many other weapons, implements, dishes, bowls and rings of bronze were
discovered at Nineveh, Nimrûd and elsewhere. In Plate XXVIII, we have a
bronze ox-hoof, which apparently formed the leg of a throne,—and two
other bronze fittings of a throne. Below are two of the bronze
lion-weights from Nimrûd. Many of these weights are inscribed in
cuneiform with the names of the kings in whose reigns they were made,
e.g. Tiglath-Pileser, Shalmaneser IV and Sennacherib, the amounts they
weighed being inscribed in Phœnician. They were possibly made by
Phœnician immigrants. The specific gravity required in the case of each
weight was normally arrived at by chiselling pieces off the base, but in
one case, the gravity had to be increased and not diminished, and this
was effected by filling the hollow body of the lion with lead, until it
weighed the necessary amount. Immediately above the head of the larger
of the two lions here represented, we see the bronze head of a
Babylonian demon.
Assyrian bronze generally contains one part of tin to ten of copper, but
in the case of the bronze bells found by Layard at Nimrûd (one of which
is reproduced in Plate XXVIII), it was found by analysis that the
percentage of tin was about fourteen. This was doubtless to make their
ring more resonant. The bells in question vary in size, the largest
being about three and a quarter inches in height and two and a quarter
in diameter,[113] while the smallest is one and three-quarter inches
high and one and a quarter inches in diameter. The clappers of these
bells are made of iron.
But the bronze dishes from Nimrûd show the Assyrian metal-engravers’
work perhaps at its highest, and offer more material for the study of
that branch of Assyrian metallurgy than any other class of objects. The
general style of decoration to which they conform is that determined by
concentric circles cutting up the upper surface of the dish into so many
registers, though sometimes nearly the whole of the field is occupied
with one scene. The figures portrayed frequently exhibit a very strong
Egyptian influence, and are sometimes entirely Egyptian in design.
In Plate XXIX we have a reproduction of one of the best preserved of
these bronze dishes found by Layard at Nimrûd. The griffins which occupy
the principal place in the scheme of decoration are entirely Egyptian in
conception, while they further wear on their heads the familiar double
crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The front left hoof of each griffin
rests in an almost parental fashion upon the head of a child, who is
also clearly Egyptian. Both before, between and behind the griffins,
tapering columns such as are frequently found in Egyptian architecture
are observable, and in the centre of the space separating the back of
one griffin from the back of the nearest animal in the adjoining group,
there is a more substantial pillar, the capital of which is shaped to
represent a winged scarab. The animals are all beaten out in relief, but
the finely chased circles of fleurettes which form the sole decoration
of the centre, are the work of the engraver.
_PLATE XXIX_
[Illustration: _Photo. Mansell_ _British Museum_
BRONZE BOWL, FROM NIMRÛD]
[Illustration: FIG. 42. (After Layard.)]
In Fig. 42 on the other hand we have a dish also made of bronze, and
found on the same site as the one described above, but it betrays not
the slightest trace of Egyptian influence. The motif is one frequently
employed in Mesopotamia; the decoration of circular objects by
consecutive chains of animals following each other round in a circle was
no invention of the Assyrians, for it may be traced back to the earliest
Sumerian times. It occurs on the famous silver vase of Entemena (cf.
Fig. 45) as well as on the stone mace-head of Mesilim (cf. Fig. 26),
which is decorated with a group of wonderfully life-like lions pursuing
each other round the mace. In the innermost circle, a troop of gazelles,
such as are often seen depicted on cylinder-seals (cf. Fig. 51), march
along in file; the middle register forms the circus for a variety of
animals all marching in the same direction as the gazelles. A bull, a
winged griffin, an ibex and a gazelle, are followed by two bulls who are
being attacked by lions, and a griffin, a bull, and a gazelle, who are
all respectively being attacked by leopards. In the outermost zone there
is a stately procession of realistically conceived bulls marching in the
opposite direction to the animals parading in the two inner circles, and
thus relieving the otherwise aggressive monotony of the decorations. The
preservation of the handle by which it was held or suspended is an
additional point of interest. Unfortunately these platters bear no
cuneiform inscriptions, though a few of them contain an inscription
written in Phœnician characters on the reverse, which is probably an
indication that they were fashioned by Phœnician artists, if they were
not actually made in Phœnicia itself. As has been already stated, some
of the dishes under consideration are clearly Assyrian in art and
conception, while others are as certainly Egyptian, but notwithstanding
this fact, there is evidence to show that those betokening the greatest
Egyptian influence did not originate in Egypt, and were probably not the
work of Egyptian artists. One of these dishes for example is decorated
with a circle of cartouches containing Egyptian hieroglyphs: but the
hieroglyphs are placed together quite haphazard, they mean nothing, and
this fact alone would suggest that the artist, whoever he was, was not
an Egyptian but a plagiarist.
The varying and distinct styles of art to which the decorations of these
different dishes conform, are illustrated again in an equally
conspicuous manner in the carved ivories, which were discovered on the
same site and in the same palace.
As has been already seen, engraving was not the only manner in which the
Assyrians utilized metal for artistic and pictorial purposes; they also
learned to excel in metal repoussé work, a process whereby the figures
are beaten out in relief on the reverse, though they are sometimes
finished off with a graver on the right side. The bronze gate-bands
discovered by Rassam at Balâwât are by far the largest and most
important monument of this branch of Assyrian metallurgy. Balâwât is
situated about fifteen miles south-east of Nineveh, and on this site
Rassam discovered the remains of four pairs of large folding-doors. Of
two pairs of these doors the cedar-wood backing still remained, but all
that remained of the other two were the bronze bands which were nailed
on to the doors themselves for decorative purposes. These bands were
fashioned and affixed to the wooden doors by Shalmaneser II, king of
Assyria from 860 to 825 B.C. The largest of these doors was nearly
twenty-two feet in height, six feet in width and three inches thick.
Each of these doors was attached to a rounded post, the diameter of
which was about eighteen inches, and the foot of which was covered with
bronze with a view to facilitating its revolution in the stone
gate-socket which was destined to hold it and the affixed door.
[Illustration: FIG. 43.—Bronze gate-band from Balâwât. (British
Museum.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 44.—Bronze gate-band from Balâwât. (British
Museum.)]
In Fig. 43 we have a reproduction of a portion of one of these bands. In
the upper register we have a procession of foot-soldiers armed with
maces, swords, bows and quivers, and also a charioteer, all in
attendance on the king, who goes before; in the lower register a number
of chariots are seen crossing a river by means of a bridge of boats. The
whole is beaten out in relief on the reverse, with the exception of
fine lines representing the horses’ trappings or the decoration of
garments. Strange to say, the reins of the chariot horses on these
gate-sheaths are sometimes raised in relief by the repoussé method,
sometimes on the other hand they are incised. At the top and bottom of
each register a row of the ubiquitous rosettes are introduced as a
decorative accessory, and the nails which fastened the metal bands to
the woodwork transfixed the rosettes. In Fig. 44 we have another scene
in which is represented the capture of a certain city called Dabigu. The
centre of the upper register is occupied with a representation of the
Assyrian camp, within which the king is seen seated before the royal
pavilion and attended by two eunuchs, while behind the camp there is
another band of eunuchs, and in front to the right of the register there
is a detachment of bowmen. Below, the assault of the city “by the
assault of engines and the attack of foot soldiers and mines and
breaches”[114] is vividly represented. The city itself has apparently an
outer and an inner wall, both of which are crenelated as usual. The
outer wall has an arched gate to the left, while within the city there
are various conical shaped objects which recall the domed and conical
roofs seen in Fig. 9. Three archers are defending the inner wall of the
city, while only one archer and another warrior remain at their posts on
the outer wall, the lower part of which appears to be speedily
succumbing to the irresistible attack of the battering-ram. The latter
has six wheels and seems to bear a kind of platform on which some
Assyrian soldiers have taken their stand and from which they are
discharging their unerring shafts; behind are a troop of archers
actively engaged though very passively portrayed, as is always the case
with Assyrian representations of human beings.[115]
In the recent excavations conducted by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft
at Ashur, bronze plates for overlaying and decorating doors, precisely
similar to those found by Rassam at Balâwât, were brought to light.
But bronze found its natural sphere of use in the necessities of daily
life, and afforded a first-class material wherefrom to fashion knives,
tools, swords, and implements of all kinds; many of these have been
brought to light by Layard and other excavators, while without doubt the
innumerable spears, swords, shields and arrows depicted on the Assyrian
bas-reliefs were made of this metal. It was used also in the manufacture
of personal ornaments, such as finger rings and bracelets. Bronze was
similarly used in Babylonia during the Neo-Babylonian dynasty, and was
employed for building as well as for other purposes; doorsteps were
sometimes made of bronze, and one such bronze step bearing an
inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II (cf. above, p. 131) is preserved in the
British Museum. It is interesting to note the discovery of similar
bronze doorsteps by the French excavators at Susa, especially bearing in
mind the close relationship which existed between the two countries and
peoples throughout their history, though unfortunately Mesopotamia has
at present offered no parallel to the life-size statue in bronze of
Napir-asu, the wife of Untash-gal king of Elam about 1600 B.C. A small
bronze plaque bearing in relief the four-winged demon of the south-west
winds was discovered by Layard, and is now preserved in the British
Museum (No. 86262), while a statuette of the same picturesque creature
and made of the same material now adorns the galleries of the Louvre.
The demon in question is of a highly composite character like so many of
the Babylonian and Assyrian genii. His body resembles that of a dog, his
arms find their natural or unnatural termination in lion’s claws, his
head is a caricature of a human skeleton, which is in its turn crowned
with the horns of a goat, his tail is that of a scorpion, and his back
is protected with four huge wings, which in their extended position form
a grim and fitting background to the whole. But this demon, hideous as
it is, was constructed for distinctly beneficent purposes, and was used
as a talisman. One perhaps might not have at once conjectured that this
fascinating personage was really the embodiment of the south-west wind,
but fortunately he bears an inscription on his back which removes all
doubt on the point. He was destined to be suspended from the door or
window of a house in order to scare away any spirits of evil or doubtful
intentions. The figure is unnatural in its conception, but it is grimly
realistic and full of life, if not life-like, and in some ways recalls
the hideous wicker-work and feather-covered war-gods of the Hawaiians.
Gold has not been found as frequently as one could wish in the course of
Babylonian and Assyrian excavations; doubtless this is in part due to
the depredations of booty-hunters, but it is nevertheless an indication
that it was only used for exceptional purposes as is indeed the case
with us to-day. It was regularly used for commercial transactions; a
good example of its use in this connection is afforded by a tablet
belonging to the Kassite period, the text of which is to be found in
Vol. XIV (40) of the University of Pennsylvania’s publication.[116] A
woman agrees to adopt a girl, tend her during life, and after death
offer libations of water for the repose of her soul, and as
consideration she receives the sum of seven shekels of gold. One of the
earliest pieces of gold actually discovered in Babylonia is the narrow
strip inscribed with the name of Narâm-Sin of Agade, to which we have
already had occasion to allude (cf. p. 103).
But gold was also employed for decorative purposes; at Abû Shahrein
(Eridu) for example, Taylor found various fragments of gold on the base
of the second storey of the ziggurat,—apparently the remains of the
ornamentation of the sanctuary which doubtless crowned the tower;
gold-headed nails and fragments of gold leaf were also found on the same
site. In the course of the recent excavations at Ashur, a representation
of lightning in gold, about a foot and a half in length, which doubtless
was once in the grasp of the hand of a life-size statue of Adad, the
storm-god, was brought to light. The handle was made of wood, but was
covered with a thin sheath of pure gold. The three-pronged end, of which
only two remain, was welded to this covering. The whole is said to weigh
about 290 grains, 250 of which represent the weight of the gold. At
Babylon, the most famous of all the cities in the Euphrates valley, gold
was employed with great prodigality. As early as the first dynasty of
Babylon it was used in the service of the gods, and Sumu-la-ilu, the
second king of this dynasty, built a throne of gold and silver for the
great lord Marduk,[117] while the statues of the gods themselves were
frequently made wholly or in part of pure gold; thus for example
Nabû-aplu-iddina, king of Babylon _circ._ 870 B.C., tells us that he
carefully prepared the image of Shamash, the Sun-god, with pure gold and
lapis lazuli, while the famous statue of Marduk of Babylon would also
appear to have been made of pure gold.
The temple of E-sagil erected at Babylon in honour of this same god was
covered with gold, silver and precious stones by Ashur-bani-pal,[118]
king of Assyria from 668 to 626 B.C. Yet later Nebuchadnezzar added his
contribution to the great work of restoration; he built a certain
magnificent chamber called Ekua, the walls of which he made of pure
gold, and the cedar-wood roof of which he also covered with the same
precious metal, while he similarly decorated the cedar-wood roof of
Nabû’s shrine with gold. Gold was further used for personal adornment;
in the Amran mound at Babylon, which represents the site of the
world-renowned E-sagil, a gold ear-ring was found upon a platform
composed of bricks bearing the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and therefore
possibly belonging to his time, while a plate of gold was also found in
the same neighbourhood, and rings of gold are perpetually mentioned in
Babylonian and Assyrian literature.
Many golden face-masks, ear-rings, necklaces and other pieces of
jewellery have been found in Babylonia, but for the most part their date
is uncertain, the only certainty about them being their comparative
lateness: they may probably be assigned to the Sassanidian period, and
consequently their treatment will be outside the scope of the present
volume.
[Illustration: FIG. 45.—(Cf. Cat., p. 372; _Déc. en Chald._, Pl. 43.)
(Musée de Louvre.)]
Silver was also used for much the same purposes as those for which gold
was employed. The finest and at the same time the earliest specimen of
the Babylonian silversmith’s art has been bequeathed to us by Entemena,
one of the more famous rulers of the first dynasty of Lagash, and takes
the form of a magnificent silver vase. This renowned vase (cf. Fig. 45)
is some twenty-eight inches in height, and rests upon a copper base
seven inches high, while the largest diameter is eighteen inches. The
copper base is supported by four feet resembling the paws of lions, and
on the centre of the vase just above two of these feet, is engraved the
lion-headed eagle with outstretched wings whose two claws firmly grip
the backs of two lions facing in opposite directions, a motif frequently
found on the works of art belonging to the period of the first dynasty
of Lagash, and representing the heraldic arms of that ancient city.
Above the other two feet of the base the motif is slightly varied, the
two lions being exchanged in one case for two deer, in the other for two
goats. Each lion is engaged in putting its teeth into the mouth of the
deer or the goat of the adjoining group, the whole thus forming a
continuous chain admirably suited for the decoration of a circular vase.
The lion-headed eagles and their submissive animals, are separated from
the upper and lower portions of the vase by means of a double fish-bone
line; upon the upper part of the vase are seven heifers all facing in
the same direction, and all in a semi-reclining attitude, one of their
fore-legs being raised preparatory to standing up; these heifers are
marvellously life-like and true to nature, and already we seem to see in
them the forerunners of those masterpieces of Assyrian art which adorned
the palace walls of Ashur-bani-pal. This scene of country life was
evidently very popular at this period, it occurs on the little
sculptured block seen in Fig. 27, as well as elsewhere. But success in
the reproduction of animal life at this epoch seems to have been largely
conditioned by the artist’s abstention from trying to depict the animals
full-face; when he aspires to the latter the result is amazingly
stereotyped and formal, and a comparison between the lion-headed eagles
and the lions on the one hand, and these spirited heifers, at once
reveals the contrast, as well as the cause of the contrast. The artist
himself was evidently conscious of his failure, for he has striven, but
it must be admitted without much success, to impart life to his lions
and lion-headed eagles by elaborating the wings of the one and the mane
of the other by means of an altogether extravagant amount of detailed
attention. The inscription round the neck informs us that this vase was
dedicated by Entemena, the fourth successor of Ur-Ninâ, to the god
Nin-girsu in his temple Eninnu, during the priesthood of one Dudu, whose
name also occurs on the little sculptured block (cf. Fig. 27), thus
proving the contemporaneity, which the style of art to which the
decorations on both conform would have independently led us to infer.
But silver sometimes played a subsidiary, though nevertheless from the
artistic point of view an essential part in the decoration of metal
figures: a good example of the latter is afforded by a bronze figure of
a bull, already referred to (cf. Fig. 40, D).
It is somewhat uncertain whence they obtained their silver; in a letter
of Lu-enna to Enitarzi, a ruler who apparently flourished shortly after
the first dynasty of Lagash, silver is mentioned as forming part of the
booty taken from Elam, and in later times it was one of the principal
items of tribute exacted by the Assyrian kings from their vassal
princes, and as such, is frequently mentioned on the Black Obelisk of
Shalmaneser II. The excavations have yielded very few relics made of
this material, the reason again being probably due to the predatory
raids of booty-hunters. Of smaller objects belonging to the Assyrian
period may be mentioned a silver bell with a bronze clapper, a silver
ring set with a garnet, and a silver bracelet, all in the British
Museum, but the dates of these are unfortunately quite uncertain. That
it was used extensively, however, is shown not only by the important
place which it occupies in the tribute brought by subject tribes and
peoples, but also by the allusions made to this metal in the royal
inscriptions. Thus Esarhaddon informs us that he covered the doors of
one of his palaces with this precious metal. Idols were also sometimes
made of silver as well as of gold, to both of which classes
Tiglath-Pileser I makes allusion in one of his inscriptions.[119]
With two of the so-called “baser metals” we have already had occasion to
deal at some length, owing to the important part they played in the
civilization of the Babylonians and Assyrians, but we have tangible as
well as linguistic evidence of their acquaintance with and utilization
of other metals as well as gold, silver, copper and bronze. It has been
shown that lead was sometimes used as an alloy, but it was sometimes
used in its unmixed state; a very interesting example of its use in this
latter condition is to be found in a gate-socket now preserved in the
British Museum. The socket itself is made of bronze, but it is set in
solid lead. The date of this unique object is uncertain, but it may
probably be assigned to the Assyrian era. Few leaden objects have as
yet been yielded by the excavations, though it is frequently mentioned
as forming part of the tribute of subject peoples, and we know that it
was used in the manufacture of colours, as well as being placed inside
the hollow lion-weights found at Nimrûd to add the specific gravity
required. In Egypt lead would appear to have been known and used at a
very early period, judging from the little statuette in the British
Museum, which apparently dates from about the time of the First Dynasty,
and is said to be made of solid lead.
Iron was first known to the Babylonians in its meteoric state, for its
designation is AN-BAR, which signifies “stone of heaven.” Allusions to
objects made of this metal are very frequent in the inscriptions of
Assyrian kings. Tiglath-Pileser I for example makes reference to a
certain lance of iron, and Shalmaneser II to the point of an iron
dagger, while both the latter king and Adadnirari III mention iron as
forming part of the tribute they received from their vassal-kings. A
century later Tiglath-Pileser III records that he put iron chains upon a
certain Zaquriu and his followers, while a hundred years after,
Ashur-bani-pal refers to an iron dagger overlaid with gold.[120]
Place found a number of iron axe-heads, knives and other implements at
Khorsabad, while Layard discovered a bracelet, a lock-plate, some
spear-heads, two reaping-hooks, rings and staples, axe-heads,
arrow-heads, finger-rings and a part of a helmet, all made of iron, in
the north-west palace at Nimrûd. An interesting specimen of oriental
ironwork was found at Babylon by the German excavators in the shape of
an iron rod beautifully decorated with a series of polished ornaments,
and possibly formed part of a royal throne. Lastly many of the Assyrian
bronze bells already alluded to have tongues made of iron.
Iron was apparently not known or at all events not used in Mesopotamia
as early as it was in Egypt. Evidence of its use in the early dynastic
period was afforded by Maspero’s discovery of this metal in a fifth
dynasty pyramid in 1882, and Petrie discovered a piece of worked iron in
sixth dynasty deposits, while in the year 1837 iron was discovered in
the Great Pyramid of Gizeh.
Sufficient will have been said to indicate the important part played by
metal in the history of both the Babylonians and Assyrians; not only was
it used as a commercial medium of exchange, it was also adapted to the
innumerable requirements of humanity; implements, weapons, vases,
personal decorations were all easily realized in this pliable and at the
same time durable substance, while the artistic genius of the
Mesopotamian population which finds its most perfect expression in the
sculptured bas-reliefs of early and late date, was entirely dependent on
the forging of metal tools and implements for the purpose.