Page 122 - The Art & Architecture of the Ancient Orient_Neat

THE LATE ASSYRIAN PERIOD

figures, yet it enables us to gauge the new emphasis on representative display which
marks the art of Sargon. Recently painted scenes of an earlier period have been dis­
covered at Nimrud.33
Sargon’s reliefs arc less varied than those of earlier reigns. A fragment of the wars
against Merodachbaladan, king of the Sea-land, survives.39 There was also a square
room at Khorsabad, at the extreme north-western end of the palace (Figure 30), which
was decorated all round with scenes of hunting (Plate 98). Sargon appears in his chariot;
courtiers and soldiers shoot at the birds or carry a variety of game. Among their quarry
appears a gazelle, which is at home in the steppe, and appears incongruously in the
setting of the wooded foothills within easy reach from Sargon’s residence, which is de­
picted here so well. But in any case we should not exaggerate the realism of the Assyrian
artists; note the regular alternation in the size of both the figures and the trees in these
reliefs, which aims at (and achieves) a harmonious disposition of the design at the cost
of verisimilitude; the effect resembles that of a richly figured tapestry. There were two
bands of these scenes, each three feet nine inches high, with a band of inscription two
feet three inches wide to separate them.
The hunting scenes are exceptional; the majority of the Khorsabad reliefs serve not
narrative but representational purposes. The huge figures of the king and his courtiers,
over nine feet high, cover the walls with their formal processions (Plate 96-7)* They
create the effect of impersonal authority, a powerful hierarchy moving at the will of its
master, an administration so far elevated above the king’s other subjects that these can
but submit to its commands. The extraordinary elaboration of detail - hair and costume,
bracelets, sword-hilts, furniture - sustains the main impression by unobtrusively flaunt­
ing the riches of which the Court disposes. A sparing use of colour seems to have height­
ened the effect of the reliefs; the eyes were outlined with black, the hair was tinted black,
and traces of red also survive.
In the palace of Assurnasirpal II similar designs were found (Plate 89), but they were
rare in comparison with the narrative reliefs, isolated panels, framed by supernatural be­
ings. At Khorsabad the huge courts showed a succession of figures, converging towards
Sargon. Their splendour and majesty appear clearly if we compare them with those of
an earlier reign (Plate 94). At Khorsabad the emphasis was on the simple fact of royal
power, not on royal power as demonstrated in the achievement of war or in the struggle
with wild beasts. Since the king’s power appears unrelated to any action, it cannot be
questioned. Even in the corridors, where subsidiary scenes were carved on the ortho­
stats, no detailed story is given. One sees grooms leading the king’s horses, in lively,
well-executed groups. The beholder cannot become absorbed in considering events and
their implications. He is simply confronted with a number of splendid animals of which
the king disposes.
The tradition of narrative is mea grely represented at Khorsabad, but it regains its im­
portance in die next reign. Sargon’s son, Sennacherib, reverted to the older usage. But
the decoration of Sargon’s palace, while it restricted tire repertoire, had widened the
scope of the sculptors by using larger stones and not dividing their surfaces. A tendency
to broaden the strip of design can already be observed under Tiglathpil
esar III (Plate 94B)
93