Suong Nguyen
HUN192.1383
April 07, 2007
Human-headed Winged Lion
The
Human-headed
winded
lion
originally were one pair of guardian figures
that were set up in the palace of Ashurnasirpal
II (883-859 B.C.) at the Assyrian capital
Kalhu. One of them is now placed in the New
York Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is 3.09
meter in height and 3.15 metered in length.
These limestone sculptures have a humanhead, a winged bull and a lion’s body. The
horned cap attests to their divinity, and the
belt signifies power. The face is believed to
be a portrait of king, Ashurnasirpal II. There is an interesting trait about this statue: The
sculptor gave these guardian figures five legs so that they appear to be standing firmly
when viewed from the front, but striding forward when there are seen from the side.
Stone sculptures of mythological figures were often placed as guardians at
gateways to palaces and temples in ancient Mesopotamia. These figures were known to
the Assyrians as lamassu. In Mesopotamian mythology, the lamassu were legendary
creatures who had the faces of men, the bodies of lions, and the wings of an eagle. They
were said to guard temples and would attack all, but the purest good or the purest evil. In
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other words, this was a type of demon, but they were demons of a benevolent nature,
protective spirits of the houses, palaces and cities.
In
the
palace
of
Ashurnasirpal II, the pairs of
human-headed lions decorated
the gateways and supported the
arches above them. They often
were placed as a pair, one on
each side of the stairs that led to
the door. The Human-headed
winded lion were designed to protect the palace from demonic forces, and may even have
guarded the entrance to the private apartments of the king.
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