Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal free essay sample

The lion and the servant are in supporting role to make Ashurbanipal standout from the rest of the composition. In the relief Ashurbanipal is highly decorated both in appearance and stature; his head is draped with a crown that has a flower design, which also reoccurs on his tunic from his waist down to the first break. His hair is neatly formed under the crown and his beard is neatly formed denoting his status as someone of power due to its size and style. His left hand is out-stretched grabbing the lions throat while his right hand holding a sword thrusting it into the lions abdomen. One would also notice the carved detail in his right hand showing the forearms muscles while holding the hilt of the sword. Also in his left arm he is holding a bow around his shoulders. Ashurbanipal’s upper portion of his tunic is detailed with horizontal and vertical lines which make it look like it is some form of stippling. We will write a custom essay sample on Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The lower portion of his tunic is detailed with geometric flower shapes and has seven breaks total. The other six breaks have circular shapes or diagonal lines. His calves are also detailed with some form of hatched texture perhaps some form of chainmail. This figure is wearing some form of footwear that is bound by threads wrapped around his ankle to his calves. The lion is to the right of Ashurbanipal standing on his two hind legs in an attack stance. The lion is perhaps just as detailed as Ashurbanipal. One first notice how detailed the lions main is and how realistic the face is with detail in his nose and cheeks. The lion’s facial express shows anger with his front two legs reaching to attack Ashurbanipal but halted by the hand around his throat and the sword in its abdomen. The lion’s legs are in high detail with muscles protruding from his attack stance and claws out ready to kill. His abdomen has a sword protruding out the back, which also has some detail of back bone and rib cage. The viewer would also notice that the lion has an arrow in his forehead. Lastly the servant, perhaps the least detailed of the three figures is standing behind the middle character. The viewer can tell he is a servant because he is not participating in the killing of the lion. The servant is holding a bow in his left hand and arrows in his right with a quiver on his back. The quiver has one flower design like on Ashurbanipal’s forehead band and his lower tunic. The quiver also has both horizontal lines and diagonal lines perhaps depicting thread of some form. His garment has little to no detail on it, only a few lines that breaks his upper portion to his lower, the servant also has a semi-circle on his chest. His hair is shorter than Ashurbanipal and he has no beard. One would also notice that the servant is the smallest figure giving him the least amount of attention and showing the viewer that he is of less importance to both the lion and the main character. In conclusion, one would first notice that this work of art is in low relief carved into stone from a series of other relief from the North Palace at Nineveh present day Iraq (Frankfort 1996, 186). The viewer then will notice that there are three figures two male human and one lion figure. Ashurbanipal the main focus of the work is in the middle larger than the other two supporting figures. This work is highly detailed in all three subjects, the different designs and size separates them and shows there importance in the relief. And lastly you would notice that this is a hunting scene; due to Ashurbanipal’s sword thrust into the lion’s abdomen, an arrow on the lion’s forehead while the servant watches holding the tools necessary for hunting. Bibliography: * Frankfort, H. 1996. The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient. New Haven: Yale University Press.