New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.

Kneeling Winged Deity by the Sacred Tree

Artist Unknown

CultureAssyrian

Dateca. 875 B.C.E.

MediumAlabaster

DimensionsOverall: 31 x 29 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (78.7 x 75.6 x 3.8 cm)

Credit LineGift of Captain and Mrs. Shirley Douglas Falcke, by exchange

Object number56.49.1

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 113, Case 40

DescriptionAlabaster bas-relief of a kneeling figure. Panel of lopsided square form with very low relief carving of a kneeling figure with arms extended toward flowering stem before him. Figure has wings, curled beard and hair, and a dome shaped hat. Two inch tall band with cuneiform inscription at bottom. Piece broken in quite a few places and repaired. Exhibitable merely because is is only piece from the period.
Label TextKneeling Winged Deity by the Sacred Tree Assyrian (Nimrud, now northern Iraq), 875 B.C.E. Alabaster (stone) Gift of Captain and Mrs. Shirley Douglas Falcke, by exchange 56.49.1 The Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (ruled 883–859 B.C.E.) filled his palace with intricate relief carvings that show the prosperity of his lands. In this panel, a majestic winged deity kneels and pollinates a date palm with his finger. With this simple gesture, the supernatural being ensures the fertility of Ashurnasirpal’s reign while symbolically conferring his blessings over the entire kingdom. ProvenancePalace of Assurnazir-pal at Ninevah, Assyria; Union College, Schenectady, New York; Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, purchase through an exchange; Chrysler Museum of Art, gift of Capt. and Mrs. Shirley Douglas Falcke by exchange, 1956. Published References"Museum adds Assyrian Alabaster Relief," _The Virginian-Pilot and The Portsmouth Star_ (October 27, 1957): 15B. John B. Stearns, _Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II_ (Graz: Selbstverlage des Herausgebers, 1961). _The Chrysler Museum: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Norfolk, Virginia_, (Norfolk: Chrysler Museum, 1982), 10. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 17, fig. 6.