Guardian Figure

Public Domain

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Artist Unknown Near Eastern

CultureNeo-Assyrian

Titles

Guardian Figure

Date883–859 BC

MediumGypsum

Dimensionsrelief: 42 1/8 × 26 × 1 1/2 inches (107 × 66 × 3.8 cm)
width of stone and attached backing material: 2 5/8 inches (6.7 cm)

130 lbs.

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Agnes Cullen Arnold Endowment

Object number80.53

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Antiquities

Object Type

SCULPTURE

ProvenanceFound during excavations at Nimrud, Iraq, by Sir Henry Layard, c. 1840s–1853; purchased by Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder (1831–1900), Lord Sandon, 3rd Earl of Harrowby, Sandon Hall, Linconshire, 1853–1900; by inheritance to his younger brother, Henry Ryder (1836–1900), 4th Earl of Harrowby, 1900; by inheritance to his son, John Herbert Ryder (1864–1956), 5th Earl of Harrowby, 1900–1956; by inheritance to his son, Dudley Ryder (1892–1987), 6th Earl of Harrowby, 1956–1980; sold through [Robin Symes, Limited, London, 1980]; purchase by MFAH, 1980.
Exhibition History

Published References Landay, Janet. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: visitor guide. London: SCALA, 2000. Fig. 1.3 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston with an introduction by Peter C. Marzio. A Permanent Legacy: 150 Works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1989. Pg. 66. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: A Guide to the Collection. Houston: MFAH, 1981. Fig. 12. Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

The inscription at the top of this panel is a portion of one which occurs repeatedly on the panels of the palace of Assurnasirpal II, proclaiming him as the Great King, ruler of the World:
"Doors of cedar, cypress, daprani-juniper, (and) meskannu-wood, I hung in its doorways. Silver, gold, tin, bronze, iron, booty from the lands over which I gained dominion, I took in great quantities and put therein."
[Translation from composite text of Cuneiform Digital Library RIMA 2.0.101.023]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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