Assyria: Nimrud, Room 8

Give a palace relief enough space for its figures to fall into sequence. The carvings displayed across Rooms 7 and 8 came from the throne room and other royal apartments of Ashurnasirpal II’s Northwest Palace at Nimrud. A king could surround himself with images of successful campaigns, hunting and ritual protection. These subjects made the palace a setting for a particular account of royal power. The figures were carved for walls, with repeated forms and continuing scenes that connected one part of the building to another. The two rooms belong to the same Nimrud display. The length and height of a surviving panel help you imagine how much of the palace wall it occupied.