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Assyrian sacred trees in the Brooklyn Museum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

Pauline Albenda
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The Brooklyn Museum houses twelve stone slabs with carved decoration from the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II. The motif of a stylized tree — the so-called Sacred Tree (see Figs. 1, 4, 6) — appears on seven of those slabs which come from rooms F, I, L, S, T of the ninth century palace at Nimrud. These tree renderings are representative of the sacred tree-type found in ten rooms of the royal residence and the west wing. Approximately 96 sacred trees, in two-register arrangement, appeared on the pictorial decorations in room I; the same motif occurred about 75 times in one-register arrangement on the reliefs of the other rooms. The abundance of the sacred tree motif on the wall decorations of the Northwest Palace attests to the significance of this plant. Its design deserves investigation; in Layard's words, “the tree, evidently a sacred symbol, is elaborately and tastefully formed.”

In his study of the Ashurnasirpal II reliefs in American collections, Stearns did not attempt to list the sacred trees, because “variations in the sacred tree occur only in minor details,” and “the tree in itself is rarely useful in identifying the location of the reliefs.” These statements make clear Stearns' belief that the sacred trees were nearly alike. Other scholars, notably Weidner and Reade, have pointed out that on a number of slabs now in American and European museums are carvings of matching half trees, therefore indicating that when paired, these trees belonged to adjoining slabs originally. In trying to match half trees, one finds that individual sacred trees do differ in the rendering of specific details. Bleibtreu, in her analysis of the sacred tree-type, lists three variants of the flower found on the palmette-garland framing the individual tree on three sides. The present author, after examining the sacred trees carved on the slabs in The Brooklyn Museum, concludes that the design of the tree-type is more varied than heretofore presumed, and that its construction is more complex than indicated in previous descriptions of the subjects. An analysis of the Assyrian sacred tree-type may lead to possible conclusions regarding its intended image: a stylized palm tree, a cult object, an emblem of vegetation or “tree of life”, an imperial symbol, or a combination of those forms. In addition, one may consider to what extent the rendering of individual trees was the consequence of artistic inventiveness.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 56 , 1994 , pp. 123 - 133
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1994 

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References

1 Paley, S. M., King of the World, Ashur-nasir-pal II of Assyria 883–859 B.C. (Brooklyn, 1976)Google Scholar.

2 The other rooms of the palace are B, C, G, H, N. For the proposed placement of the sacred trees in the royal residence, see: Meuszyński, J., Die Rekonstruktion der Reliefdarstellungen und ihrer Anordnung im Nordwestpalast von Kalḫu (Nimrūd). Baghdader Forschungen 2 (1981)Google Scholar, Pls. 1–3 (B), Pl. 4 (C), Pls. 6–7 (F), Pls. 8–9 (G), Pls. 11–12 (H), Pls. 16–17 (N); Paley, S. and Sobolewski, R. P., The Reconstruction of the Relief Representations and their Positions in the Northwest-Palace at Kalḫu (Nimrūd) II. Baghdader Forschungen 10 (1987)Google Scholar: Pls. 1–2 (I), Pls. 2–3 (S), Pl. 4 (T), Pl. 5 (west wing).

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5 See: Weidner, E., Die Reliefs der assyrischen Könige. Archiv für Orientforschung, Beiheft 4 (Graz, 1939; repr. 1976), 112–117, 133 Google Scholar; Reade, J. E., “Twelve Ashur-Nasirpal Reliefs,” Iraq 27 (1965): 126 fCrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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9 Color — black, red, white — is still visible on a number of surviving slabs from the royal residence, particularly on parts of the body and garments of the king and genies. For an idea of how the sacred tree in color may have been conceived in antiquity, compare the decorated knobbed plates dated to the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (in this instance, yellow glaze is substituted for the red pigment of the reliefs); see, Albenda, P., Decorated Assyrian Knob-Plates in the British Museum, Iraq 53 (1991): 49–50 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, Pls. V top center, VI center, VII–X.

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11 Paley, , King of the World, 56, 70 Google Scholar, Pls. 8, 12.

12 Ibid., 62, 63, 76, Pls. 13–15.

13 Ibid., 50, Pl. 1; Meuszyński, , Die Rekonstruktion der Reliefdarstellungen, 37, 70–71 Google Scholar.

14 See: Beaux, N., Le Cabinet de curiosités de Thutmosis III. Plantes et animaux du “Jardin botanique” de Karnak. Orien-talia Lovaniensia Analecta 36 (Leuven, 1990), 205–206 Google Scholar; Moortgat, A., Vorderasiatische Rollsiegel. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Steinschneidekunst (Berlin, 1940)Google Scholar, Nos. 548 (Syrian), 688 (Babylon); idem., The Art of Ancient Mesopotamia. The Classical Art of the Near East (London, 1969)Google Scholar, Pl. K, 7 (Middle Assyrian).

15 Stearns, Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Pls. 7, 8, 33, 56, 57, 59.

16 Ibid., Pl. 25, p. 32; Terrace, E. L. B., The Art of the Ancient Near East in Boston. (Boston, 1962)Google Scholar, Pl. 78.

17 Paley, and Sobolewski, , The Reconstruction of the Relief Representation, 51 Google Scholar.

18 Ibid., Pl. 4. The carvers of the sacred trees were not necessarily the same as those of the genies and human figures. The two groups of subject matter may have been carved on the reliefs at slightly different times.

19 Genies wearing two-horned helmets were positioned in the adjacent room Z. In addition, compare the renderings of the elongated beard on genies from room L, who likewise wear helmets with two horns (Paley, King of the World, Pl. 22, c; Stearns, Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Pls. 9, 31, 34). The present author suggests position T-9 for the Boston slab and T-10 for the Williams College slab, based upon the following evidence: matching half trees, the standard Type B 19-line inscription (see Reade, J. E., Texts and Sculptures from the North-West Palace, Nimrud, Iraq 47 (1985): 208–209)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, the comparative measurements of the two slabs and plinths (Paley and Sobolewski, ibid., 50, 73, plan 5). It may be noted, too, that the Boston and Williams College slabs were removed from the Northwest palace in the early 1850s, at about the same time as the many other stone reliefs which shortly thereafter were shipped to colleges in the United States. On this subject, see: Stearns, , Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, 2–3, 5–16 Google Scholar; Francke, D. S., in Crawford, V. E., Harper, P. O., and Pittman, H., Assyrian Reliefs and Ivories in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1980), 40–46 Google Scholar.

20 See: Porter, , JNES 53 (1993)Google Scholar; Fig. 4. This relief possibly orignates from room S of the Northwest Palace: Paley, , King of the World, 70–71 Google Scholar; Barnett, R. D. and Lorenzini, A., Assyrian Sculpture in the British Museum (Toronto, 1975)Google Scholar, Pl. 34 (detail of B.M. 124579). Barnett describes the relief as originating from the “Throne Room”. Reade, however, suggests room WM or another room of the west wing for the relief's provenance; Iraq 47 (1986): 211 Google Scholar.

21 Stearns, Reliefs from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Pls. 9, 17, 18, 31, 34, 40; Meuszyński, , Die Rekonstruktion der Reliefdarstellungen, 66–71 Google Scholar, Tafel 14.

22 See: Stearns, ibid., Pls. 73, 78, 81. The sacred trees on the slabs in room H are similar to those in room I, except that there are two binding devices on the body of the trunk; ibid., Pls. 75, 80.

23 Meuszyński, , Die Rekonstruktion der Reliefaarstellungen, 37 Google Scholar, Tafel 7.

24 Meuszyński, J., The Throne-Room of Aššur-naṣir-apli II, (Room B in the North-West Palace at Nimrud), Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 64 (1975): 54, 56, 63, 66 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, Figs. 9–12, 15–16, 18 (slabs B-21, B-25, B-31), Pls. I, II, IX.

25 Barnett and Lorenzini, Assyrian Sculpture, Pl. 13. A similar tree is depicted on slab B-13; Meuszyński, ibid., Fig. 6.

26 Sacred trees of the 8th century show nine fronds; see Bleibtreu, Die Flora der neuassyrischen Reliefs, Pl. 6, Fig. 42.

27 Meuszyński, , Die Rekonstruktion der Reliefaarstellungen, 44–49, 73–76 Google Scholar, Tafel 8, 9, 16. It should be noted that the sacred trees on slabs N-15, N-16 show the rayed style.

28 See: Beaux, , Le Cabinet de curiosités de Thutmosis III, 108 Google Scholar. Compare the profile view of a rosette disk which extends from the headband of a genie; Barnett and Lorenzini, Assyrian Sculpture, Pl. 4.

29 Here, a practical method of attachment may have been similar to that used for mirrors, see: Albenda, P., Mirrors in the Ancient Near East, Source. Notes in the History of Art IV/2–3 (1985): 5–7 Google Scholar; Nemet-Nejat, K. R., A Mirror Belonging to the Lady-of-Uruk, in Cohen, , Snell, , Weisberg, , eds., The Tablet and the Scroll: Near Eastern Studies in Honor of William W. Hallo (Bethseda, 1993), 163–168 Google Scholar.

30 For example, see Bleibtreu, Die Flora der neuassyrischen Reliefs, Figs. 16, 22. For discussion of the daisy-like and palmette flowers, see B. P. Mallowan, Magic and Ritual in the Northwest Palace Reliefs, in Harper, P. O. and Pittman, H., eds., Essays on Near Eastern Art and Archaeology in Honor of Charles Kyrie Wilkinson (New York, 1983), 37–38 Google Scholar.

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35 Jacobsen, T., The Treasures of Darkness, A History of Mesopotamian Religion (New Haven and London, 1976), 34–37, 135, 140–141 Google Scholar. The date palm connection with Ishtar is also discussed by Porter, , JNES, 138–139 Google Scholar.

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39 Paley, S., King of the World, 63–64 Google Scholar.

40 Albenda, , Iraq 53 (1991): 46, 52–53 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, Pls. VII, VIII, IX, X.

41 Gadd gives a similar conclusion by noting that the tree is itself the source of magic virtue. Without further comment, he dismisses the identification of the tree as a palm. See, Ideas of Divine Rule in the Ancient East, (London, 1948), 91–92 Google Scholar.

42 Barnett and Lorenzini, Assyrian Sculptures, Pls. 2, 13.