From Nimrud, ancient Khalku; from Room I of the North-West Palace of Assurnasirpal II
883-859 BC
SAlabastrine limestone.
Height 77.5 cm.
cat. 14989.

The reign of Assurnasirpal II marks the first great flourishing of Neo-Assyrian figurative art, which is expounded in the decoration of the monumental Royal Palace that the sovereign had erected at the north-western extremity of the Acropolis of Nimrud, the ancient Kalhu. The two reliefs exhibited belong to the slabs dedicated to the mythical-symbolic theme of the adoration of the Sacred Tree, a symbol of the regality which is the bearer of fecundity and life.