Winged human-headed bull Mesopotamia Oriental civilisations Richelieu room louvre museum Neo-Assyrian Period, reign of Sargon
Human-headed winged bulls were protective genies called shedu or lamassu, and were placed as guardians at certain gates or doorways of the city and the palace. Symbols combining man, bull, and bird, they offered protection against enemies. A protective genie to guard the city When in around 713 BC Sargon II founded his capital, Dur Sharrukin, present-day Khorsabad, he enclosed it, together with several palaces, within a great wall of unbaked brick pierced by seven gates. Protective genies were placed on either side of these entrances to act as guardians. They also had a strictly architectural function, as they bore some of the weight of the arch above. The excavations undertaken by Paul Botta, beginning in 1843, saw the site cleared and revealed some of the works, which were sent to the Louvre. The drawings and meticulous surveys done then by Eugène Flandin, to be complemented a decade later by the work of Victor Place, indicate the original position of these winged bulls. This one formed the left jamb of Door K in the palace.
Size: 6200px × 4005px
Location: louvre paris france
Photo credit: © Kader Meguedad / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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