Neo-Assyrian wall panel
- Gallery: Room 6a
- Culture: Neo-Assyrian
- Date: 865BC-860BC
- Object type: wall panel, relief
- Materials: gypsum
- Museum number: 118895
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a remarkable Neo-Assyrian wall panel, dating to around 860 BC. This fragment once formed part of a grand lion relief guarding the entrance to the Temple of Ishtar, a powerful goddess of fertility and war. The colossal lion is one of a pair, though it is now badly damaged by fire.
Carved from gypsum in high relief, the sculpture's original size was nearly 4 meters long, emphasizing the imposing presence of these temple guardians. The inscriptions in cuneiform script record the name, titles, and military achievements of King Ashurnasirpal II.
This work connects with the ancient Assyrian tradition of using powerful animals to symbolize divine authority and royal strength. The lion was sketched by the artist Poynter and later inspired lions on the staircase of a legendary depiction of Solomon’s throne.
Take a moment to observe the lion's original grandeur and imagine how it would have stood in a vast and sacred space.
See it in person
Neo-Assyrian wall panel is on display in Room 6a at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
