Antiquity · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1943.246
Saluting Protective Spirit
Unknown maker, 883–859 BCE
Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · Public domain
- Artist
- Unknown maker
- Date
- 883–859 BCE
- Medium
- gypsum
- Dimensions
- Overall: 229.9 x 137 cm (90 1/2 x 53 15/16 in.)
- Era
- Antiquity
Why it matters
Striding forward with muscular arms and legs, this winged deity offers a gesture of salutation along with symbols of agricultural bounty. Inscribed with an account of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II's military conquests and victories, this relief once stood alongside hundreds of similar ones that decorated the palace at Nimrud.