Reflections on the Four-Winged Genie: a Pottery Jar and an Ivory Panel from Nimrud

Iranica Antiqua, vol. XXXIII, 1998

REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE: A POTTERY JAR AND AN IVORY PANEL FROM NIMRUD

BY Georgina HERRMANN and John CURTIS1 i) Introduction (GH and JEC)

This article concerns a fragmentary pottery jar that was found at Nimrud in the 19th century and is decorated with stamped designs in the Phoeni- cian style. These show a four-winged genie holding a pair of snakes. Such designs are more commonly represented on ivory panels and there is in fact one from Nimrud that has a larger version of exactly the same composition as on the jar. This paper is dedicated to David Stronach who has made significant contributions to the archaeology of Mesopotamia and Iran. His link with Nimrud goes back to 1957-60 when he participated in the British School of Archaeology excavations, and more recently (1987-90) he returned to Assyria to direct his own excavations at Nineveh. In between, of course, he worked with distinction in Iran, particularly at Pasargadae and Tepe Nush-i Jan. His interests have largely centred on the 1st millennium BC, and it is therefore hoped that he will find something of interest in the present note. ii) The Nimrud jar with stamped decoration (JEC)

The jar is represented by eight rim sherds now in the British Museum, two pairs of which can be joined together (Figs. 1-5). The jar has a wide, ledge-shaped rim, width c. 3.4 cm., and has a maximum diameter of about 48.5 cm. It is preserved only to a maximum depth including the rim of 11.6 cm., so the form of the body of this vessel remains unknown. There is, however, evidence for at least one handle as shown in the drawing. Also, there were a series of lugs positioned just below the rim. The surface

1 Grateful thanks are due to Ann Searight who prepared with her usual skill the draw- ings which accompany this article. 108 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS

Fig. 1a. Stamped potsherd BM 92252. Scale 3:5.

Fig. 1b. Stamped potsherd BM 92250. Scale 3:5. REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 109 of the vessel is cream-buff (Munsell 2.5Y 8/3 pale yellow) in colour, while in the core the fabric is light red (Munsell 5YR 7/4 pink). On the surface, as with much Late Assyrian pottery, there is extensive evidence for burnt-out vegetable inclusions. Around the neck of the vessel there are a series of stamped impressions — we have evidence for at least seven — showing a four-winged genie wearing an {atef-crown and grasping a uraeus in either hand (Figs. 3a-b, 5). This motif is obviously non-Assyr- ian and derives from the Levant, to the west of Assyria. These impressions are made from a stamp measuring about 5.3 cm. in height and 4.9 cm. in width and they are on thin sheets of clay which have been sep- arately applied to the surface of the jar. The detail on the stamped designs is quite fine, suggesting perhaps that the original design was carved on wood or ivory and a clay matrix was then made from that. The clay sheets with the impressions were apparently finer than the clay used to make the jar, which as we have noted has a lot of inclusions. The lack of temper has resulted in some shrinking and cracking of the applied panels during firing. Between the panels there is further stamped design in the form of friezes of lotus-and-bud motif and two rows of stamped circular rosettes with nine petals. Although the stamped designs are applied sepa- rately, and in at least one case (BM 92250) the lotus-and-bud frieze apparently continues to run underneath the applied stamp, there is no reason to think that the applied stamps were not part of the original decorative scheme. What do we know about the provenance of these sherds? In the first publication of them, R.D. Barnett stated categorically that they were “found by Rassam at Nimrud in the temple of Ishtar Kidmuru” (Barnett 1948: 14, n. 78). This may be true, but it is a deduction and not definitely the case. What are the facts of this matter? The sherds belong to a large consignment of material which arrived at the British Museum in the autumn of 1878. This collection comes from the excavations of Hormuzd Rassam in the early part of 1878, principally at Nimrud, Nineveh and Bal- awat. For most of this material there is no detailed information about provenance in the British Museum records, but fortunately the decorated sherds are an exception. A note in the acquisitions register records that “according to a written contemporary label nos. 92248-92252, together with 2 other pieces, were found at Nimrud”. Now, at the beginning of 1878 Rassam’s efforts were mainly directed towards clearing what has been subsequently been identified as the Kidmuru Temple, and Rassam gives a Fig. 2a. Stamped potsherd BM 92251. Scale 3:5.

Fig. 2b. Stamped potsherd BM 92249. Fig. 2c. Stamped potsherd BM 122110. Scale 3:5. Scale 3:5.

Fig. 2d. Stamped potsherd BM 92248. Scale 3:5. Fig. 3a. Stamped impression on BM 92252. Scale 3:2.

Fig. 3b. Stamped impression on BM 92250. Scale 3:2. 112 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS graphic account of its excavation (Rassam 1897: 225-6)2. However, the Kidmuru Temple is only one of a number of shrines in this part of the acropolis mound3, and during his excavation it is likely that Rassam touched on some of the others. Also, it is clear from his account that at this time Rassam was also digging in the south-east corner of the acropolis mound, presumably in the area of the Nabu Temple and the South-East Palace, although he does not seem to have found much in these latter excavations (Rassam 1897: 226). In conclusion, then, it is possible, even probable, that Rassam found the decorated sherds in the Kidmuru Temple, but it is not certain. The Kidmuru Temple is one of a group of temples or shrines close to the north end of the North-West Palace. It was reconstructed by Ashur- nasirpal II who describes it in an inscription as “the temple of the goddess Ishtar, mistress of the divine Kidmuru” and a few lines further on the “temple of the divine Kidmuru” (Grayson 1991: 101.38, lines 19-24). Rassam’s discoveries in this temple included, apart from the stamped potsherds which were possibly found here, a stone altar (BM 118870) with a dedication by Ashurnasirpal to Enlil “who dwells in the temple of Kidmuru” (Grayson 1991: 101.98; Budge 1914: pl. VII/1) and a quantity of polychrome glazed wall-plaques (Curtis and Reade 1995: nos. 50-1; Albenda 1991: 46, pls. V-VI). The Kidmuru Temple and the others in the vicinity also built by Ashurnasirpal were probably destroyed in the years 614-612 B.C.

The sherds are as follows: 1. RM 649. Ht. 5.8 cm., W. 6.2 cm. Top right-hand corner of stamped design, and lug. Joins no. 2 below. 2. BM 92252 (RM 652) (Figs. 1a, 3a). Ht. 11.6 cm., W. 12.9 cm. Stamped design with right hand edge missing, lug. Joins no. 1 above. 3. BM 92251 (RM 653) (Fig. 2a). Ht. 9.6 cm., W. 15.4 cm. Stamped design with bottom right-hand corner missing, lotus-and-bud design, one stamped rosette, lug.

2 See also Postgate and Reade 1976-80: 308-9. 3 See sketch plan in Postgate and Reade 1976-80: fig. 1. For a list of the temples founded or refounded by Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud, see Grayson 1991: 101.30, lines 53- 58. REFLECTIONS ONTHEFOUR-WINGEDGENIE

Fig. 4a. Reconstruction of Nimrud jar with stamped decoration. Drawing by Ann Searight.

Fig. 4b. Suggested arrangement of stamped sherds from Nimrud. 113 Drawing by Ann Searight. 114 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS

Fig. 5. Reconstruction of stamped decoration on Nimrud jar. Drawing by Ann Searight.

4. RM 650. Ht. 5.6 cm., W. 8.7 cm. Small part of lotus-and-bud decoration. 5. BM 92249 (RM 643) (Fig. 2b). Ht. 7.0 cm., W. 10.0 cm. Top left-hand corner of stamped design, lotus- and-bud decoration. Joins no. 6 below. 6. BM 92248 (RM 644) (Fig. 2d). Ht. 8.7 cm., W. 14.1 cm. Top left-hand side of stamped design, lug. Joins no. 5 above. 7. BM 92250 (RM 646) (Figs. 1b, 3b) (Barnett 1948: pl. VIIIg; 1969: pl. VIID). Ht. 9.1 cm., W. 18.6 cm. Stamped design with bottom part missing, lotus-and-bud decoration, four rosettes. 8. BM 122110 (RM 645) (Fig. 2c). Ht. 6.7 cm., W. 7.1 cm. Top right-hand corner of stamped design, lotus- and-bud decoration.

Unfortunately, not enough of this handled jar or bowl survives for mean- ingful comparisons to be made with existing Late Assyrian pottery, but it does seem as if this form is unusual in the Late Assyrian repertoire. How- ever that may be, there are elements of the decoration that are certainly Late Assyrian in inspiration. First, there is the lotus-and-bud frieze that runs around the jar just below the rim. This decoration is often to be found on Assyrian sculpture (eg. Curtis and Reade 1995: no. 45). And then there are the stamped rosettes. They occur on a pottery jar found in Room T20 REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 115 in Fort Shalmaneser at Nimrud during the British Museum excavations in 1989 (Curtis et al. 1993: fig. 27/4). Late Assyrian pottery with stamped rosette decoration was noted by the British School expedition both from Fort Shalmaneser (Oates, J., 1959: 137) and from elsewhere at Nimrud (Oates, D. and J., 1958: 129, n. 1) although it was rare. A rim fragment from a very large jar now in the British Museum (Fig. 6a; 1997-3-24,3)4 comes from the South-East Courtyard in Fort Shalmaneser, from the fill above the throne base. It is decorated with elaborate twelve-petalled rosettes. Also comparable are the eight-petalled rosettes stamped in series along the battlements of a fortress represented in relief on a baked clay storage bin found in debris against the West Gate of Fort Shalmaneser at Nimrud (Mallowan 1966: II, 462, fig. 378). Stamped rosettes also occur on the pottery rhyton found by Mallowan at Nimrud (Curtis and Green 1997: fig. 19, pl. XVIIa). The combination of lotus-and-bud frieze and rosettes is also found on two potsherds that were given by Rassam to the Brighton Museum and were transferred to the British Museum in 1953. They presumably come from Nimrud, possibly from the same excavation as the jar. The larger sherd (Fig. 6b; BM 131666, 1953-10-10,14), measuring 13.5 ≈ 13.35 cm., has stamped decoration consisting of a lotus-and-bud frieze with below that two rows of rosettes and a row of crescent shapes. The smaller sherd (Fig. 6c; BM 131667, 1953-10-10,15), measuring 7.95 ≈ 5.8 cm., has a lotus-and-bud frieze above a single row of rosettes. These sherds are both of the same fabric as the jar with applied stamps, but only BM 131667 has rosettes of the same size and shape and might therefore come from the same vessel. The stamped rosettes on BM 131666 are larger and of a different form. Two more sherds from a large jar with comparable stamped decoration were found in the Nabu Temple at Nimrud during the excavations of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, and are also now in the British Museum. These two non-joining rimsherds measure 15.9 ≈ 10.8 cm. (Fig. 6d; BM 1997-3-24,1)5 and 3.9 ≈ 7.5 cm. (BM 1997-3-24,2) respectively. Again, the fabric is similar to the jar with the applied stamps, and this jar appears to

4 L. 6.9 cm., Ht. 6.2 cm., Diam. c. 45 cm. The fabric is Munsell 5Y 8/3 pale yellow throughout. 5 This sherd is marked in pencil ‘SEB VI, above D pavement, below A(?) pavement’ and in ink ‘SEB VI, 70 cm. above b.b. floor at 1.70’. 116 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS

Fig. 6. Potsherds from Nimrud drawn by Ann Searight. a: BM1997-3-24,3; b: BM131666; c: BM131667; d: BM1997-3-24,1. REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 117 have had about the same diameter. In this case, below the lotus-and-bud frieze there is a row of impressed castellations and below that a row of rosettes. The presence of the lotus-and-bud frieze and the rosettes, then, is indicative of Assyrian influence, and the Assyrian connections of the jar are confirmed by neutron activation analysis of the fabric undertaken by the Department of Scientific Research in the British Museum (see appendix). This shows that the jar with the stamped decoration, and the two sherds referred to above that came from Rassam via the Brighton Museum, are not only of similar composition to each other but also to pottery from the Assyrian or post-Assyrian sites of Khirbet Khatuniyeh, Qasrij Cliff and Khirbet Qasrij in the Eski Mosul Dam Salvage Project. There is therefore good evidence that the jar with the stamped decoration was locally made in Northern Iraq. This is in stark contrast to the design on the stamped plaques which, as we have indicated above, derives from the Levant, and is paralleled on a Nimrud ivory. iii) The Ivory Panel 6 (GH) The ivory panel, ND 7656, is well preserved and nearly complete (Fig. 7a; I.N. V: no. 207, 84, pl. 45). It is presently on deposit in the British Museum. It measures c. 7.6 cm. in height and 5.6 cm. in width and is, therefore, larger than the stamped clay plaques. The design shows a winged male figure advancing left and framed by two pairs of wings of equal size, one pair raised, one lowered. Only a little of his head and crown survive. The composite crown, only partially preserved, is a rather sketchy version of the {atef crown flanked by uraei and mounted on a pair of ram’s horns: this is placed above an Egyptian style wig. He is wearing a beaded collar, thigh-length undertunic and open, ankle-length overskirt, fastened by a belt. His arms are extended between the wings, one in front and one behind, the hands (left not preserved) grasping the body of a snake or uraeus. These are crowned with sun discs but are not winged. The panel was found in the small bathroom SE1 of the rab ekalli’s suite in Fort Shalmaneser. This room produced “burnt ivories and charred wood from a depth of 50 cm. below the surface down to floor level, and this material must clearly have fallen from above” (Oates 1959: 108-9). The

6 I should like to thank Michael Roaf for reading and commenting on sections iii)-v) of this paper. 118 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS

Fig. 7a. Nimrud ivory ND 7656. Scale 1:1.

Fig. 7b. Decoration on bone handle from Hazor. From Yadin 1958: pl CLI.

Fig. 7c. Basalt stela from Syria. REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 119 ivories were an eclectic collection including a few pieces in the Assyrian style, as well as examples from all three imported Levantine traditions, the North Syrian or Syrian, the Intermediate and the ‘Phoenician’ (I.N. V: 13- 14). In 1985, when only the two Levantine traditions were recognized, Winter summarized the difference between them: “Syrian-style ivories may be characterized by a greater sense of action, by squatter, more pow- erful proportions and by more highly charged compositions, compared with the more quiescent, elegant and slender figures harmoniously dis- posed in space of the contemporary Phoenician style” (Winter 1985: 343- 44). Since that time, it has been realized that some schools of carving show elements from both traditions and seem to be transitional between the two known traditions. Schools of this type are considered to belong to the Intermediate tradition. As already suggested in Ivories from Nimrud V (30-32), our ivory panel can be assigned to a school of the Intermediate tradition. The design is more compact than a typical Phoenician composition, while the Egyptian- izing elements of the crown and the uraei are less well understood than they would have been on Phoenician ivories. Equally, the absence of typical Syrian traits, such as criss-cross patterning on the base of the wings, as well as the presence of Egyptianizing motifs rules out attribution to a Syrian school. In I.N. V the panel was tentatively attributed to the ‘Wig and Wing’ school with a suggested date in the eighth century: evidence from dated tablets in the rab ekalli’s archive suggest that material found in these rooms was in use until the sack of Nimrud in 614-12. Although the corpus of Levantine ivories found at Nimrud was carved in a variety of styles, the actual ‘pattern-book’ of designs was relatively limited. Overall, the sphinx or griffin was the most popular motif: the human figure was not particularly favoured7. Most were represented in association with a flowering tree or plant, or holding flowers: sometimes the flower was replaced by a feather, an ankh, a jug or rarely a winged uraeus. Some figures held a sceptre, or a sceptre and jug: others may have had a Ma}at figure seated on a plant in front of them. Some were shown with their hands raised in salutation or adoration, some were kneeling.

7 For examples of plaques with human figures, winged or unwinged, see I.N. IV: nos. 6- 97, 195, 208, 210-13, 220-22, 232, 235-8, 244-7, 251-5; and of panels, nos. 293-399; 888- 903; 923-51; 963; 969; 995-1007; 1018-2; 1026-30; 1032-53; 1056-69; 1081-99; 1104- 5; 1112-18; 1176-9; 1185-6; 1192-3; 1221; 1260-4. 120 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS

Figures were represented both singly and heraldically, perhaps flanking a central tree. Designs with winged figures repeated many of the motifs of their unwinged brethren. They were usually shown with a single pair of wings, one raised and one lowered, forming a sideways V, and sometimes held a winged uraeus as on Fig. 8a (I.N. IV: no. 324). The winged uraeus itself was an uncommon motif at Nimrud, but when present was always held by winged figures8. Most examples belonged to a single centre of production belonging to the Intermediate tradition, of which Fig. 8a is an example (I.N. IV: nos. 47, 53 and 324-7), although a few were carved in different schools of the Intermediate and Phoenician traditions (e.g. I.N. IV: nos. 306 and 1095-6). However, as already noted, the uraei depicted on ND 7656 were atypical, both because there were two rather than one and because they lacked wings. iv) Four-winged genies in the Levant (GH) The Nimrud corpus of ivories includes only a few four-winged figures, not one of which is associated with a uraeus, and most of which are carved on panels of the ‘classic SW 7 group’ of the Syrian tradition (I.N. III: no. 1, panel 6; the four panels of No. 3; and nos. 67-68; Herrmann 1995: 156-7; Winter 1976a, 1976b). Of these, the elegant four-winged figure, ND 6368 (Fig. 8c; I.N. III, no. 68, pl. 89) is closest in design to our ivory panel, although not in style. The figure strides to the left, the leading arm flexed and raised, the other stretched out behind, holding the stalk of an unusual flower growing from a plant. Above hovers a winged disc. This figure is reminiscent of the four-winged figure on the bone handle from Hazor (Fig. 7b; Yadin 1958: 16, pls. CL-CLI), which also advances to the left with arms in front and behind, grasping a plant. This handle forms part of a distinctive group of bone handles found at Hazor, Abu al Kharaz and Nimrud (Fischer and Herrmann 1995)9. Two other examples with four-winged figures belong to schools of the ‘Phoenician’ tradition, one to the distinctive ‘Ornate Group’ and the other

8 Except for the unusual long panels where winged uraei support themselves on the ground in front of processions of figures, I.N. IV: nos. 940-5. 9 Dr. Pirhiya Beck has kindly drawn my attention to two further examples belonging to this group found at Tell en-Nasbeh (McCown 1947: pl. 55:82) and Gezer (Macalister 1912: II, 343 f., fig. 463; III, pl. 214:32). I am grateful to Dr. Christoph Uehlinger for these references. REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 121

Fig. 8a. Nimrud ivory ND 14009. Scale 3:5.

Fig. 8b. Nimrud ivory ND 10530. Fig. 8c. Nimrud ivory ND 7929. Scale 3:5. Scale 3:5. to the ‘NE 2 group’. The ‘Ornate Group’ panel shows a four-winged hawk-headed figure, ND 6328 (I.N. V: no. 496, 133, pl. 103) with a flower in his right hand, one arm flexed on his chest, the other raised in salutation. Within the stereotyped repertoire of this group the design is unique. 122 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS

The four-winged hero of ND 10530 is different in style and subject (Fig. 8b; I.N. IV: nos. 78-80, pls. 16-7; Cecchini 1994) and belongs to a small and distinctive style-group, the ‘NE 2 group’. The plaque originally formed part of a set, only three pieces of which survive. These depict two different animal combats: four-winged figures who fight lions and the unwinged hero of ND 10696, who slays a griffin, the so-called ‘George and Dragon’ motif. It is significant that the same pair of themes, a winged hero fighting a lion and an unwinged hero combating a griffin, occur on the ‘Phoenician’ silver bowl from Idalion, now in the Louvre (Markoe 1985: Cy 1, 242-3). Separated by stylized trees, the heroes were repeated half a dozen times on the outer register. The motif of a hero fighting a lion occurs in the central roundel of a bowl from Kourion while a range of motifs, including a hero slaying a griffin decorated the outer register (Markoe 1985: Cy8, 177), and is also shown on a fragmentary bowl from Kourion (Markoe 1985: Cy17, 184). On another Kourion bowl the genie is holding what Markoe interprets as ‘a pair of looped stems’ (Cy 11, 48). Markoe has described these bowls as ‘Cypro-Phoenician’, and has no doubts that the genies on these bowls “are all clearly drawn from an Assyrian artistic tradition” (47-9). Barnett believes that traces of a four-winged genie with triple {atef crown can also be seen on one of the bronze bowls found by Layard in the North West Palace at Nimrud. This is the so-called ‘Pantheon bowl’ (Barnett 1935: figs. 6-7; 1969: 413, pl. VA). Then, four-winged genies wearing Egyptian-style crowns, sometimes carrying snakes in each hand, are often found on Phoenician stamp seals (eg. Culican 1977: pls. 3a-b; Keel 1977: figs. 149-5210; Gubel 1991: figs. 3a-e). The motif carries on to appear later on Phoenician coins of Malta and Byblos of the 2nd-1st centuries BC (Barnett 1969: 414, pls. I-IV). Barnett believed that the four-winged figure with triple {atef crown was a Phoenician god whom he identified as Ba’al-Aliyan, son of Dagan, and he argued that it was because of its Phoenician associations that such a figure was chosen by the Persian king Cyrus (550-530 BC) to decorate his new capital at Pasargadae in Iran (Barnett 1969: 416-22). He suggested that the famous four-winged figure in Gate R would have been one of a number of gods from around his new empire whose protection Cyrus thought. This is an interesting idea, but

10 In one of his informative books, Keel (1977: 194-207) has traced the history of the four-winged genie in the ancient Near East from the 15th century BC onwards. REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 123

Stronach has shown that the inspiration for this figure comes from a number of different sources, including Babylonia, Assyria and Elam, as well as the Levant (Stronach 1978: 52; 1997: 43-4). Returning to the Levant, there were even fewer four-winged genies on first millennium sculpture than on ivories. Examples occurred at Tell Halaf, Sakcha Gozu and Karatepe, and on an unprovenanced stela from ‘Syria’. The imaginative if provincial repertoire on the small slabs which once decorated the Temple of the Weather God at Tell Halaf included a wide variety of genies, demons and monsters, including four-winged human figures (Orthmann 1971: pl. 8b; Moortgat 1955: pl. 95b, A3/167), and a four-winged hero fighting a lion was also shown in a small scene carved under the belly of one of the later portal figures of the Kapara palace/ temple (Orthmann 1971: pl. 12f; Moortgat 1955: pls. 112 and 114, Bb1). The motif was, therefore, represented in both the early and later phases of Aramaean Tell Halaf. At Sakcha Gozu and Karatepe the four-winged genies were bird-headed and later in date, being dated by Orthmann to his SpH. IIIb phase, i.e. c. 750-700 (Orthmann 1971: Sakcha Gozu, pl. 49a, A/2; Karatepe Group 1, 106, pl. 15d, A/7). More relevant to our ivory panel is an unfortunately unprovenanced basalt stela in Berlin, VA 383811. Its source has simply been recorded as ‘Syria’ (Fig. 7c; Winter 1981: 102, pl. VIc; Barnett 1969: 413, pl. 7a; Bossert 1951: no. 484, pl. 149; Moortgat 1932: pl. 27). Measuring 0.39 m. in height, the stela, with a curving top, showed a four-winged figure with a curling tail advancing to the right. He held a plant or sheaf of corn in the left hand and a fruit (Barnett mace) in the raised right hand. The rather squat figure wore a misunderstood version of the Egyptian triple atef crown on horns and a long tunic with open fringed overgarment. The curved top of the stela was occupied by a winged sun disc. The stela is typically Intermediate in style and composition. v) The Assyrian Four-Winged Genie (GH) While the quest for winged genies has drawn a relative blank in the Lev- ant, they were of course a familiar motif in the art of Assyria from Middle Assyrian times, when examples of four-winged genies can be seen on seals.

11 We would like to thank the Vorderasiatisches Museum for supplying the photograph of this stela, which is unfortunately no longer extant, and for giving us permission to publish it. 124 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS

The earliest example, recovered from the Uluburun shipwreck, has been dated by Matthews to the fourteenth century (Matthews 1990: no. 285, 140; Collon 1987: no. 570) and shows a presentation scene together with a four-winged demon holding something in its outstretched arms. Impressions of contest scenes found at Assur and dated to the reign of Shalmaneser I show four- winged heroes or lahmu with curls, probably nude and represented frontally (Matthews 1990: 101). One is attacked by a nude hero, while a bull rears up beside the other (Matthews 1990: nos. 357-8, Glyptik 21 and 31). The third example, a seal from Tell Sheikh Hamad, shows a lion attacked by a four-winged hero and a winged griffin, who grasps its hindlegs and up- ends it (Matthews 1990: no. 361, Damascus 52). The best known winged genies are, of course, those carved on the walls of Assyrian palaces and temples at Kalhu, Dur Sharrukin and Nineveh, especially those of the North West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II. Thanks to the painstaking work of Meuszynski (1981) and Paley and Sobolewski (1987), the arrangement of the slabs in the principal reception rooms of the North West Palace has been established. Most of these were lined with slabs showing genies, usually with bucket and cone. Once again, the four-winged genie was rare: indeed, there were less than a dozen depic- tions of them, some of which were fragmentary. All were human-headed and all, except one unusual female version in Room L, were equipped with bucket and cone. They were confined to two areas, firstly the throne room, and secondly doorways from Room H. In the Throne Room area, the four-winged genies on Slabs D1 and E5 were set at right angles to the buttresses flanking the entrances to Room B (Meuszynski 1981: pl. 5-6). These slabs were almost certainly paired by Slabs ED 4 and 7, which have not survived. The genies thus occupied the important space between the lamassu at the ends of the buttresses and the main wall and doors into Room B. This space continued to be occupied by slabs with four-winged genies in both the palaces of Sargon at Dur Sharrukin12 and Sennacherib at Nineveh13. Only two slabs with four-winged genies, Slabs B26 and 26a, survive inside Room B (Meuszynski 1981: pl. 1): they flanked door c, the exit closest to the throne. The slabs flanking the

12 Botta and Flandin 1849: I, pls. 8, 25, 30 and 42; II, pl. 137; Loud 1936: fig. 45; Albenda 1986: pls. 16, 37-8, figs. 9-10, 87; Russell 1991: 13, fig. 9. 13 Paterson 1915: pl. 2, gate in north wall, pl. 22, Court VI of the SW Palace; Russell 1991: 98, fig. 49. REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 125 principal entrance, door e, were not preserved, while Slabs B29 and 30 next to door d, the door furthest from the throne, depicted two-winged genies carrying cervids and plants: similar genies (Slabs B15 and 16) were placed beside the lamassu of door b, leading into Room F (Meuszynski 1981: pl. 1; Reade 1979: 37). The second group of four-winged genies were placed in doorways leading to the bathrooms L and I and the retiring room K (Slabs Hb1 and 2; Hc1 and 2 and Hd1 and 2, Meuszynski 1981: pl.1, 5-6, 13), while Slab L20 in Room L may be female (Paley’s Type 5a, Paley 1976: 63-4; Reade 1979: 36; Meuszynski 1981: pl. 15). Finally, a four-winged genie attacking a monster was depicted on mon- umental slabs flanking the door of the Ninurta Temple. This unusual rep- resentation is thought to represent the god Ninurta attacking a leonine bird-monster, perhaps Tiamat or the Anzu bird (Reade 1979: 39, 43; Black and Green 1992: 142). As is well known, Assyrian motifs were applied across the media. For instance, four-winged genies were represented on incised embroidery designs in the North West Palace (Layard 1849: pls. 8-9; Barnett and Lorenzini 1975: pl. 11). They occurred on Late Assyrian cylinder seals (Collon 1987: 77-81, nos. 347-8, 350, 358, 371-2, 374): these are all post-Tiglath Pileser III in style, and Collon suggests they may reflect Babylonian influence (pers. comm.). There are also, of course, many four-winged apotropaic foundation figurines (e.g. Curtis and Reade 1995: 115, figs. 70-2) and Pazuzu figures (e.g. Black and Green 1992: 148, fig. 120). Both two and four-winged genies with bucket and cone were represented on incised ivories in the Assyrian style. Examples found by Loftus included some splendid eighth century panels with four-winged genies (Barnett 1957: pls. cxiii-iv), while examples of bird-headed four-winged figures could be seen on ivories from the throne room of the Nabu Temple (ND 4194a and 4199e, I.N. I: nos. 201-2). There was also the well known four-winged female plaque, shown frontally, ND 1715c from the Private Houses, TW 53 (I.N. I: no. 170): this motif has its own history. Some fine Assyrian ivories were recovered from the Burned Building at Hasanlu and included a panel with a four-winged genie holding a cervid in his left arm and a stem of flowers in his right (Muscarella 1980: 150-51, no. 281, and 201). In Neo-Assyrian times the four-winged hero of the North West Palace bas reliefs fulfilled an essentially apotropaic role. It is this aspect of the four-winged hero that probably inspired the SW7 ivory panels, which 126 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS themselves may have inspired the bone tube from Hazor. The motif of the four-winged hero fighting a lion probably has a different history, occurring on one of the Kapara portal statues at Tell Halaf, on ‘Phoenician’ ivories from Nimrud and on Cypro-Phoenician silver bowls. vi) Conclusions (GH and JEC) We have argued above that the jar with the stamped designs is a local Assyrian product, probably made at Nimrud itself. This is suggested by the lotus-and-bud decoration and the stamped rosettes, both noted on contemporary Assyrian pottery, and confirmed by neutron activation analysis which demonstrates that the jar is made from local Assyrian clay. On the other hand, the practice of decorating a jar with applied panels of stamped decoration is not attested elsewhere in the Late Assyrian ceramic reper- toire14. There is some limited evidence for this practice in Mesopotamia, but not at this period. For example, there is a pottery vase from Larsa of the 19th or 18th century BC which combines incised decoration with applied moulded plaques showing a naked, winged goddess (Parrot 1933: pl. IV). And in later Sasanian times stamped decoration on pottery is com- paratively common (eg. Curtis 1989: fig. 81). The absence of stamped decoration in the Late Assyrian period, however, and the fact that the applied decoration on our jar has been made with a stamp bearing a non-Assyrian design, suggests that the technique itself, as well as the form of the design, is of foreign origin. We should therefore look outside Assyria for examples of pottery being decorated in this way, and there is a little evidence for this practice to the west of Assyria. Thus, from Zinjirli in North Syria there is a fragment of ceramic mould showing the hindquarters of a lion in the distinctive ‘flame and frond’ style (von Luschan and Andrae 1943: 24, pls. 9i, 10a). And from Buseira in Jordan there is a large potsherd with two rectangular stamps, both showing designs that may be derived from ivories15. One features a grazing stag, and the other a cow with suckling calf. Then, from northern Cyprus there is part of the chest of a slightly less than life-sized terracotta votive

14 The large pottery jar from Nimrud showing scorpion-men (Green 1985: pl. VII) has modelled figures applied to the sides of the jar and is therefore evidence of a different technique. 15 Pers. comm. Prof. A.R. Millard. This piece is being studied by Leonie Sedman. REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 127 figure that is decorated with two rows of stamped designs. Glenn Markoe, who has written a note about this interesting piece, notes that the votive figure itself is a local Cypriot product, datable to the Cypro-Archaic period, probably second half of the 6th century BC, but the stamped designs are clearly Phoenician or Cypro-Phoenician in origin and find their best parallels in the 9th-7th centuries BC (Markoe 1988)16. Also probably Phoenician in style is a terracotta mould from Kythrea in Cyprus showing a winged creature, part lion and part man, attacking a lion (Karageorghis 1960: 257, fig. 25; Bisi 1988: fig. on p. 329). Moulds and stamped clay plaques, sometimes very large in size, are also known from Phoenician colonies in the West Mediterranean. Thus from Ibiza there is a mould featuring Bes and plaques showing Silenus and a winged sphinx respectively, and there are circular stamps and stamped designs from Tharros, Olbia and Carthage (Bisi 1988: figs. on pp. 346-7, 351). As the tradition of stamping pottery and clay objects existed in the Lev- ant, then, it is likely that moulds circulated in that area. The most probable explanation for the stamped decoration on the Nimrud jar is that such a mould found its way to Nimrud, possibly with a Levantine craftsman, and was used there. Such an accident would account for the rarity of this practice in Assyria. We come on now to the intriguing question of why this particular design with its obvious Levantine associations was used to decorate the jar. Presumably the jar was specially commissioned, or made to order, which might imply that the choice of this decoration was significant. It is often argued that Assyrian state art was carefully controlled and applied across the media, from sculptures to bronze bands, ivories, bronzes, jewellery, seals or glazed ceramics. This would apply especially to material found in any sort of public building, as our jar presumably was. Although the find-spot is not quite clear, it certainly comes from the acropolis at Nimrud. If the jar was a product of this official school of art, however, it is difficult to put it into a context. More pragmatically, Barnett suggested that the jar was probably used for storing cereals, and that the motif of the four-winged genie, who had an association with grain, was

16 Also known from the art market are large pottery plaques decorated with multiple stamped designs in the Phoenician style. There are some examples now in the Allard Pier- son Museum in Amsterdam. We are obliged to Professor G. Markoe, and to Dr. R.A. Lun- singh Scheurleer, curator at the Allard Pierson Museum, for information about these pieces. The designs on them include human figures, scarab beetles and palmettes. 128 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS chosen to decorate it because of his “protective, nourishing rôle” (Barnett 1969: 411-412). However, there is no certainty that this jar was used for the storage of grain, and other possible uses can be identified. This would not necessarily invalidate the argument, as the genie might have been chosen for his general protective qualities, but it is certainly speculative. Another possibility is that this decoration was deliberately chosen because of the jar’s projected use in a particular building. Here, however, we unfortunately do not know enough about the significance of the four- winged genie in Assyrian art to take this further forward. We are also ham- pered by the fact that we do not know for certain whereabouts at Nimrud the jar comes from. It might derive from the Kidmuru Temple, but even if it does we know little about “the divine Kidmuru”, and there is no obvious connection between the four-winged genie and the other gods who are known to have had an association with the Kidmuru Temple, namely Ishtar and Enlil. A cogent argument against attaching particular significance to the choice of the four-winged genie is that the motif, or at least the expression of it in this instance, is not Assyrian. Not only would its significance not have been understood in Assyria, but the Assyrians did not, unlike the later Achaemenid kings, incorporate foreign elements in their official art. It seems most probable, then, that in this particular case the four-winged genie motif was chosen simply because of its attractive appearance, either to the potter himself or to his client. If this is true, it casts an interesting light on the transmission of artistic motifs in the Ancient Near East. The use of moulded plaques on the Rassam sherds demonstrate that there were cheap ceramic versions of motifs from the artistic ‘pattern book’, and these open new horizons on how styles and motifs might be cheaply produced and transmitted from one centre to another. This is also sugested by the fragment of mould from Zinjirli showing a lion, referred to above. Such transmission is also indicated by evidence from the Phoenician-Punic world, where moulds were transported long distances to the west. The finest example is the superb terracotta plaque with a sphinx and stylized tree of obviously Phoenician origin found in Ibiza and dated to the sixth century BC, also referred to above (Bisi 1988: fig. on p. 347). Such elaborately decorated, mould-made ceramic plaques are not uncommon in the Ancient Near East, but what is unusual is their employment as an applique on pottery vessels. In this particular case, the decoration of an Assyrian pottery vessel with stamped plaques in Levantine style appears to be unique. REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 129

APPENDIX

Neutron activation analysis of a group of sherds from Nimrud with stamped decoration

by M.J. Hughes

A group of sherds found at Nimrud, Iraq, join together to form a vessel (BM 92248-92252, RM645, RM649-650) which is stamped at periodic intervals with a design that is clearly Levantine in origin. There are also two other sherds from Nimrud of comparable form (131666-131667). The fabric of all of these sherds appears, however, to be Assyrian, and neutron activation analysis was proposed as a means of confirming this. Samples were drilled from three sherds (92250, 131666-131667) and analysed at the same time as the pottery from Khirbet Khatuniyeh (Hughes, Freestone and Humphrey 1997), using the normal procedure adopted in the British Museum (Hughes et al. 1991). They were included in the same multivariate statistical tests used for the earlier report. The analytical results are shown in Table 1 and it is clear that there is very little difference between the composition of all three sherds. Cluster analysis placed all three into the Group B composition profile which was composed of ceramics from both Khirbet Khatuniyeh and Khisbet Qasrij (reported in Freestone and Hughes 1989). The three sherds were placed in composition cluster 2. They are therefore very similar in composition to local pottery made at these adjacent sites. Nimrud itself is some 60 km downstream on the Tigris, and since local pottery at all three sites is almost certainly made from the Tigris- deposited clays, we might expect similarities in composition between the pottery from the three sites. No analyses of local reference material from Nimrud are available to check this, however. It is not therefore possible to say where along this stretch of the Tigris these three sherds were made, but it is clear that they are locally-made in Iraq and not imported from the Levant or Western Syria (a region of notably different geology) despite the presence of Levantine decoration. Neutron activation analysis therefore confirms the appearance of the fabric of the group of three sherds from Nimrud with stamped decoration as local Assyrian. 130 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS Table 1.Table analyses of three ceramics from Nimrud. Neutron activation BMRL50686Y Reg. No.50683T 13166750685P Na 92250BMRL 0.83 131666 K50686Y 0.79 Reg. No. 2.26 0.9250683T 131667 2.04 Rb50685P Sm 76 2.07 92250 5.21 131666 80 Lu Cs 77 3.87 5.02 0.389 5.02 3.71 12.9 Yb 2.16 0.408 Ca 3.95 0.363 14.7 16.6 2.18 4.07 10.8 2.16 Hf Sc 16.2 4.63 4.35 8.62 16.7 3.69 Th Fe 4.58 7.78 466 2.52 4.59 8.14 411 U 2.60 Cr 24.8 0.78 420 2.35 24.9 0.70 25.8 0.85 25.8 0.79 Tb Co 23.9 0.80 53.2 366 23.9 0.90 Ta La 50.5 329 1.27 55.2 9.6 289 Ba Ce 1.15 8.9 1.22 0.78 9.0 As Eu 0.75 1.15 Sb Key to element symbols:Key Na sodium, K potassium, Rb rubidium, Cs caesium,La lanthanum, Ca calcium, Sc scandium, Ce cerium, Fe iron, Sm samarium, Cr chromium, tantalum, Eu europium, Co cobalt, Ta Ba barium, Lu lutetium, As arsenic, Yb ytterbium, Sb antimony. Hf hafnium, for Na, in parts per million except Th thorium,All concentrations are given K, U uranium, Ca and Fe which are in percent. Tb terbium, REFLECTIONS ON THE FOUR-WINGED GENIE 131

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Abbreviations

I.N. I: Orchard, J.J. 1967. Ivories from Nimrud (1949-1963) I, 2: Equestrian Bridle-Harness Ornaments, London. I.N. II: Mallowan, M.E.L. and Davies, L.G. 1970. Ivories from Nimrud (1949- 1963) II: Ivories in Assyrian Style, London. I.N. III: Mallowan, M.E.L. and Herrmann, Georgina 1974. Ivories from Nimrud (1949-1963) III: Furniture from SW.7 Fort Shalmaneser, London. I.N. IV: Herrmann, Georgina 1986. Ivories from Nimrud (1949-1963) IV: Ivories from Room SW 37 Fort Shalmaneser, London. I.N. V: Herrmann, Georgina 1992. Ivories from Nimrud (1949-1963) V: The Small Collections from Fort Shalmaneser, London. 134 G. HERRMANN & J. CURTIS

Addendum

Note that stamped rosette decoration in combination with crudely incised ‘buds’ is also known on pottery found in the Levant, for example at Tell Mevorakh in Israel (E. Stern, Material Culture of the Land of The Bible in the Persian Period, Warminster 1982, fig. 216).