Assyrian Sculpture

by Julian Reade

For almost three centuries, until 612 B.C., the small kingdom of Assyria dominated the Middle East, its empire at one point extending from Iran to Egypt. The story of those years--the triumphs of the Assyrian kings in war and peace, their exploits in the hunting field, and the gods who watched over them--were recorded in stone on the walls of a succession of royal palaces. These sculptures, offering eyewitness views of a long-lost civilization, were not rediscovered until the nineteenth century. The finest collection, transported with great difficulty to Europe, is now preserved at the British Museum. This book describes how the sculptures were found and what they meant to those who created them. It is both a richly illustrated history of Assyrian sculpture in general and a guide to the outstanding collections of the British Museum. For this Second Edition of Assyrian Sculpture , in a new format, the author has updated the text and bibliography.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, Ancient History, Art History

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 1983

Reviews

[Dna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took a while to read! It is really dense and not necessarily all that interesting . . . unless you're interested. Know what I mean? I'm Assyrian, so it's super duper interesting.

[Martin Ridgway · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a brief guide to the Assyrians and their sculpture, focusing on the artefacts in the British Museum. It clocks in at only 70 pages and well over half of that are the illustrations (good quality photographs), with the text providing some narrative, description, and historical context. It's a good book for a brief introduction to the topic.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this at a used bookstore. Really straight forward history of Assyrian art in the British Museum circa 1983, specifically focusing on Ashurbanipal's palace. I was most impressed by the images of the lion hunt.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book and I've learned so much...not only about the Assyrian kinds of sculpture. But about the people and how their art reflected their culture. What a ferocious group of people....and I can easily see how they ruled the world back in the day.

The BBC Museum, the people behind the book, also give you insight about why they picked the materials they did and that helped me relate the sculpture to the kinds of geography there was at that time.

You would never use this with kids...too far above their reading level, but the info I would rewrite and share with them in story form.

[Susan]

Accidentally bought this book twice because... the wrting is not that memorable. The pictures adequately show the sculptures in the British Museum as well as some comparison pieces from other museums. A very cursory look at the complicated history of Assyrian sculpture, probably published for the layman who is just discovering what Assyrian art has to offer.

[Paulfozz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good overview of Assyria and the sculpture held by the British Museum in particular.