Panel of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

Sculpture

-

Museum of Antiquities - University of Saskatchewan

Catalogue Image: 2015-00-00
Catalogue Image

2015-00-00

Name/Title

Panel of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

Entry/Object ID

98NE0666

Description

Black rectangular panel with five bands depicting various human and animal figures. Cuneiform inscriptions are located above and below each frieze. The top panel of the replica shows Sua, the Gilzanite, bringing tribute to Shalmaneser, who is standing left, armed with a bow and arrows and accompanied by an attendant and soldier. Above this scene are the winged sun-disc, divine symbol of the god Assur, king of all of the great gods, and the eight-pointed star, divine symbol of Enlil, creator and father of the gods. The second panel depicts Shalmaneser receiving tribute from Jehu, king of Israel, who is prostrate before the king. Shalmaneser holds a bowl in his raised hand and is sheltered by a parasol held by an attendant. The tribute of the country of Musri, illustrated on the third panel, consists entirely of animals led or driven by attendants dressed in knee-length garments. The fourth panel illustrates two lions hunting a stag in a forest, perhaps reminiscent of the countries which Shalmaneser has conquered. The bottom panel records the tribute of Karparunda of Hattina, brought forth by porters wearing pointed caps.

Type of Sculpture

Relief

Artwork Details

Medium

Plaster

Context

This replica panel was cast from the original four-sided, black obelisk now in the British Museum. The inscriptions record the annals of thirty-two years of the reign of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (r. 858-824 BCE). Most of the illustrations record the tributes brought to Shalmaneser by various vassal kings. The obelisk is famous for its reference to Jehu, King of the Israelites, who is mentioned in the Old Testament. The obelisk also mentions the King Hazael of Damascus who appears in the Old Testament. This piece was donated to the Museum of Antiquities for Dr. Michael Swan, for excellence in graduate teaching supervision.

Made/Created

Date made

825 BCE - 825 BCE

Time Period

Neo-Assyrian

Ethnography

Culture/Tribe

Near Eastern - Assyrian

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Transcription

Inscription in Cuneiform above and between bands.

Translation

Translations of the inscriptions describing each scene: I. Tribute of Sua, the Gilzanite. Silver, gold, lead, copper vessels, staves (staffs) for the hand of the king, horses, camels, whose backs are doubled, I received from him. II. Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri. Silver, gold, a golden saplu (bowl), a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden goblets, pitchers of gold, tin, staves (staffs) for the hand of the king, puruhtu (javelins?), I received from him. III. Tribute of the land of Musri. Camels whose backs are doubled, a river ox (hippopotamus), a sakea (rhinoceros), a susu (antelope), elephants, bazitu (and) upuqu (monkeys), I recieved from him. IV. Tribute of Marduk-apal-usur of Suhi. Silver, gold, pitchers of gold, ivory, javelins, buia, brightly colored and linen garments, I received from him. V. Tribute of Karparunda of Hattina. Silver, gold, lead, copper, copper vessels, ivory, cypress (timbers), I received from him.

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Height

112 cm

Depth

6 cm

Dimension Description

Top Width

Width

46 cm

Dimension Description

Bottom Width

Width

56 cm

Research Notes

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Barnett RD. Assyrian Palace Reliefs. London: British Museum, 1970. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Budge, EA Wallis. A Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities. London: British Museum, 1922. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Luckenbill, Daniel David. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1, Historical Records of Assyria From the Earliest Times to Sargon. New York: Greenwood Press, Publishers. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Layard, Sir Austen Henry. Nineveh and its Remains. London: John Murray, 1891. 244-249. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Pritchard, James B. The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954. 120-122, 290-291. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Grayson, A. Kirk. Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millenium BC II (858-745 BC). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Lloyd, Seton. Foundations in the Dust: The Story of Mesopotamian Exploration. Thames and Hudson, 1980. 116. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Parrot, Andre. Nineveh and Babylon. Thames and Hudson, 1961. 12-13, 35-36. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Smith, George. Assyrian Discoveries: An Account of Explorations and Discoveries on the Site of Nineveh, During 1873 and 1874.New york: Scribner, Armstrong & Co., 1875. 10-11. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

British Museum. Assyrian Sculpture. McClelland and Stweart, 1975. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Larsen, Mogens Trolle. The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations in an antique land 1840-1860. London and New York: Routledge, 1996. 115-124, 208-211. Public: No