Bronze Band of King Sargon II

721 BC - 705 BC
Bronze
Khorsabad
61 cm x 95 cm
A12468

Oriental Institute Museum

Artifact Description

Bronze Band of King Sargon II

This bronze band is one of a pair that encircled a cedar pole found lying outside the entrance to the temple of the sun god Shamash at Dur Sharrukin (modern-day Khorsabad). The images on the band were produced through a metal-crafting process known as repoussé which involved beating out the shapes of the figures from the back with punches and hammers. The band is made up of two registers, framed at the top and bottom by rows of rosettes. In the lower register, a fig tree laden with fruit and the tip of a plow have been preserved. In the upper register, the king is shown grasping two striding bulls by the horns. This ancient motif, known as "the master of animals," perhaps symbolized the power of the ruler.

Collected by

Gordon Loud (in charge of excavations at Khorsabad)
Excavated by The Oriental Institute 1931-1932

Multimedia

The Ancient City of Khorsabad
Dr. Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute, discusses the importance of the ancient capital city of Khorsabad in this video.

How Do We Care for Ancient Artifacts?
How do artifacts survive over time? Oriental Institute Museum conservator Laura D'Alessandro tells us how they are cared for in this video.

What is Conservation?
Ever wonder what a conservator does? Oriental Institute Museum conservator Laura Laura D'Alessandro tells you all about her job in this video.

Web Links

Highlights from the collection of the Oriental Institute Museum; Bronze Band

Suggested Readings

Parpola, Simo. Letters from Assyria and the West: The Correspondence of Sargon II, Part I. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press, 1987.

Reade, Julian. Assyrian Sculpture. London: The British Museum, 1983.

Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

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