Statue from the Nabu Temple
Gypsum
Khorsabad
151.2 cm x 45.3 cm x 38 cm (base)
A11808
Oriental Institute Museum
Statue from the Nabu Temple
This is one of two statues that flanked a doorway in the forecourt of the temple of Nabu, the god of writing and scribes. It is likely that the figure is that of a god, embodying the life-giving and life-sustaining forces of fresh water. Here, four streams of water flow out of a small vessel that he holds in his hands.
Collected by
Gordon Loud (in charge of excavations at Khorsabad)
Excavated by The Oriental Institute 1932-1933
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.
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; Statue
Images from the photographic archives of the Oriental Institute Museum; Statue
Suggested Readings
Frankfort, H. and H.A., John A. Wilson, and Thorkild Jacobsen. Before Philosophy: The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1946.
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.