Human-Headed Winged Lion, Assyrian 650BC, British Museum, Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London, England, UK, WC1B 3DG

Museum number 118802 Gypsum statue; human headed winged lion; one of a pair that flanked the doorway of the throne room of the North West palace of Ashurnasirpal in Nimrud; helped provide magical protection; the five legs suggest that the lion was intended to be viewed from the front or side and not at an intermediate angle. Authority Ruler: Ashurnasirpal II, Cultures/periods Neo-Assyrian Production date 865BC-860BC Excavated by: Sir Austen Henry Layard Excavated/Findspot: North West Palace Asia: Middle East: Iraq: Iraq, North: Nimrud: North West Palace Materials gypsum Dimensions Height: Height: 350 centimetres Length: Length: 371 centimetres Bibliographic references Bonomi J 1875a / Nineveh and its palaces. The discoveries of Botta and Layard, applied to the elucidation of Holy Writ (frontispece) Guide 1922 / Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum (pl. VII) Gadd 1936b / The Stones of Assyria: the surviving remains of Assyrian sculpture, their recovery, and their original positions (p.125) Grayson, RIMA 2 / Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC, I (1114-859 BC) (RIM.A.0.101.2.7) Location On display (G6a) (G6a) Acquisition date 1851 Department Middle East BM/Big number 118802, Registration number 1851, 0902.509 Additional IDs Miscellaneous number: Miscellaneous number: 841