Images

This is a griffin-headed demon of blackened ivory. Both arms are raised (the right is lost), probably to support a throne. From Toprakkale, Eastern Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Urartian, 8th to 7th century BCE. (The British Museum, London...

This ivory figure depicts a nude woman wearing an elaborate headgear and necklace. Excavated by E. Clayton and G. C. Raynolds. From Toprakkale, Eastern Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Urartian, 8th to 7th century BCE. (The British Museum...

This white stone bull's head was originally inlaid. It has an ornamented forelock. The artifact is socketed at the back, probably for an attachment to the corner of a seat (most likely an arm of the throne). There is a carved spiral pattern...

This bronze plaque is engraved, at the upper part, with a figure of a god in a winged sun-disc. Originally, this plaque was part of a horse-harness (side-piece ), which was stitched to a leather backing. From Eastern Anatolia, in modern-day...

This is a dedication to the god Haldi, the supreme god of the Urartians, from a temple built by Menua, son of Ishpuini, king of Urartu (reigned 810-786 BCE). It is written in Urartian cuneiform writing. From Toprakkale or Van, Eastern Anatolia...

The inscription is repeated three times and reads "Ishpuini, son of Sarduri, built this temple". Ishpuini was a king of Urartu (reigned 830-810 BCE). The drum was later re-used and hollowed out to form a shallow basin with a drainage hole...

This bronze helmet is decorated with a pattern of dots and crooks ending in bull's heads, which frame the Urartian versions of the Egyptian sun-disc. The pointed shape was designed to deflect arrows. Holes around the edges are for attaching...

This is a bronze furniture-fitting (probably of a stool) of a kneeling or a recumbent winged-bull. It was originally inlaid and gilded. There is a dowel for attachment at the lower surface. From Toprakkale, Eastern Anatolia, in modern-day...

This large foot was probably fit into onto the legs of a table or bed. The decoration on the front is an Anatolian version of the Egyptian winged sun-disc. This would have originally been inlaid with knuckles and claws. From Toprakkale, Eastern...

Known as siqqatu (in Akkadian), such nails are found in temples and palaces throughout the Middle East in this period. They were embedded in the walls of rooms and may have been used for wall-hangings. From Toprakkale, Eastern Anatolia, in...