Ancient Near Eastern Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v ...

ody and a human head-was borrowed
from Egypt and adapted by the cultures
of western Asia. From the Old Assyrian
palace at the site of Acemhoyuk comes
an ivory figurine of a female sphinx wearing
Hathor curls (fig. 29). All of its
elements are Egyptian, but they are combined
in a completely un-Egyptian manner.
This ivory support is one of a group of
four that most probably served as decoration
for a throne.
An expertly cast silver axe with goldfoil
gilding (fig. 28) is decorated with
elements of the lively iconography of
superhuman heroes and demons that
was developed during the Middle Bronze
Age in western Central Asia. The heroic
demon, composed of a human body with
birds' heads, talons, and wings, is a creature
most probably borrowed from eastern
Iran. It is shown sometimes enthroned
and sometimes struggling with natural or
fantastic creatures. Its opponent on the
axe is a dragonlike creature distinguished
by a single horn, a curled beard,
a ridged ruff, staggered wings, a feline's
body, and bird's talons. This same creature
also served as a symbol of the
Iranian Shimashki dynasty of the late
third millennium B.C.
Representations of fabulous creatures
served not only as images of numinous
spirits, but also as heraldic symbols for
the propaganda of the secular state.
Although its meaning is not understood,
the horned and winged lion occurs in
Achaemenid Persian iconography, frequently
in conjunction with the king. On a
gold plaque of this period (fig. 31) are
two winged and horned lions, each rearing
with its head turned back. The plaque
was most probably sewn on a soft cloth
or leather backing that served as part of
the resplendent panoply of an Achaemenid
courtier. H.P.
27