Architecture, Iconography, and Text

New Studies on the Northwest Palace Reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II

Howard, J. Caleb (ed.)

The papers published in this volume attempt to move scholarship forward in the interpretation of the Northwest Palace reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II, with particular focus on the intersection of their architectural setting, their loaded iconography, and the text of the so-called Standard Inscription incised across their faces. The papers deal with both the interpretation of the reliefs in their ancient setting and their modern reception and heuristic use across the boundaries of disciplines. They address direct and indirect interaction of iconography and text in physical space, the roles of scribes and artisans in the production of the architecture-iconography-text ensemble, along with its impact on ancient viewers. The ensemble’s impact on modern viewers, and particularly its reception in the nineteenth century, are also examined, as well as the application of its hermeneutic analysis to the study of Hebrew poetry.