Reign of Sargon II, 721-705 BCE
Gypsum (?), 493.3cm H, 491.4cm W
Excavated by the Oriental Institute, 1929, OIM A7369
Photo © Joan Ann Lansberry
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Reign of Sargon II, 721-705 BCE Gypsum (?), 493.3cm H, 491.4cm W Excavated by the Oriental Institute, 1929, OIM A7369 Photo © Joan Ann Lansberry |
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The Big Bull, forty tons of him, is of course the most memorable thing at Chicago's Oriental Museum. The museum website fails to convey its massiveness. Mine may not, either.
 Photo © Joan Ann Lansberry
"This colossal sculpture was one of a pair that guarded the entrance to the throne room of King Sargon II. A protective spirit known as a "lamassu", it is shown as a composite being with the head of a human, the body and ears of a bull, and the wings of a bird. When viewed from the side, the creature appears to be walking; when viewed from the front, to be standing still. Thus it is actually represented with five, rather than four, legs." |
