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| View Original: | Syrian - Slab with Goat - Walters 2117.jpg (1244x1800) | |||
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| Keywords: Syrian - Slab with Goat - Walters 2117.jpg This relief was excavated in northern Syria at the site of Tell Halaf the capital of a small independent city-state known as Guzana to the Assyrians who conquered it in the late 9th century BC More than two hundred such stone reliefs so-called orthostates decorated the façade of a temple-palace built in the 10th century BC by a local ruler named Kapara son of Khadi nu He reused the blocks from one or more pre-existing structures and carved an inscription in cuneiform on each one that states Palace of Kapara son of Khadi nu The blocks were placed so that limestone ones painted red alternated with others of black basalt While the human images have been depicted in the less sophisticated local style many of the animal reliefs such as the goat may have been modeled on finely carved ivories imported from northern Syria and Phoenicia that were found at the site This rearing goat looking back over its shoulder was part of a traditional composition in which two goats flanked a sacred tree- a very old Mesopotamian motif The rendering of the animal is relatively sophisticated with even its muscles and fur indicated King Kapara's full inscription appears in two neat lines to the right of the goat's head century 10 9 BC limestone cm 63 5 40 5 22 5 accession number 21 17 23972 Max von Oppenheim 1911-1913 excavated at the lower course of the exterior wall of the temple of King Kapara at Guzana Tell Halaf Syria and sent to the United States for sale Alien Property Custodian of the United States by 1943 Walters Art Museum 1944 by purchase with the assistance of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York Museum purchase with funds provided by the S A P Fund 1944 Translation To the right of the goat's head Palace of Kapara son of Khadiânu In Search of Ancient Treasure 40 Years of Collecting The Walters Art Gallery Baltimore 1978 place of origin Tell Halaf in present-day Syria Walters Art Museum license Ancient Near East art in the Walters Art Museum Reliefs from Syria Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review Tell Halaf Looking over shoulder | ||||
