Assyrian Art Coming to MFA, Boston

Important ancient Assyrian works of art from the British Museum return to the United States for an encore appearance, this time at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

After successful presentations in New York, Texas, China and Spain, Art and Empire: Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum wil be on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (September 21, 2008-January 4, 2009).

The Assyrian civilization's presence in the valley of northern Iraq's Tigris River dates back to the Third Millennium B.C. The height of its cultural sophistication and political dominance in the ancient Near East occurred from the 9th to the 7th Centuries B.C. with the appearance of splendid palace art and elaborate architecture in the cities of Nimrud and Nineveh.

Art and Empire... brings together powerful sculptural reliefs of warfare, hunting, palace life and court rituals. The exhibition includes precious carved ivories, bronze, ceramic and glass bowls and vessels, clay cuneiform tablets from the royal library, cylinder seals, figures of deities, statuary and furniture fittings. Excavated by 19th- and 20th-century by British archaeologists, these objects describe the administration, trade, legal and social issues of the Assyrian Empire. How magic, medicine and religion were interconnected in Assyrian culture is also examined.

Source:

• Curtis, J.E. and J.E. Reade (eds.), et al. Art and Empire: Assyrian Treasures from the British Museum (exh. cat.). London: The Trustees of the British Museum, 1995.