The Lamassu, a Winged Deity, at the entrance to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London
The Lamassu guarded Nergal Gate at the entrance to the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, near modern-day Mosul, Iraq, in c 700 B.C. until 2015 when it was destroyed by ISIS. It was recreated by MIchael Rakowitz as part of a project to recreate over 7,000 archaeological artefacts looted from the Iraq Museum during the war or destroyed elsewhere. It was unveiled by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, on 28 March 2018.
Rebuilding the Lamassu means it can symbolically continue as guardian of a city's past, present and future. The inscription written on the Lamassu reads:
"Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, had the inner and outer wall of Nineveh built anew and raised as high as mountains."
The Lamassu, a Winged Deity, at the entrance to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London
The Lamassu guarded Nergal Gate at the entrance to the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, near modern-day Mosul, Iraq, in c 700 B.C. until 2015 when it was destroyed by ISIS. It was recreated by MIchael Rakowitz as part of a project to recreate over 7,000 archaeological artefacts looted from the Iraq Museum during the war or destroyed elsewhere. It was unveiled by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, on 28 March 2018.
Rebuilding the Lamassu means it can symbolically continue as guardian of a city's past, present and future. The inscription written on the Lamassu reads:
"Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, had the inner and outer wall of Nineveh built anew and raised as high as mountains."