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Neo-Babylonian

Panel with striding lion, 604-562 BCE

Now On View

Description

Maker

Culture

Neo-Babylonian

Title

Panel with striding lion

Year

604-562 BCE

Medium

Brick, glazed

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Dimensions

104.1 x 228.6 cm (41 x 90 inches)

Type

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

34.652

About

The lion was sacred to Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love and war. This striding beast is one of more than a hundred that once lined the lower portion of the walls of a processional way that passed through the Ishtar Gate in ancient Babylon. During the New Year festival, images of the gods were carried down this street, named 'the enemy shall never pass' (aibur-shabu in Babylonian). The lions provided a dramatic, heraldic approach to the gate and served as symbolic protectors and guides for those participating in the ritual.

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Projects & Publications

Publications

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Panel with striding lion with the accession number of 34.652. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.