Assyrian Empire: Imperial Luxury

Summary

This video explores the remnants of the Syrian Empire's imperial luxury, focusing on surviving artifacts from looted palaces. It discusses decorative alabaster slabs mimicking textiles, and ivory carvings like a lion's head, symbolizing royal power. The carvings, some with Egyptian motifs, reflect the king's authority and the empire's wealth. The video also touches on the Assyrian palaces' lush gardens and the use of materials like ivory, signifying long-distance trade and the king's control over nature.

Takeaways

• 🏛 The script discusses surviving artifacts from the Syrian Empire's Imperial palaces, which give insight into the luxury of the time.
• 📜 The 'threshold pavement slab' is a decorative alabaster carving that likely imitated textiles, a common form of luxury decoration in the palaces.
• 🎨 The alabaster slab was painted, indicating that it was not a practical substitute for carpets but rather a permanent representation of luxury.
• 🦁 Ivory carvings of lion heads symbolized royalty and power, possibly being part of furniture, and their survival is attributed to being discarded in a well during looting.
• 🐘 Ivory was not locally sourced and had to be imported, indicating the extent of the empire's trade routes and the king's power to acquire such materials.
• 🕊️ The script mentions two styles of ivory carving, one with deep carving and the other with inlaid woods, reflecting different artistic influences.
• 🌿 Both styles of carvings often feature botanical motifs, symbolizing the king's control over nature and the abundance of his empire.
• 👁 The 'Eye of Horus' symbol on an ivory plaque suggests Egyptian influence and the idea of protection, showing cultural exchange between civilizations.
• 🦅 The presence of sphinx motifs, borrowed from Egyptian art, further illustrates the cultural borrowing and the display of power and wisdom.
• 🌳 The script highlights the importance of lush gardens and the display of wild animals around the palaces, reinforcing the king's dominion over nature.
• 💎 The use of semi-precious stones in the carvings, a technique called Klausen a, added to the opulence and grandeur of the palaces, intended to overwhelm the senses.

Q & A

What happened to many of the Assyrian palaces and their contents after the empire fell?

When the Assyrian Empire fell, many of its palaces were destroyed by incoming armies. However, some objects survived and provide insights into the luxurious nature of these spaces.

What is the significance of the threshold pavement slab mentioned in the script?

The threshold pavement slab is a low relief decorative carving of alabaster placed inside the doorway of a palace. It likely mimicked a textile, symbolizing luxury and permanence in palace decoration.

Why did none of the textile objects from the Assyrian palaces survive?

The climate in the region was not suitable for preserving fibers over long periods, so none of the original rugs and wall hangings survived.

How were ivory carvings preserved over the centuries?

Many ivory carvings were preserved because they were thrown down a particular well during the looting of the palaces, protecting them from destruction.

What does the lion's head ivory carving symbolize?

The lion's head ivory carving symbolizes power and authority. Lions were associated with royalty, and bringing a lion under one's power was rhetorically potent for the Assyrian kings.

What were the probable uses of the lion's head ivory carving?

The lion's head ivory carving was likely a component of a piece of furniture, such as a throne or a chair, where the lion's head would be a decorative element.

What are the different styles of Assyrian ivory carving mentioned?

There are two main styles of Assyrian ivory carving: one featuring deep carving and techniques like cloisonné and open work, influenced by Egyptian art, and another style focusing on inlays of different colors of wood and ivory, reflecting a more local Assyrian aesthetic.

What motifs are common in Assyrian ivory carvings?

Common motifs in Assyrian ivory carvings include hybrid animals like griffins, botanical elements such as lotus flowers and vines, and symbols of royalty and power like lions and sphinxes.

What is the Eye of Horus, and how was it used in Assyrian ivory carvings?

The Eye of Horus is an Egyptian symbol of protection, healing, and well-being. In Assyrian ivory carvings, it was used as a decorative element, such as on an eye blinker for a horse, symbolizing protection for the valuable animal.

How did the Assyrians incorporate Egyptian influences into their ivory carvings?

The Assyrians incorporated Egyptian influences by adopting motifs such as the sphinx and the Eye of Horus. These symbols were integrated into their art, reflecting both Egyptian and Assyrian elements, including royal crowns and stylized vegetation.

What was the purpose of the lush gardens and zoos surrounding the Assyrian palaces?

The lush gardens and zoos surrounding the Assyrian palaces symbolized the king's authority over nature and the natural wealth of his empire. They served as a reflection of the king's power and ability to bring bounty to his realm.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ Imperial Luxury and Surviving Artifacts

The video script discusses the remnants of luxury from the Syrian Empire's imperial palaces, focusing on objects that survived looting and destruction. A threshold pavement slab made of alabaster, likely mimicking a textile design, is highlighted as a symbol of the opulence that once adorned the palaces. The climate in the region was not conducive to preserving actual textiles, making this artifact a unique surrogate. Additionally, the script introduces an ivory carving of a lion's head, a symbol of royalty and power, which was part of the furniture and likely had a permanent presence in the palace. The discussion also touches upon the trade routes that brought ivory, a non-local material, into the empire, emphasizing the Assyrian kings' ability to acquire exotic materials as a display of their authority.

05:01

🎨 Artistic Styles and Symbolism in Ivory Carvings

The script delves into the different styles of ivory carvings found in the Syrian Empire, which are indicative of the artistic influences and craftsmanship of the time. Two primary styles are identified: one with deep carving and the use of semi-precious stones, known as Klausen a, and another with inlays of different colored woods and ivory, reflecting a more local Syrian aesthetic. Both styles feature botanical motifs, suggesting the presence of lush gardens and a connection to nature, which was a symbol of the king's authority over the natural world. The script also mentions the Egyptian influence on some ivory pieces, such as an eye blinker for a horse featuring the Eye of Horus, a symbol of protection, and a sphinx plaque, which combines the strength of a lion with human wisdom and Egyptian royal symbolism.

10:03

🦁 The Splendor of Assyrian Palaces and Symbolic Representations

The final paragraph of the script emphasizes the overwhelming splendor of the Assyrian palaces, which was a reflection of the king's power. The use of luxurious materials like ivory and semi-precious stones, as well as intricate carving techniques, was meant to impress visitors and showcase the king's wealth and control over resources. The script also notes the presence of motifs like the sphinx, which borrowed from Egyptian iconography, further indicating the cultural exchange and the Assyrian kings' ability to incorporate and adapt foreign symbols of power and authority into their own palaces' decorations.

Keywords

💡Syrian Empire

The Syrian Empire, also known as the Assyrian Empire, was an ancient Mesopotamian kingdom that is central to the video's historical context. It represents the civilization that created the luxurious palaces and artifacts discussed. The script refers to the fall of this empire and the subsequent looting of its palaces, indicating the empire's former grandeur and the remnants of its opulence that have survived.

💡Imperial luxury

Imperial luxury refers to the lavish and extravagant lifestyle associated with the rulers of an empire. In the video, this concept is explored through the surviving artifacts from the Syrian Empire's palaces, which give a glimpse into the opulence and wealth that characterized the empire's rulers. Examples include the threshold pavement slabs and the intricately carved ivory pieces, both indicative of the high level of craftsmanship and the luxurious environment they adorned.

💡Threshold pavement slab

A threshold pavement slab is a decorative alabaster carving that was placed at the entrance of a palace. The script describes it as a low relief with a design mimicking a textile, which would have been a common form of decoration in the palaces. The slab represents the attempt to make the transient luxury of textiles permanent, reflecting the empire's commitment to enduring grandeur.

💡Ivory carvings

Ivory carvings are intricate works of art made from the tusks of elephants or teeth of hippopotamuses. The script mentions several examples of such carvings that have survived the looting of the Syrian Empire's palaces. These carvings, often depicting powerful symbols like lions or mythical creatures, were likely used as parts of furniture, showcasing the empire's access to exotic materials and the skill of its artisans.

💡Lion's head

The lion's head, as an ivory carving, symbolizes power and authority, common themes in the art of the Syrian Empire. Lions were associated with royalty, and the script suggests that such a carving may have been part of a throne or other furniture, reinforcing the king's dominance. The use of the lion motif in the script illustrates the empire's use of animal symbolism to convey messages of strength and rulership.

💡Klaussen technique

Klaussen is a technique used in carving where deep recesses are created to insert and embed semi-precious stones. The script describes this technique in the context of the Assyrian ivory carvings, which often featured griffins with wings that likely had such inlays. This technique adds an extra layer of luxury and intricacy to the carvings, emphasizing the empire's artistic sophistication.

💡Botanical motifs

Botanical motifs are decorative elements inspired by plants and flowers. The script mentions these motifs in the context of the lush gardens surrounding the Assyrian palaces and the carvings that depict mythical botanical paradises. These motifs symbolize the king's control over nature and the abundance of his empire, serving as a visual testament to the prosperity and power of the Syrian Empire.

💡Sphinx

A sphinx is a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. In the script, a winged sphinx with the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt is mentioned, indicating the Assyrian Empire's borrowing of Egyptian motifs. The sphinx represents royalty, power, authority, and wisdom, and its presence in the empire's art reflects the cultural exchange and the empire's desire to project these qualities.

💡Eye of Horus

The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, often depicted as a stylized eye. The script describes an ivory plaque that likely functioned as an eye blinker for a horse and featured this symbol. The presence of the Eye of Horus in the Syrian Empire's artifacts suggests cultural influence from Egypt and the adoption of symbols associated with well-being and protection.

💡Lush Gardens

Lush gardens are mentioned in the script as part of the landscape surrounding the Assyrian palaces. These gardens, along with the depiction of lush vegetation in the carvings, symbolize the king's authority over nature and the natural wealth of the empire. The gardens served as a reflection of the king's power to cultivate and control the environment, reinforcing the empire's prosperity.

💡Zoos

Zoos, in the context of the script, refer to the collections of wild animals kept for display around the Assyrian palaces. These served as another symbol of the king's dominion over the natural world, showcasing his ability to 'tame' and control the wild. The script uses the presence of zoos to illustrate the extent of the king's power and the empire's resources.

Highlights

The video discusses surviving objects from the Syrian Empire's Imperial palaces, offering insight into the luxury of the time.

Threshold pavement slabs, made of alabaster, were used as decorative carvings inside palace doorways, mimicking textile designs.

Palaces featured rugs and wall hangings for decoration, but these did not survive due to climate unsuitable for fiber preservation.

Alabaster plaques were painted and required upkeep, suggesting they were not merely economical substitutes for carpets.

Ivory carvings of lion's heads symbolized royalty and power, likely part of furniture pieces in the palace.

Ivory had to be imported, indicating the Assyrian Empire's extensive trade routes and power to acquire exotic materials.

Ivory carvings often featured numbering systems, akin to ancient assembly instructions for furniture construction.

Two distinct styles of Assyrian ivory carving are identified, one with deep carving and the other with inlaid woods.

The deep carving style likely involved artists with more contact with ancient Egypt, incorporating semi-precious stones.

The second style, possibly by local artists, avoided open work and instead used different colored woods and ivory inlays.

Both styles of carvings featured botanical motifs, reflecting the lush gardens surrounding the Assyrian palaces.

Lush gardens and zoos were symbolic of the king's authority over nature and the bounty of his empire.

An ivory plaque thought to be an eye blinker for a horse shows Egyptian influence and the symbol of the Eye of Horus.

The sphinx motif, borrowed from the Egyptians, represents royalty, power, authority, might, and human wisdom.

The sphinx is depicted wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt, indicating cultural exchange and influence.

The splendor of the Assyrian palaces was meant to overwhelm the senses, reflecting the power of the kings.

Transcripts

Syrian Empire Imperial luxury

so in this final video on the Syrian

Empire I wanted to focus on some objects

from the Imperial palaces that have

survived after their eventual looting so

when the Empire Falls as you might

imagine the incoming armies

destroyed large portions of the Assyrian

palaces but some objects survived and

they give us a really interesting view

into the luxury that that probably

um you know it was all over these spaces

so to begin our discussion the object on

the left is has been titled a threshold

pavement slab and what that means is

that this is obviously a low relief

decorative carving of alabaster

that was placed just inside the doorway

to a palace at the threshold

and um as you kind of can guess as

you're looking at it it has a motif a

design that in all probability was meant

to mimic a textile we know that the

Palaces themselves had rugs and wall

hangings made out of fiber all over the

place it was a form of decoration and

luxury but none of those objects have

survived the climate in this region just

wasn't suitable for preserving fibers

for that period of time and so we have

this really interesting surrogate if you

will it appears that you know instead of

placing a carpet in this particular

location

a carpet was kind of metaphorically

imprinted on this space made permanent

in this threshold space and on some

level that can sound you know practical

carpets will deteriorate over time

um but this uh particular plaque was

also painted and that would have

required you know upkeep over time so I

don't think that this

um this Stone impression of of a carpet

was really meant as any kind of

economical uh

device

um but it's a really kind of interesting

and playful way in which some forms of

luxury within the palace there was an

attempt to make them permanent and in a

way you know it worked because this is

what we have that survives

on the right here

um you can pretty easily see we have an

ivory carving of a lion's head

um and this is the first of several

Ivory carvings that I'm going to show

you this was a particular medium that

did survive over the centuries largely

because when the Palaces were looted

um for whatever reason Ivory carvings

many of them were thrown down a

particular well and so we have that that

cash that um body of material uh has

been left to us and so we can see this

this Ivory carving of a lion's head

we've seen Lions now many many times and

most recently in the video about the um

Assyrian wall plaques within the palace

we know that lions are associated with

royalty this whole idea of bringing a

lion under your power would have been

rhetorically potent for the Assyrian

Kings and probably this guy was some

component of a piece of furniture

in other instances you know through

through other images we know that

occasionally lions were

um the the face of a throne could be

carved into the form of a lion or two

lines sitting side by side so it's

possible that this was also part of the

base of a um

of a chair of some kind but we think

that it was definitely part of a piece

of furniture because

um that's what the majority of these

Ivory carvings that survive were they

actually have uh numbering systems on

them that appear to have been sort of

like you know the original version of

Ikea construction manuals in terms of

how to build Furniture

um which is pretty fascinating

but uh a couple of things here the the

symbolism of the lion would have again

been a sign of power and authority but

also the material so Ivory would not

have been locally accessible within the

Empire

um Ivory had to come from

um the North Western sections of of the

Empire and it came there via trade

routes that were connected to Egypt and

even farther below Egypt in Nubia

modern-day Sudan

so this Ivory would have come from

either an elephant tusk or a

hippopotamus tooth truthfully I have no

idea how big those are so maybe you can

get you can make this out of a

hippopotamus tooth I don't know

um but that kind of uh again materials

covering a long long long long distance

um was an indicator of of power

other examples of ivory carving as I

said also come from furniture and

they're sort of depending on who you ask

two to three styles of this Ivory

carving the style on the left here you

can see is featured

um this may or may not be obvious but it

has lots of deep carving so these are

griffins which are hybrid animals

combining Eagles and lions

and you can see in the wings that

there's really deep carving that in all

probability had semi-precious stones

placed in those recesses and this idea

of carving so that you can insert and

embed a stone is a technique called

Klausen a

so um this first style of Assyrian Ivory

carving

um there's a lot of that there's uh

Klausen a there's what we call open work

where lots of negative space has been

carved away and that appears to have

been

um a style made by artists trained

um

in communities that had more contact

with ancient Egypt

communities or artists that came from

communities that were quote unquote more

local or had a more a Syrian aesthetic

would create something like you're

looking at on the right here

um which is you know equally gorgeous

but it's it's just different they tended

to have they are not doing

um open work and they're not really

doing Klausen a in this case they are

doing inlays of different colors of wood

and ivory which is interesting but um

you know those are the two camps some

people say there's a third but we won't

get into that

nevertheless hopefully when you are

looking at both of these

um you are impressed by their

craftsmanship

um arguably their beauty but they also

both have a Botanical motifs so we have

our two Griffins here

um kind of gallivanting in some sort of

mythical Botanical Paradise we have

lotus flowers blooming and there's just

this this sense of like Lush vegetation

and that's also happening on our chair

back here with these kind of stylized

vines that are moving around

um so this was also something that was

referenced in the video this idea or

this fact rather that surrounding the

Assyrian palaces were Lush Gardens even

zoos with you know wild animals that are

there for display and both of these um

uh both of these things were really

meant again to reflect the the king's

authority over nature

um The Bounty that he could bring to his

Empire kind of symbolized in these Lush

Lush Gardens and then his authority over

the natural world in terms of owning and

quote taming these wild animals

um so rhetorically that is also brought

into the palace reminders of the King's

Empire and the the natural wealth

therein

um this uh in all probability was the

backing of a chair and this was some

kind of decorative uh appendage perhaps

to a table there's a hole that is

running along the back here uh which we

think a dowel went through

um and then perhaps was a kind of

decorative uh added to a table

and then last but not least there are a

variety of

um ivories that really explicitly show

this Egyptian influence

um the again there are dozens of them

but the ones I'm showing you over here

we have an ivory plaque excuse me that

we think was used as an eye blinker for

a horse

so you know sometimes if you watch

horses

um in sporting events they'll have kind

of blinders on to prevent them from uh

looking to the periphery this is

something along those lines we think

um and you may or may not recognize this

very stylized eye

um with a faux beard in this case a

human hand coming out and this stylized

eye with its its curlicue

um we will come to recognize as an

Egyptian symbol for the Eye of Horus if

the eye is facing left as in this case

it is this is the Eye of Horus if it's

facing right it's the god or excuse me

the eye of raw

um and both of these are are Egyptian

divinities Horus in this case is being

invoked as

um

a sign and a symbol of protection in

this context He Is A Healer protector

bringer of well-being and you can

imagine you know that is something that

one would want on your very valuable

horse being used for for Royal purposes

um but you know I think it's fascinating

that we have this as we say in art

history this iconography this symbolism

from a different civilization in

materials

um that are more native to that

Civilization making their way all the

way to Syria

finally over here we have

um a plaque and this hope maybe possibly

is recognizable to you as a sphinx we

have the body of a lion here

um this particular Sphinx is is winged

and then a human head so we have signs

of of royalty Power Authority might

strength and then human wisdom attached

um and also not coincidentally walking

through some more vegetation like we've

seen on the the other plaques but again

this Sphinx Motif is something that the

Assyrians will

um borrow from the Egyptians and in this

case it's will have an opportunity to

see a better example of this later on

but our Sphinx is even wearing the

crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt these

two sections of the eventual

um Egyptian Kingdom

so

um as I say you know when we we add in

this information about the ivories about

the semi-precious stones and nettles

that might have been used in klausene

work and our knowledge of

um tapestries as recorded through these

these Stone carvings hopefully that

gives us a little richer sense of just

the overwhelming Splendor that was

really key to the Assyrian palaces the

way that these palaces Were Meant to you

know just overwhelm the senses

um as a reflection of the power of the

Kings