Archaeology of Images: Context and Intericonicity in Neo-Assyrian Art

This paper attempts to foreground the mutual dialogue(s) between Archaeology and Bildwissenschaften by using some case studies from Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs of first millennium BCE according to a twofold topic. Archaeology in Bildwissenschaften: this topic uses the architectural tradition of the royal palace throneroom as a case study for illustrating some principles of the way reliefs were arranged along the walls of the room. The analysis will disclose that the dispositio of each image can be fully understood in its architectural context and only in the light of a ‘bipolarity’ of the throneroom, namely reliefs sparking negative emotions were confined far away the royal throne while those evoking positive emotions were set in proximity of the king. Bildwissenschaften in Archaeology: in dealing with hunt rituals - the well-known depiction in which the king is shown pouring libations over dead lion or bull - this topic focuses on its emergence as a strong Assyrian tradition in the times of Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) and Assurbanipal (668- 631 BCE). Since there are no hunt rituals recorded on palace wall panels between the reigns of these two kings, it seems that Assurbanipal, as a known antiquarian, consciously adopted an antique iconographic motif. This phenomenon, which can be interpreted as an imitation, quotation, allusion, and perhaps homage, will be evaluated according to the modern notion of linguistic intertextuality applied to the realm of visual arts, namely intericonocity (or Interbildlichkeit).