ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page i The Graven Image ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page ii ARCHAEOLOGY, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY Ian Hodder and Robert Preucel, Series Editors A complete list of books in the series is available from the publisher. ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page iii The Graven Image Representation in Babylonia and Assyria Zainab Bahrani UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS Philadelphia ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page iv Copyright © 2003University of Pennsylvania Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Published by University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4011 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bahrani, Zainab, 1962– The graven image : representation in Babylonia and Assyria / Zainab Bahrani. p. cm. — (Archaeology, culture, and society) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8122-3648-3(cloth : alk. paper) 1. Aesthetics, Oriental. 2. Art, Assyro-Babylonian. 3. Aesthetics, Oriental—Historiography. 4. Art, Assyro-Babylonian—Historiography. I. Title. II. Series. BH102.B342003 302.2'0935—dc21 2003047322 ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page v To Kenan with love ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page vi ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page vii Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix INTRODUCTION 1 1. THE AESTHETIC AND THE EPISTEMIC: RACE, CULTURE, AND ANTIQUITY 13 2. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL ORIENT: DESPOTIC TIME AND THE TIME OF THE DESPOTS 50 3. ETHNOGRAPHY AND MIMESIS: REPRESENTING AESTHETIC CULTURE 73 4. BEING IN THE WORD: OF GRAMMATOLOGY AND MANTIC 96 5. >ALMU: REPRESENTATION IN THE REAL 121 6. DECOYS AND LURES: SUBSTITUTION AND THE UNCANNY DOUBLE OF THE KING 149 7. PRESENCE AND REPETITION: THE ALTAR OF TUKULTI-NINURTA 185 8. CONCLUSION: IMAGE, TEXT, AND DIFFÉRANCE, OR FROM DIFFERENCE TO DIFFÉRANCE 202 NOTES 211 BIBLIOGRAPHY 219 INDEX 237 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 241 ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page viii ugib$$1.qxd 5/21/03 10:03 AM Page ix Illustrations 1. Henry Layard in the Archive Chamber, Kouyunjik 48 2. Tree of Architectureby Banister Fletcher 55 3. Map of the world by al Idrisi, A.D.1553(A.H. 960) 60 4a. Uruk III tablet (recto), ca. 3100B.C. 101 4b. Uruk III tablet (verso), ca. 3100B.C. 101 5. Uruk IV tablet, ca. 3200B.C. 105 6a. Assyrian Dream Book tablet (recto), seventh century B.C. 108 6b. Assyrian Dream Book tablet (verso), seventh century B.C. 109 7. Statue of Ashurnasirpal II from the Ishtar Temple, Nimrud, 883–859B.C. 124 8. Detail of Ashurnasirpal II statue 126 9. Portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701 139 10. Head of Ashurbanipal, from lion hunt reliefs, Nineveh, ca. 645B.C. 141 11. Sennacherib viewing the booty from Lachish, Nineveh, Southwest Palace, ca. 700B.C. 153 12. Assyrian officer presenting the new Elamite king, Nineveh, South- west Palace, ca. 650B.C. 154 13. Ashurbanipal banquet, Nineveh, North Palace, ca. 645B.C. 155 14. Codex Hammurabi, 1792–1750B.C. 157 15. Manishtushu, king of Akkad, ca. 2260B.C. 158 16. Head of Babylonian king, possibly Hammurabi, ca. 1750B.C. 159 17. Enthroned ruler of Eshnunna in eastern Iraq, ca. 2000B.C. 160 18. Victory stele of Naramsin, 2254–2218B.C. 161 19. Bronze head of Akkadian ruler, possibly Naramsin, Nineveh, ca. 2254–2218B.C. 163 20. Human-headed winged bull, Khorsabad, ca. 710B.C. 167 21. Lamassu, human-headed winged lion, Nimrud palace, gate guardian, ca. 865B.C. 168 22. Removal of the gods, Nimrud, palace of Tiglath Pileser III, ca. 730B.C. 175