Text, Alabaster relief, Ashurnasirpal II, Favourite of gods

Ashurnasirpal II - Favourite of the gods, Alabaster, Kalhu/Nimrud (Iraq), 9th century BC, Purchase 1855, VA 950, Unlike the other alabaster reliefs on display here, the two large wall slabs to the left and right of the doorway into the Palace Room are divided into three registers. The upper scene shows kneeling figures, recognizable as divine beings from their horned crowns and their wings. Their hands are touching a stylized palm tree, whose origin and meaning has not yet been conclusively deciphered. In the lower picture field, bird-headed genii, known as Apkallu in the Akkadian language, appear to be harvesting a similar tree. This is located at the Pergamon museum