Etchings page seven
The Assyrians
The Kings Horses ------- The King & His Horses
- one plate one colour - edition 200 - image size 547 X 826 - paper size 675 X 954 -
- both printed on BFK Rives Cream 280gsm -
My interest in Assyrian art came about after a visit to the British Museum, where there is a
marvelous collection of relief carvings representing the life and times of Ashurbanipal
(668-627 BC.). He was a ruler who was both cruel and enlightened. His education in
mathematics, languages, literature, administration and warfare enabled him to hold together
a vast empire with consummate skill. However, his talents were not limited to state craft. He
created a huge library of over five thousand cuneiform texts which is still the most significant
single source for our knowledge of ancient Mesopotamian culture. He was also an
accomplished hunter of lions and promoted his prowess in the bas-reliefs at his palace of
Nineveh. It is these images that so impressed me with their qualities of beauty and brutality. I
spent a few weeks making large pencil drawings of the works and then made the best ones
into etchings.
Mark Millmore R.E.
