Horses in Neo-Assyrian Reliefs: Observing Physical Types and Their Development
Résumé
One of the recurring motifs in Neo-Assyrian imagery is the horse. Essential for military or hunting scenes, it occupies an important part of the visual framework. However, not all horse f igures are the same and it is easy to differentiate them stylistically in the reliefs. Therefore, we attempt a specific iconographical study of the horse’s shape and morphotype through the different reigns of Assyrian kings. In addition, we discuss the modification of the engraved space as a whole. We thus focus our attention on the use and the disposition of horses within the engraved composition. For this purpose, we follow a comparative method based on the study of physical characteristics and compare the various postures in which horses are shown to try to perceive visual and discursive changes within the images. Thus, from the slender horses of the Ashurnasirpal’s era, to the muscular and fleshy ones of Ashurbanipal, we will question their morphotypes. This approach allows us to take into consideration the horse as a narrative and discursive tool characterising a visual culture necessarily in flux.