Girl taking a photo of a life-size replica of Lamassu at the National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) in Leiden.
Lamassus are Assyrian winged lion deities with five legs. This Lamassu is a replica of a 2,850-year-old original from Nimrud (Northern Iraq). The originals can be seen in the British Museum.
The original sculptures served as guardians and originally adorned an entrance to the throne room in the palace of Ashurnasirpal II in Nimrud. Ashurnasirpal was the first great Assyrian king, reigning over the Assyrian Empire between 883 and 859 BCE. After the fall of the empire, the palace was destroyed, and over the subsequent two thousand years, the remains disappeared underground. Between 1845 and 1851, the remains were excavated again by Sir Austin Henry Layard on behalf of the British Museum.
Picture taken February 26, 2018 | Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Rapenburg, Leiden
