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Secondary sourcePainting

Relief of Ashurbanipal on His Chariot with Retinue, Study Sketches

A pen and pencil sketchbook study of a Nineveh palace relief depicting Ashurbanipal riding in his chariot with attendants.

A later study sketch of a relief depicting Ashurbanipal riding in his royal chariot.

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Pen and pencil sketch in a small bound sketchbook, page numbered 13 with a handwritten label reading Ninive. It depicts a bearded figure under a parasol-like canopy in a chariot, with a standing attendant and a wheel, plus studies of a sleeve-like fringe, a head, and a seated figure at upper right.
Relief des Assurbanipal auf seinem Streitwagen mit Gefolge, detail studies. Art Collection of the University of Göttingen.

About this source

What it is

This is a page from a bound sketchbook held by the Art Collection of the University of Göttingen, labeled 'Ninive'. It contains pen and pencil studies made from a relief at Nineveh, showing Ashurbanipal under a canopy in his chariot with a standing attendant, along with separate detail studies of drapery, a head, and a seated figure.

Why it matters

Sketches like this were made by scholars or artists studying the original Nineveh reliefs, and they helped preserve and spread knowledge of Assyrian royal imagery before photography became common. They show how later researchers engaged closely with the details of ancient art to understand Ashurbanipal's world.

Look closer

  • Why might someone sketch small details like drapery or a head separately?
  • What does the canopy and chariot suggest about how the king traveled or was portrayed?
  • How might a sketch differ from a photograph in what it records about an artifact?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ashurbanipal on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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