Gate lions from Sam'al
The gate lions from Sam'al are four lion-shaped animal statues that are now in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin ( Pergamonmuseum ).
The lion statues come from Sam'al , today's Zincirli , and are dated to the 10th to 8th centuries BC. Dated. They probably belonged to the inner castle gate on the east side, but they were discovered in a secondary location. All four differ from one another in some features. The differences are so great that research today assumes that the outer lions must be dated to the 10th century BC, the inner statues to the 8th century BC. Both statues are almost at right angles to each other. The side view is only shown in low relief. The younger lion statues were created by reworking older statues. They are further worked out of the wall than the older ones, and also in other details such as mane and extremities. In addition, the mouth is opened wider and thus creates a more impressive threatening behavior: threatening gestures . The bodies act like orthostats and were both sculptural jewelry and a constructive element.
The gate lions are displayed in the Pergamon Museum in room 2, Syria and Asia Minor . They form an ensemble with other parts of the Sam'al Castle Gate and are located at the end of the processional street of Babylon opposite the Ishtar Gate . The statues made of dolerite were found during excavations by the Orient Committee in 1890/91 and brought to Berlin as part of the then common division of finds . They are 1.90 meters high, 2.90 and 3.05 meters long and 0.90 and 0.85 meters wide. The figures have the inventory numbers VAG 1042, VA 2719, VA 2718 and VA 3001. Three of the lions are originals, one of the lions is a plaster cast. Two other associated lion figures are now in the Ancient Near Eastern Museum in Istanbul .
literature
- Ralf-Bernhard Wartke : Reconstruction of a castle gate (with a view towards the processional street and the Istar gate) , Zwei Torlöwen , in: Liane Jakob-Rost u. a., Das Vorderasiatisches Museum , von Zabern, Mainz 1992, pp. 218–221
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '15 " N , 13 ° 23' 47" E