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Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions And Hippopotamus Hunt

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The hunting of animals has been a tradition of humans through out history. We cannot travel back in time to prove this but we do have evidence to support it. The leaders and wealthy class of ancient societies commissioned artists to depict their stories. Some artist depicted a hunting tradition to preserve the memory of the hunt. Two examples of this are Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions and Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt.

The Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions work was made around 870 BCE. It shows king Assurnasirpal riding in a chariot. He is being pulled by two horses and the driver of the chariot is whipping them. The horses are trampling on a dead lion. Assurnasirpal is standing up with a bow in his hand and he is rendered in composite pose. He is shooting a lion chasing the chariot. The lion has three arrows in it as it is pouncing on the chariot. Behind this lion is two soldiers with their shield raised in the air. They both have sword and will stop the lion if it gets too close to the king. This picture is full of both life and action. This brings emotion into the viewer when they see the lion falling and the king being so dominant.

The Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt was made around 2,400 BCE. The scene is set on a body of water. …show more content…

The central figure, is in composite pose and the largest on the hierarchic scale. These works were created thousands of years apart but their meanings are similar. Both of these works record the hunting of animals. However, reason behind hunting the animals is different. Assurnasirpal is hunting the lions for sport and to prove he is superior to them. Ti is commanding his men to hunt the hippopotamus because they are pest to the land and it was his job to get rid of them. The viewing place for these pieces are also completely different. Assurnasirpal has his piece placed in his palace for every one to see. In contrast, Ti has his piece placed in his tomb as more of a religious

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