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The Balawat Gates of Ashurnasirpal II

edited by J.E. Curtis and N. Tallis

This important volume publishes in full for the first time two sets of highly elaborate Neo-Assyrian bronze gate decorations from the site of Balawat (ancient Imgur-Enlil) in northern Iraq. One set, discovered by Hormuzd Rassam on a British Museum expedition in 1878, is now on permanent display in London. The other set, found by Sir Max Mallowan in 1956, was on display in the Mosul Museum in Iraq after conservation and mounting at the British Museum. The Mosul gates were largely looted and lost following the invasion of Iraq in 2003. This book includes an account of their loss and provides the only complete record of their appearance and excavation.

The Balawat gates were made in the reign of King Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC). The figurative scenes on the 32 bands of chased and embossed bronze, sometimes supported by cuneiform inscriptions, provide a wealth of historical and art-historical information. All this material is now made publicly available in the form of a final excavation report and catalogue. 284p, 5 col & 95 b/w illus, 72 line drawings (British Museum Press 2008)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7141-1166-7
ISBN-10: 0-7141-1166-X

Hardback. Price US $100.00
This book is generally in stock.

Review Quotes

"The book opens up unparalleled access to these rich primary sources for Assyrian history, royal ideology, art and material culture."

Frances Reynolds
Antiquity vol. 83 (December 2009)

"...this is a volume of genuine importance. It publishes a corpus of highly important and highly interesting material in [an] exemplary manner. The authors and editors deserve the respect and gratitude of the entire Mesopotamian community. It is a fundamental contribution to the discipline which will be of lasting value."

John MacGinnis
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 19.3 (2009)

Table of Contents

Foreword; List of illustrations; Introduction; The Excavations at Balawat; The Gates from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II; The Gates of Ashurnasirpal II from the Temple of Mamu; Comparison of the two pairs of Ashurnasirpal II Gates; The Evidence for Bronze Gate Overlay in Mesopotamia; Appendices; Bibliography; Select Index.

Editor Information

John Curtis is Keeper of the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum. He has written extensively on Iran, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and the Ancient Near East. Nigel Tallis is a curator in the same department and specializes in ancient transport and warfare. They previously co-edited Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. The contributors are R. D. Barnett, J. E. Curtis, L. G. Davies, I. L. Finkel, M. M. Howard, E. Sollberger, N. Tallis and C. B. F. Walker.


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