that known as the "honeysuckle ornament" of Greek architecture and vase-painting; one hand of each figure is raised, and generally holds some mystic offering or symbol, such as a fir-cone, a pomegranatebranch, a necklace, &c.

Upon the West side of the room is a similar subject (No. 2), on a bas relief within a boldly-projected border; two kings are here introduced in the conventional attitude of sacrifice or adoration, and each attended by a winged and triple-horned figure; above the mystic tree is the symbol of Divinity, sometimes described under the Persian name of Ferouher, being a small figure within a winged circle, holding a ring. The same symbol, which is supposed to represent the god Assur, reappears, under a modified form, in some of the battle-scenes, where it seems to watch over the person of the king, and sometimes draws a bow at his enemies.

The double frieze, which next succeeds, may be regarded as illustrating the prowess of Assur-nasir-apli, both in the chase and in war. First come the hunting-scenes-Nos. 3a and 3b, a bull-hunt, and the successful return; Nos. 4a and 46, a lion-hunt, with similar sequel. Afterwards the military scenes, among which may be distinguishedNos. 7b-9b. The passage of a river by the king and his army. The chariots are embarked in boats; the horses swim behind, guided by halters; many of the soldiers are likewise swimming, supported by skins filled with air; others on shore are inflating skins previously to entering the stream.

Nos. 106-126. The capitulation of a city, and the king receiving the prisoners and spoil, a subject extending over a part of slab No. 13b. The original of No. 12b was so shattered, that Mr. Layard did not attempt to remove it, but made a careful drawing, from which has been executed the painting which here fills the vacant space. A portion of this slab subsequently obtained is opposite.

Nos. 11a-13 a. The return from battle. To the left is seen the ground plan of a circular building, divided into four apartments, in each of which are figures preparing food; adjoining is a tent, with horses and grooms; beyond are soldiers at their games, and musicians; and to the right, the king in a triumphal procession.

Nos. 13b-15b. Siege of a city by Assur-nazir-pal, or Assur-nasir-apli, a subject presenting many curious details of military architecture and engineering, both aggressive and defensive; walls with serrated parapets, arched gateways with ornamental mouldings; the assailants mining, breaching, and scaling; a battering-ram plied from the interior of a moveable machine, surmounted by a tower, which is filled with archers and slingers; the besieged lowering grappling-irons from a bastion to catch the ram, and hurling firebrands to ignite the machine; the besiegers playing water on the flames; and each side discharging arrows and stones.

No. 17. A winged figure, with a stag and a branch of flowers.

No. 17 a. (Near the southern end of the gallery.) Upper part of a male figure, with the eyes and hair tinted black, exhibiting a greater amount of artificial colour than any other Assyrian sculpture yet discovered.

In the middle of the room are nine Table-Cases, two of which contain antiquities from Babylonia, and the rest miscellaneous small objects found at Nimroud, chiefly in the ruins of the North-west edifice, and probably therefore of the age of Assur-nasir-apli, about B.C. 885.

Case A has several miscellaneous bronze objects, small bells, weapons, and articles of furniture, parts of thrones, chariots, vases, moulds for earrings, &c.

Cases B and C contain some of the most interesting articles in the collection. The principal are a series of ivory-carvings from the Northwest edifice, one having an Egyptian name within a hieroglyphical cartouche, and many others exhibiting Egyptian figures or decorations, -a conclusive proof of an intimate connection between Egypt and Assyria at a very early period; a large variety of ivorycarvings of more purely Assyrian character, one with Phoenician inscription, found in the South-east edifice.

Case D contains objects in bronze and iron, parts of thrones, two with Phoenician inscriptions, bowls containing bones of hands of enemies.

Case E contains some miscellaneous objects and ornaments from Babylonia and Assyria, amongst which are a series of six small terracotta winged figures, found beneath the pavement at Kouyunjik, a large and very fine stone, containing an inscription of Rammanunirari, B.C. 1330, and a tablet containing part of the annals of Tiglath-pileser III., B.C. 745, from Nimroud. Also some bronze bowls, engraved with elegant designs, and in some cases, the name of the owner in Phoenician characters on the edge.

Case F has some more bowls, and a remarkable collection of bronze weights, in the form of recumbent lions, on some of which are engraved bilingual inscriptions, in the Phoenician, and cuneiform or Assyrian characters.

Case G contains several bronze bowls, with embossed and engraved ornaments of great beauty and curiosity, some of distinctly Egyptian style, such as winged gryphons, scarabæi, &c.

Case H has some miscellaneous antiquities, some of which were excavated by Rassam in Babylonia, in 1878-9. The principal are, some stone tablets, containing an inscription of Gudea, Viceroy of Lagas, now Tel-lo, about 2000 B.C.; a clay tablet containing an inscription of Ru-sak, an early king; a very fine stone tablet from Sippara, the seat of the Sungod worship, representing the Sun-god seated in his shrine with the solar disc before him, which two small figures above seem to direct. Before the disc are three figures, one being evidently Nabû-aplaiddin, the king who had the stone carved. The rest of the obverse and the whole of the reverse contain a long inscription of this king. A fragment of a cylinder from Birs-Nimroud, referring to affairs in Babylonia, about the 7th century B.C.; some small cylinders of Nebuchadnezzar; a cylinder of Cyrus referring to his conquest of Babylon; an unbaked clay tablet containing a portion of the

annals of the reign of Nabonidus, mentioning Astyages, king of Ecbatana, and giving a full account of the conquest of Babylonia by Cyrus; and a tablet containing part of a map of Babylon.

Among the miscellaneous antiquities are, a headdress from the statue of a goddess, containing an inscription of Dungi, King of Babylonia, about 2000 B.c.; some bronze figures of Gudea, Viceroy of Lagas, now Tel-lo, about the same period; a bronze head of a cat, from Babylon, &c.

Case I contains terracotta tablets of the class known as 66 contracts." On one side are some case-tablets, dated in the reigns of Khammurabi and Samsu-iluna, about 2100 B.C., and some contracts dated in the reigns of the Seleucida and the Arsacidæ.

On the other side are a series of contracts of the later Babylonian empire, many of which relate to the commercial transactions of the family of Egibi, dated in the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabonidus, Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and Lâbasi-Marduk (Labarosoardachos). The principal of these are, a small tablet from Warka recording the sale of a door, a tablet awarding compensation for killing a man, another dated in the reign of Nabonidus, mentioning "the messenger of Belshazzar, the son of the king," and a tablet dated in the first year of Cambyses, as king of Babylon, his father Cyrus being at that time "king of countries." In the middle are placed tablets of a larger size, referring to the sale of houses, fields, &c., and some private memoranda and letters. After these are exhibited the best of the Babylonian contract tablets, presented by the proprietors of the Daily Telegraph, the dates of which extend from Esarhaddon to Darius, a period of nearly 200 years,

At the North-west angle of this Gallery is a door leading into the

ASSYRIAN SIDE-ROOM.

In this room, and in the basement room with which it is connected by a staircase, are placed some of the sculptures and other objects procured by Mr. Rassam and Mr. Loftus, after the collection obtained by Mr. Layard had been already arranged. In addition to these are some objects from Babylonia. The wall cases contain miscellaneous objects of different periods discovered in Assyria and Babylonia.

The principal objects in this room are

A four-sided and arch-headed stele, of limestone, having in front a bas-relief of the king Samsi-Rammanu, son of Shalmaneser, and containing a long inscription in archaic characters, recording the history of his reign. It was found by Mr. Rassam in the South-east edifice of Nimroud.

G

Two boundary-stones, with reliefs and inscriptions, of the reign of Merodach-nadin-akhi, a king of Babylon who reigned about 1100 B.C.; others of the reign of Merodach-bal-adan I., B.C. 1325; Nebuchadnezzar I., about 1150 B.C.; Nabû-kîn-abli, about 900 B.c.; and two of Meli-Sigu, about B.c. 1107. Also a monolith, with the figure of a king of Babylon, perhaps Samas-sum-ukîn, brother of Assurbani-apli or Assur-bani-pal.

The Wall Cases at the sides of the room contain miscellaneous objects, the most remarkable of which are as follows:Cases Nos. 1-4. Assyrian bronze helmets, and fragments of stone and terracotta figures.

Cases 5 & 6. Glass vases, and several Babylonian inscriptions on stone; one of the reign of Esar-haddon.

Cases Nos. 7-12. Various vases of alabaster and terracotta, one of alabaster holding sweetmeats, and a remarkable glass vase, impressed with the name of Sargina, or Sargon, B.C. 721; several prisms and cylinders of terracotta: one with the history of the first eight expeditions of Sennacherib, including an account of the invasion of Judæa, and others of Esarhaddon and Assur-banî-apli. A series of bricks with royal names.

Cases Nos. 13-15. Objects in bronze and terracotta, amongst which are a shield, cauldron, and enamelled bricks.

Cases Nos. 16-19. Three earthenware coffins, covered with a blue vitreous glaze, and having small figures in low relief. They were found by Mr. Loftus at Warka, in a mound, formed almost entirely of similar remains, but are not, perhaps, older than the time of the Parthian Empire. Various glazed vessels and part of a bronze throne.

The staircase leads to the

ASSYRIAN BASEMENT ROOM.

The sculptures arranged in this room, with one exception, belong to the time of Assur-banî-apli, the grandson of Sennacherib, having been discovered in the ruins of two palaces at Kouyunjik, excavated, one by Mr. H. Rassam, the other by Mr. Loftus. Dating from the latest period of Assyrian art, they exhibit greater freedom of design, particularly in the animal forms, and greater delicacy of execution, than the basreliefs from Nimroud, or even the earlier monuments from Kouyunjik. Among the most remarkable are―

Nos. 1-8. Various operations of the camp, the bringing in of the heads of slain enemies, and registration of spoil and trophies.

Nos. 9-14. Soldiers and musicians, some of whom are captives. Nos. 17, 18. Assyrian deities.

Nos. 19, 20. Part of the Assyrian army and prisoners of war.

Nos. 21-32. The assault and capture of the city of Lachish by Sennacherib; his fortified camp and reception of prisoners.

Nos. 33-53. A lion-hunt by Assur-banî-apli, or Sardanapalus. A large area formed by spearmen prevents the escape of the animals. The lions are let loose from cages (No. 52), and are killed by the monarch with arrows, while horsemen attend and gallop round in different directions. One or two lions are seen in different groups attacking the king. The fury of the wounded and agony of the dying lions, as also the impatience of four dogs restrained by their keepers, are admirably delineated.

Nos. 54-62. The capture of a city in Susiana and reception of prisoners by the same monarch.

Nos. 63-74. The return from the chase in a series of slabs of the same size and style as Nos. 33-55. The hunters bear birds and dead lions, and lead the hunting dogs, and sumpter mules laden with nets.

Nos. 75-78. Scenes apparently of a paradeisos or park; a musician and lion; and a lion and lioness amidst trees and flowers; keepers and hunting dogs.

Nos. 79-82. Assyrian deities.

Nos. 83-90. Wars of Assur-banî-apli; the attack of an Arab race, who, mounted on one-humped camels, take to flight, while their tents are surprised and burnt; the siege of two cities and capture of one with its Ethiopian garrison of negroes, placed there by some Egyptian monarch.

Nos. 91-94. A hostile army flying past an Assyrian city or fortress, with an inner building with columns resting on the backs of lions and winged bulls, and a temple with columns and pilasters resembling those of the Ionic order; in front is a tablet with figure of the king and altar like that in the Assyrian transept, and a bridge or viaduct. with openings like Gothic arches.

No. 95. Execution of the king of Susiana.

No. 96. Royal attendants bringing offerings.

Nos. 97-102a. Pavement slabs with representations of carpets. Nos. 104-119. A series of slabs divided horizontally into two or three tiers of small figures, remarkable for the delicacy of their execution. They represent hunting scenes, the pursuit of deer, goats, wild asses, and the different modes of killing the lion described in the accompanying inscriptions.

No. 120. Capture and burning of a city; guarding of captives, who are at meals.

No. 121. Fine slab representing Assur-banî-apli and his queen banqueting under a bower of vines. The king reposes on a couch, at the foot of which the queen is seated on a chair. A musician and attendants with viands and fans wait on the royal pair. Birds and grasshoppers are singing in the adjacent trees, from one of which hangs the head of Te-umman, king of Elam.

Nos. 122-124. Lion-hunting and other scenes.

In the centre of the room are three Table Cases containing several miscellaneous small articles of bronze, iron, and terracotta.