From Stone to Silicone: Recasting Mesopotamian Monuments

The Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East has reimagined its grand third-floor atrium gallery, featuring the arts of ancient Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). This installment showcases newly fabricated casts from the ancient scenes that once adorned Mesopotamian palace walls. Meticulously created by museum curators and Harvard students, these relief sculptures show how the ancient kings commemorated their military triumphs and civic achievements. For ancient audiences, these scenes presented powerful royal propaganda. For modern audiences, they reveal great artistry and important glimpses into life in the ancient Near East.

"Art of Intimidation: Journey to Ancient Assyria" is the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East augmented-reality Snapchat lens that brings to life the large casts of sculpted panels from the famed royal palaces of ancient Nineveh and Nimrud (in what is now Iraq). Watch the panels come alive as they depict scenes that are variously celebratory, imposing, and violent—designed to demonstrate the kings’ power and to impress. The experience colorizes and animates the panels, accompanied with sounds, period music, and commentary by Dan-Assur, the palace overseer.