Raft Conveying Winged Bull to Baghdad
1850
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1850
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
This watercolour shows a raft carrying an ancient Assyrian winged bull. Made around 1849–50, it’s a quick sketch of how massive statues traveled down the Tigris. The bulls were dug up in Iraq by Austen Henry Layard. They sat for centuries in Nimrud before being loaded on rafts made of animal skins and wood. They’re now at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Check out the museum’s Assyrian galleries next time you’re in London.
