Sun. Jan. 4 

Last calll! “Art and Empire: Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum" "does dwell on brutality and ferocity,” says Larry Berman, Museum of Fine Arts curator of the exhibit. “Cities besieged, enemies impaled on spikes, you see these great monsters and demons there to protect the king’s palace, lion-headed men with birds feet. It’s amazingly fearsome and fantastic. I think this will trigger people’s imagination.” The exhibit – with 250 artifacts drawn mainly from the excavation by British archeologists in the 1840s and ‘50s – closes Jan. 4.“The Assyrian Empire is one of the major ancient civilization,” says Berman, the biggest known empire of its time."

Berman continues, “This is the first time the MFA has done an exhibition of near-Eastern art since the 1960s. The reliefs are enormously impressive because of the great size, but also vivid because of their great narrative. They tell the narrative of travel and military campaigns, and are full of action. The figures appear almost comic strip-wise.” The fact that the empire encompassed all of Iraq – that’s the empire’s core in fact - Syria, Lebanon as well as parts of Isreal, Egypt, Turkey and Iran may pique interest, too.
   The exhibit contains 250 objects – 30 of them reliefs. Other objects found include works found inside the palaces and beautiful carved ivory furniture. ‘They were an educated and warlike people,” says Berman. ‘The art is representing of all that was stylish in ancient near-Eastern world. But they’re best known for military their campaigns.” A number of those are depicted on the reliefs.
    Berman says as curator he doesn’t get the “Golly gee!’ rush of discovery, but that’s what he hopes the patrons get. “Looking at what’s gone before you bcome better informed,” he says. “You learn by it and be entertained. This is a whole new field of art history; I want to give people the opportunity to see that world recreated." Today, Sunday Jan. 4 is its last day. Hours: Sun. 10 a.m. -4:45 p.m. Admission: $17.

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