Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 12. (Budapest, 1970)
HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM — MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Meyer, G. R.: The Museum of Western Asiatic Antiquity in Berlin (G.D.R.) Rebuilt and Reorganized
selected from the finds of the German excavations at Sam'al (1888 to 1902); Babylon (1899 to 1917); Fara (1902 to 1903); Assur (1903 to 1913); Bogazköy (1906 to 1907; 1911 to 1912; 1931 to 1939); Tell Halaf (1911 to 1913; 1927; 1929) and Uruk (1928 to 1939). We enter the Museum of Western Asiatic Antiquity via the lobby (Room 1), where plaster casts of reliefs from Yazilikaya and Firaktin are displayed, and progress to Room. 2. Here we find many major and minor items from the northern part of the Ancient Near East : from Hittite Asia Minor in the West, from North Syria and from Upper Mesopotamia (excluding the Assyrian area). The architecture of this hall is dominated by the reconstruction of the interior gate of the palace of Sam'al, the capital of a small South Anatolian principality (now Zincirli), with its four huge doorway lions and the orthostate decorated with a variety of reliefs of human beings, animals, and fabulous creatures from the 10th —8th century before our era. We want to make special mention of the corner slab with the figures of King Barrakab and his scribe; and then the magnificent small relief beside it, representing perhaps Kilamuwa with his son or a servant. Last not least, we should not fail to mention the stele of a princess discovered in the same palace. The show-cases in this room have been considerably enriched by a good number of Syrio-Hittite bronzes returned to us by the Soviet Union. The finds from the ruins of Tell Halaf in Upper Mesopotamia — they, too, are displayed in Hall 2 — arc impressive as well as instructive. Apart from many orthostats (probably of the 10th century before our era). Tell Halaf of fers us mainly pottery and minor finds belonging to the oldest periods of the history of Hither Asia. From the multitude of stone remains, let me mention the gigantic bird with its powerful beak. Another item worth mentioning here is the altar wall of the Guzana period (about 800 before our era), composed of enamelled molded bricks. Room 3 contains a tall basalt stele of Asarhaddon of Assyria, discovered at Sam'al. Near the inner door of the room there is a pair of sphinxes from Bogazköy. and at the intrados of the passage-way a stele of Sargon II (from Cyprus) and the plaster-cast of an Asarhaddon relief from Nahr-el-Kelb have been placed. Room No. 4 takes us to Central and Southern Mesopotamia. To begin with, we find here a magnificent collection of very ancient painted pottery from Samarra (Central Mesopotamia). Next you have a great number of antiques of all types (sculpture, personal ornaments, everyday utensils, inscriptions, etc.) from the South of Mesopotamia, Ancient Sumer. In order to illustrate the beauty and vitality of Sumerian art of the third millennium to the visitor, two rows of friezes were chosen as wall decoration in this room. Their motifs have been designed after very ancient Sumerian inlaid tiles, which were found in the excavation of the temple of a Sumerian mother goddess (Ninhursag) at Tell-el-Obed, which was erected about 2450 years before our era. — They show (below) moving cattle and scenes from dairy-work: a hurdle, and servants of the temple milking the cows and churning (on the left). The upper frieze presents a long row of birds. Room 5 offers survey of the development of Sumerian culture and art on the basis of excavation discoveries made at Uruk. The large peg-mosaic wall
