What are the characteristics of early animal sculptures in Mesopotamia?

There are two characteristics of animal sculpture in West Asia, which are worthy of attention in terms of expression. The first point is that Mesopotamia seems to have shown great enthusiasm for lions from an early age.

West Asian sculptures generally use realistic techniques when expressing beasts and lions, with accurate modeling and no excessive exaggeration or deformation. This lifelike table tennis method itself shows that West Asian artists are familiar with the lion. It is precisely because of this historical tradition of West Asian civilization that in the later Babylonian Empire, especially the Assyrian Empire, all kinds of "wounded lions" created by Mesopotamian artists often had touching and shocking artistic power. Of course, the motifs of artistic expression such as lions appear in sculptures in West Asia, not as objects of worship or praise, and even on many occasions, they are often hunted by kings. Lion hunting is the favorite theme of dignitaries in West Asia. As early as 3300 BC, during the Uruk culture period, there were stone reliefs of powerful men hunting lions. Of course, this theme later became one of the favorite themes of the Assyrian Empire. Even during the Persian kingdom in the 7th century, lion hunting was still a frequent entertainment for members of the royal family and even nobles. Paintings or reliefs with similar themes from the Persian Empire in West Asia can still be seen in some tomb murals of the Tang Dynasty in China. Obviously, many kings in the history of West Asia usually proved their fearlessness and strength by competing with the most ferocious animal, the lion, the king of beasts.

There is a relief lion image on the outside of the pottery bottle used for sacrifice during Jem deta ITER culture in West Asia.

Barnabas, king of Assyria, hunted lions. Relief of Ashgabat Palace in the 7th century BC.