Locket with Assyrian human-headed winged lion

Following the excavation of Assyrian palaces in the mid-nineteenth century, ancient Mesopotamian imagery began to be used in European decorative arts, including jewelry and ceramics. Publicity in the form of news coverage and popular books around the excavations, removal of many sculptures from sites in northern Iraq to England and France, and public spectacles such as the reconstructed ‘Nineveh Court’ in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, London, fostered a fascination with Assyria and Assyrian art among the Victorian public.

The face of this locket shows a winged human-headed lion. Colossal lion and bull statues of this type were placed at key gateways in Assyrian palaces. Some were shipped to London and Paris, becoming popular icons of the Assyrian excavations. The interior contains a glass-covered compartment for keepsakes, now empty.