Introduction: The provenance of the prints
This paper presents prints of two previously unpublished water colours depicting the excavation of slabs and sculptures found during Layard's excavations at Nimrud in June 1850. Though neither image is signed, an identification of the artist as S.C. Malan is probable. The prints were bought as a pair from a London gallery in December 1999. Both were accompanied by a small card-board notice bearing, in black “India ink”, the word “Nimroud”. The gallery bought the pictures at a public auction in 1996 and had information neither about the previous owners nor the history of the prints.
Description of the prints
The prints, neither of which is signed or dated, after pencil line drawings with water colour colouring. Both are firm card with no blank area framing about the images, and both measuring 23.5 × 34 cm. There is nothing to suggest that the prints should not be dated to the late nineteenth century. They are self-standing and show no indication of having been bound.
The Šarrat nipḫi lions (Fig. 1)
Though lacking a title, the scene in the first print is immediately recognisable as that of the lions flanking the entrance to the Šarrat nipḫi (the Bēlit māti of older publications) shrine at Nimrud.
The entrance to the Šarrat nipḫi shrine
The shrine was originally excavated by Layard in his second expedition to Iraq in 1849–51 (Reference Layard1853: 358–62). The area was re-excavated by Mallowan (Reference Mallowan1966, i: 92) and later again by the Iraqi Department of Antiquities (Agha et al. Reference Agha, Sa'id and al-Iraq.1976: pl. 7). Reade (Reference Reade2002: 181–94) has summarised and discussed the various excavations which reveal that the shrine was located within the north western sector of the mound and south-west of the ziggurat (ibid.: fig. 2), but that it was only partially excavated. The most striking feature recovered was two large statues of lions flanking a door leading into the shrine (probably from an inner courtyard). The eastern lion was damaged and in poor condition. The western lion was removed by Layard and is now in the British Museum (BM ME 118895).
The scene of the excavated lions, doorway, some finds, and one of the Arab workmen (for scale and interest) was captured in water colour by F.C. Cooper (ibid.: 183, fig. 41). This picture was used as the basis for Layard's publication of the excavation (Layard Reference Layard1853: facing page 361). The view is from the west directly into the doorway through which part of the excavated room can be seen.
The Ninurta Temple (Fig. 2)
This sketch would appear to be unfinished and lacks the detail of the drawing of the Šarrat nipḫi shrine. It depicts two stone slabs from an entrance to the Ninurta temple at Nimrud, with Anzu on the left pursued by Ninurta on the right.Footnote 1 Ninurta is in striking pose with bolts of lightning in his right hand and a mace (?) in his upraised left hand. The slabs are shown partially excavated with their lower portions still beneath the ground. The fact that the scene is one of an excavation in progress is further indicated by a basket and pick at the lower left corner of the painting. The pick and the sky at the top left corner are depicted in blue. They are the only elements so highlighted and the rest of the image is executed in pencil and brown wash.
Slabs at the entrance to the Ninurta temple
The Ninurta Temple has been excavated variously by Layard (Reference Layard1853: 348–58), Rawlinson (Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 82) and Mallowan (Reference Mallowan1966, i: 84–92). Reade (Reference Reade2002: 167–81, 186–94) reviewed the results of this work. The slabs depicted in this sketch were excavated by Layard's workmen at some point before mid-May 1850 when Layard returned to the site from an extended trip (Layard Reference Layard1853: 348). They were found flanking the south inner face of the entrance to Room C of the Ninurta Temple. By mid-July 1850 Layard had removed the slabs and sent them down the Tigris river for onward despatch to London (ibid., 364).
F.C. Cooper's painting (original now lost, cf. Reade Reference Reade2002: 142, fig. 6) of the scene was used by Layard, acknowledging Cooper as the artist, when he published the results of his excavations (Reference Layard1853: facing page 351). The slabs on the northern inner face were drawn by S.C. Malan (Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 120, pl. XV; Curtis and Reade 1995: 211; Appendix A, No. 16). The slabs in this new illustration were removed to the British Museum (Ninurta, BM ME 124572; Anzu, BM ME 124571).
Dating the drawings
The sketches published here are clearly either working drawings or drawings made in haste and never completed. This is particularly true of the slabs at the Ninurta Temple. They both show scenes of excavation in progress and are not idealised tableaus. This suggests that they were completed at Nimrud during Layard's excavations. As we know that the slabs and lions in the drawings were excavated before May 1850 and removed for transportation to London by the 11th of July of the same year (cf. Layard Reference Layard1853: 364–65) the drawings must have been executed in situ between May and early July 1850.
As to the prints, any details the artist may have had on the originals were altered and removed. This is true of annotations giving dates and locations as we can see from the versions published by Layard (Reference Layard1853).
The images in the prints bear a marked similarity to those in the Malan portfolio of drawings. Both were originally sketched on site in pencil. In some cases details were coloured using watercolour. The images depicted in the prints are fully coloured in a way that the original drawings are not. This is almost certainly a process conducted specifically for the print.
A similar print in colour of Malan's sketch of the north side of the entrance to the Temple of Ninurta (Appendix A, No. 16) appears online.Footnote 2 It is a partner to the Ninurta temple print discussed above; however, I am unable to verify the nature of the original image now hosted on the website. It does suggest that at some point some of Malan's sketches were used to create prints, the use of which is unclear. It is also unclear why, if this did happen, the original sketches on which the prints published here are based were not reserved, while the original drawing of the print seen on the internet was.
Artists at Nimrud
Turner (in Barnett et al. Reference Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner1998: 16–17) lists the various artists who visited Layard at Mosul during his second season of excavations at Nineveh and Nimrud, 1849–51, and who made drawings while there.Footnote 3 Of this group only two—F.C. Cooper (Turner Reference Turner2003: 197–9) and the Reverend Caesar Solomon Malan—were at Nimrud in June/July 1850 when the slabs and lions were excavated. T.S. Bell, who replaced the sick Cooper, did not arrive in Mosul until March 1851 (ibid.: 198). There were other visitors to Mosul at this time (Layard Reference Layard1853: 363–64), and though it is not recorded that they did so, they may have drawn at Nimrud. Of course Layard himself was an accomplished artist who made drawings of much that he excavated (Turner Reference Turner2003: 196–97).
Malan and Layard
Solomon Caesar Malan (1812–1894) was a distinguished biblical and oriental scholar whose death was marked by an obituary in the Times (28 November 1894, page 6)Footnote 4 . His work and life were celebrated at a three day conference at Wadham College, Oxford University, in August 2012. Malan's son, A. N. Malan, wrote a largely turgid biography of his father (1897). A.N. Malan inherited ten folios with 1614 drawings and sketches produced by his father (ibid.: 211–12). In 1937 Volume IV of this collection (Malan Reference Malan1850) was given by A.N. Malan to the British Library (Add. Ms. 45.360; Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 118). This folio included the drawings Malan made at Nimrud and Nineveh when he visited in 1850.
Between 10 and 20 June 1850 Malan visited Layard at Mosul (Turner Reference Turner2003: 208). In the course of his stay he visited the excavations Layard was conducting at Nimrud and Nineveh. Malan drew thirty-eight sketches of the work and people at both sites. It is apparent that Layard and Malan liked each other. On the reverse of a drawing Malan made of a slab at Nineveh (A.26) Malan wrote, “This, and every other sketch of Nineveh made by me on the spot in June 1850, is to be placed at the disposal of Mr Layard for him to publish or otherwise use in any way he thinks proper, on the sole condition of his returning the sketches when he no longer requires them” (signed S.C. Malan Mosul, June 15th 1850; British Library Add. 45.360, page 113).
It is apparent that Layard had Malan's drawings in 1851 as he showed them to Lady Charlotte Guest at Canford (Russell Reference Russell1997: 85). Malan (who lived circa forty kilometres away at Broadwindsor) himself visited Canford over the New Year's break in 1852 (ibid.).
In his 1853 publication of his work at Nineveh and Nimrud Layard used seventeen of Malan's drawings. Layard acknowledged Malan's work: “… the rev. Mr Malan, to whom I am indebted for many beautiful sketches, and of whose kindness in affording me these valuable illustrations I again seize the opportunity of making grateful acknowledgement …” (Layard Reference Layard1853: 363–64). Malan approved of the published versions. In a letter (24 February 1853) to Layard's aunt, Mrs Austen, Malan commented “… the lithographs are better than the first and some of the woodcuts are very good. Mr Chevalier'sFootnote 5 design is very interesting indeed and very well done …” (BL Add. 58.223, 164–65).
Malan did collect his drawings and paintings, which he assembled in a series of bound volumes. The folios, including that holding the Nimrud and Nineveh images, are not the original drawing books used when Malan executed the sketches. This is clearly indicated not only by the fact that they are now mounted on separate cards, but also by the fact that the folio sequence of drawings does not match the dates of execution of the drawings themselves. The significance of the revised order is unclear, and it is possible that some of the original drawings were not selected by Malan for inclusion into his folios. Bleibtreu identified two drawings now in the collection of the British Museum which, although neither are signed, she attributes to Malan (Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 143, no. 781; pl. 518, no. 781; 143, no. 782, pl. 519). These two pictures further suggest that not all of Malan's drawings at Nineveh and Nimrud were included in his folios.
Malan also gave away or sold some of his pictures. In 1855 he sold two pictures to raise money for a Crimean War Patriotic Fund (Malan Reference Malan1897: 197). He gave two to Mrs Austen, Layard's aunt (ibid.). In 1890 at least two more were in the hands of private dealers (ibid.: 199). After his death, Malan's folios of drawings passed to his son and in 1938 they were in the possession of his grandson (Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 118). The Near Eastern drawings were subsequently gifted to the British Library where they now are (BL Add 45.360). In 1967 a folio of drawings and paintings Malan made in Cape Town and its surroundings in 1840 were sold and donated to The University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town (Booyens et al. Reference Booyens and Schroeder1970). Six albums of watercolours were acquired recently by the Getty Research Institute (Bonfitto Reference Bonfitto2015).
Malan features neither in Layard's autobiography (Reference Layard and Bruce1903), nor in any of the Layard biographies (Waterfield Reference Waterfield1963; Kubie Reference Kubie1965). However, the men remained friends long after they met in Mosul. On 25 October 1893, the day after his fiftieth wedding anniversary when Layard had visited him, Malan wrote to Layard “… it was a great pleasure to see you—the hero of Kuyunjik again. How it recalls the days of enjoyment in that famous land, among all those wonderful monuments of its splendour now gone forever …” (BL Add. 58.168, f.2–3).
Catalogue
The thirty-eight sketches Malan made at Nineveh and Nimrud are nearly all dated (Appendix A). They show that he did the drawings in eight days between 11 and 20 June 1850. In those eight days he began his drawings at Nineveh on the 10th June (Appendix A: Nos. 19–23, 5 pictures); and then spent three days working at Nimrud on the 11th (Appendix A: Nos. 1–2, 2 pictures), 12th (Appendix A: Nos. 3–8, 6 pictures) and 13th June (Appendix A: Nos. 9–16, 8 pictures). Thereafter he worked only at Nineveh on the other side of the river where he was staying at Mosul on the 15th (Appendix A: Nos. 24–6, 3 pictures), 17th (Appendix A: Nos. 27–8, 2 pictures), 19th (Appendix A: Nos. 29–30, 2 pictures) and the 20th (Appendix A: Nos. 31–6, 6 pictures). His drawing of Layard at work was done on the 19th (Appendix A: No. 30).
Malan did not preserve his original drawing books. It would appear that at some point he broke up all the drawing books and assembled his sketches in the folios he passed to his son. In doing so Malan glued the drawings to a backing with “labels” in his hand stuck at the bottom of each page. Most of the drawings were annotated by Malan when he made the drawing. Both annotations are given in the Appendix entries with the folio labels noted first. Malan was inconsistent in his spelling of Nimrud using “Nimrood” “Nimrud” and “Nimroud” without any obvious logic.
Conclusions
The congruencies of stylistic criteria and dating of the events depicted in the prints along with Malan's known visit to Nimrud and Nineveh makes the identification of the artist of the prints as Malan almost certain. This conclusion is supported by the existence of at least one other Malan print based on a sketch that survives in his British Library folio.
The prints published here along with the formerly unpublished sketches in Malan's folio of work add some details to our understanding of Layard's work at Nimrud and Nineveh. The paper also highlights the debt Layard owed to Malan and his drawings, and the relationship between the two men, which began and remained warm through their lives.
Appendix A: Drawings executed by S.C. Malan at Nineveh and Nimrud in June 1850 (British Library Add. Ms. 45360)
Note: descriptions are omitted for the published drawings
Section One: Nimrud
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1. Designation:Footnote 6 “Nimroud”; Malan no. 154, rev. page 45; annotated in pencil bottom left “Nimrud June 11th” [1850].
Dimensions: 18.4 × 4.3 cm.
Discussion: The drawing was published, without acknowledgement, by Layard (Reference Layard1853: 96; Reference Layard1854: 13). The drawing is reproduced exactly.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 96; Reference Layard1854: 13.
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2. Designation: “Workmen at Nimrood”; Malan no. 155, rev. page 45; annotated on the sheet ‘Nimroud June 11th’ [1850].
Dimensions: 6 × 7.5 cm.
Discussion: Layard (Reference Layard1853: 233) published the drawing without acknowledging Malan as the artist.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 233.
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3. Designation: “Winged lions, Nimroud”; Malan no. 117, page 33; annotated bottom left in pencil “Nimrood June 12th [18]50”.
Dimensions: 29.4 × 22.3 cm.
Description: A pencil drawing with brown wash showing two lion men flanking an entrance. They each hold a caprid in their arms. The figures have fallen towards one another and nearly touch, and are held apart by two large square blocks. The figures are half excavated. An Arab workman, with a hint of yellow in his scarf, stands to the left.
Discussion: The figures are easily identified as those at Entrance d into Chamber B (the throne room) of the North-West Palace at Nimrud (cf. Paley et al. Reference Paley and Sobolewski1992: 3, 6–7, 15; figs. 2, 3; pls. 1, 1.1, 4.1). Originally excavated by Layard (Reference Layard1849, i: 68–69) in his first season at Nimrud, it was re-excavated by Mallowan (Reference Mallowan1966: 103, pl. III; Oates and Oates Reference Oates and Oates2001: 48, fig. 24). In his publication of the excavation Layard used a version of a painting by F.C. Cooper (Layard Reference Layard1853: 337).
Unpublished. Fig. 3.
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4. Designation: “Winged bulls, Nimrood”; Malan no. 118, page 34; annotated bottom left in pencil “Nimrood June 12th” [1850].
Dimensions: 29.4 × 22.3 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 119) identifies the scene depicted as the entrance to Room F from Courtyard Y in the North-West Palace. For a description of the excavation of the area see Layard (Reference Layard1849, i: 54–55; plan opposite page 62; 1849, ii: 7–8) and Mallowan (Reference Mallowan1966, i: 94–107). Layard did not use Malan's drawing, possibly because he had already published the results of his first season.
Publication: Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 119, pl. XI.
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5. Designation: “Winged lions. Nimroud”; Malan no. 130, page 38; annotated bottom right in pencil “Nimroud June 12th” [1850].
Dimensions: 29.4 × 22.1 cm.
Description: The first view of the two winged lions also depicted in No. 14 below drawn the following day. At the rear foot of the left lion two men in Arab dress are seated. To the left of the lion there is a small section of brickwork. Above and to the left three figures stand at the edge of the excavation and peer in. Pencil sketch and brown wash.
Discussion: The figures stood at the entrance b to Room G of the North-West Palace. The area was excavated by Layard's workmen while he was away from the site (Layard Reference Layard1853: 348 and facing page; Meuszyński Reference Meusyński1981: 43).
Unpublished. Fig. 4.
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6. Designation: ‘Lion, Nimroud’; Malan no. 131, page 39; annotated bottom left in pencil ‘Nimrood June 12th’ [1850].
Dimensions: 29.4 × 22.1 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 119) identifies the scene as the entrance to the Temple of Šarrat nipḫi and the lion as the companion piece to BM ME 118895 (now in the British Museum), the excavation of which is described by Layard (Reference Layard1853: 359, 361). He notes (ibid.: 359) that the lion not taken back to London, that is the lion in the Malan sketch, “had been too much injured by fire to bear removal”. Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 120) notes how the written description does not match the apparent soundness of the lion in Malan's drawing. The scene is better known from F.C. Cooper's drawing (Layard Reference Layard1853: 360) which shows the square column as an altar base and smaller than shown in Malan's sketch.
Publication: Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 119–20, pl. XIII.
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7. Designation: “Excavations. Nimroud”; Malan no. 133, page 41; annotated middle right “Nimrood June 12th” [1850].
Dimensions: 22.2 × 29.3 cm.
Description: A scene in one of the excavation tunnels with a hole to the sky at the centre. A jumble of stone slabs all bearing inscriptions (one with a circular hole in the middle) with no figurative scenes. In the right foreground two men in local dress are seated. In the left middle a standing man in local dress stands behind the slabs with the tunnel going away behind him. In the foreground a man in local dress lies facing the viewer beside an upturned basket. Pencil sketch with brown wash.
Unpublished. Fig. 5.
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8. Designation: “At Nimroud”; Malan no. 135, page 43; annotated bottom left in pencil “Nimroud June 12th” [1850].
Dimensions: 29.3 × 22 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 120–21) notes the difficulty of identifying the location of the original scene suggesting that a possible identification might be Room S of the North-West Palace entrance b excavated in Layard's first season at Nimrud (Layard Reference Layard1849, i: 389). Layard did not use Malan's drawing possibly because he had already published the results of his first season.
Publication: Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 120–21, no. 135, pl. XVI.
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9. Designation: “At Nimroud”; Malan no. 119, page 39; annotated bottom left in pencil “June 13th” [1850].
Dimensions: 29.4 × 22.3 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 119) identifies the slabs as from the South-West Palace, wall r excavated in Layard's first season at Nimrud (Layard Reference Layard1849, i: 380; plan: 1849, ii: 34–35). Layard did not use Malan's drawing, possibly because he had already published the results of his first season. The slabs are now in the British Museum (BM ME 124961, BM ME 118933).
Publication: Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 119, pl. XII.
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10. Designation: “Packages, Nimrood”; Malan no. 120, page 36; annotated bottom left in pencil “Nimrood 13th” [June 1850].
Dimensions: 13 × 22 cm (centre sheet of a drawing book with nos. 121–23 on the same sheet).
Discussion: Layard used the drawing to illustrate his description of moving the slabs packed in nearly 100 wooden crates to the river and then downstream to Basra and then on to London (Layard Reference Layard1853: 463). The published version, which Layard entitled “Cases containing sculptures ready for embarkation”, is faithful to Malan's original.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 463.
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11. Designation: “Mr Layard's hut”; Malan no. 121, page 36; annotated bottom left in pencil ‘Nimrood 13th’ [June 1850].
Dimensions: 13 × 7 cm.
Discussion: Layard used the drawing (Reference Layard1853: 218) but did not acknowledge Malan as the artist. Layard identified it as “The author's house at Nimroud” (ibid.). The published image amalgamates two further separate drawings by Malan—Nos. 17 and 18 below. For a similar image see Mallowan's photograph of his dig house at Nimrud (Reference Mallowan1966, i: 53, fig. 18).
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 218.
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12. Designation: “Nimrood”; Malan no. 122, page 36; annotated bottom left in pencil “Nimrood 13th” [June 1850].
Dimensions: 13 × 3 cm.
Description: The mounds at Nimrud looking west–east with the ziggurat to the left and the mound running away to the right. Pencil with brown wash.
Discussion: Mallowan (Reference Mallowan1966, i: 34–35, fig. 3) published a photograph of the same scene.
Unpublished. Fig. 6.
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13. Designation: “Nimrood”; Malan no. 123, page 36; annotated bottom left in pencil “Nimrood 13th” [June 1850].
Dimensions: 13 × 4 cm.
Description: A close view of the ziggurat and neighbouring mounds seen from the west bank of the river.
Discussion: See the discussion for No. 12 above.
Unpublished. Fig. 7.
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14. Designation: “Winged lions Nimroud”; Malan no. 129, page 37; annotated bottom left in pencil “Nimrood 13th” [June 1850].
Dimensions: 28.4 × 21.4 cm.
Description: A second view of the two massive winged lions with clawed feet depicted in No. 5 above drawn the previous day. No inscriptions indicated. To the left a small section of brick work abuts to the right two panels one above the other. The upper a winged and bearded god with a bucket in one hand and right arm raised. The two lions are propped apart by a pole between the two. A man in Arab dress before the right hand lion. Pencil sketch in pencil and brown wash.
Discussion: The figures stood at the entrance b to Room G of the North-West Palace. The area was excavated by Layard's workmen while he was away from the site (Layard Reference Layard1853: 348 and facing page; Meuszyński Reference Meusyński1981: 43).
Unpublished. Fig. 8.
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15. Designation: “Foundation of the Pyramid. Nimroud”; Malan no. 132, page 40; annotated at the bottom left in pencil “Nimroud 13th” [June 1850].
Dimensions: 22.2 × 28.6 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 120) identifies the scene as a view “taken from the south-west corner of the building” supporting the base of the ziggurat the excavation of which is described by Layard (Reference Layard1853: 123–25, plan facing page 123; 124, illustrations by F.C. Cooper). Excavations in the 1970s revealed further sections of the wall (see Oates and Oates Reference Oates and Oates2001: 106, fig. 64 for a photograph of the north side of the ziggurat).
Publication: Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 120, no. 132, pl. XIV.
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16. Designation: “At Nimroud”; Malan no. 134, page 42; annotated bottom left in pencil “Nimroud 13th” [June 1850].
Dimensions: 29.4 × 22.2 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 120) identifies the view as that of the north entrance to the Temple of Ninurta the excavation of which is described by Layard (Reference Layard1853: 348 and 350). A colour print of this drawing exists, but the location of the original is unknown.
(http://www.odysseyadventures.ca/articlces/layard_assyria/article_layard)
Publication: Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 120, no. 134, pl. XV.
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17. Designation: “Water carrier, Nimrood”; Malan no. 127 rev, page 36; undated.
Dimensions: 6 × 4 cm.
Discussion: This drawing was amalgamated with No.11 above (Malan No. 121) and No. 18 below by Layard (Reference Layard1853: 218) without Malan being acknowledged as the artist. The figure is reversed in the published drawing and the small pot has been moved behind the man.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 218.
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18. Designation: “Women, Nimrood”; Malan no. 128, page 36; undated.
Dimensions: 4 × 5 cm.
Discussion: This drawing was amalgamated (along with Nos. 11 and 17 above) by Layard into his published illustration of his dig house at Nimrud (Reference Layard1853: 218) without acknowledging Malan as the artist.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 218.
The figures at Entrance D to the throne room of the NW palace, Nimrud (Malan no. 117, p. 33; Appendix A. no. 3)
The winged bulls at Entrance b to Room G of the NW Palace, Nimrud (Malan no. 130, p.38; Appendix A: no.5)
Inside one of the excavation tunnels at Nimrud. Precise location unknown (Malan no. 133, p. 41; Appendix A: no. 7)
The mounds at Nimrud (Malan no. 122, p. 36; Appendix A: no. 12)
The ziggurat at Nimrud (Malan no. 123, p. 36; Appendix A: no. 13)
Winged bulls at Entrance b to room G of the NW Palace, Nimrud (Malan no. 129, p. 37; Appendix A: no. 14)
Section two: Nineveh
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19. Designation: “Fish-god Kooyoonjik”; Malan no. 114, page 31 upper; dated at the lower left corner “Kouyounjik June 10th” [1850].
Dimensions: 18.2 × 24.3 cm.
Discussion: Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 106–07, no. 447c) identifies the slab as that at entrance i into room XXXIX (Y) at Sennacherib's palace.
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 106–07, no. 447c; pl. 361, no. 447c.
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20. Designation: “Fish-god Kooyoonjik”; Malan no. 114(a), page 31 lower; dated at the lower left corner “Kouyounjik June 10th” [1850].
Dimensions: 18.1 × 26.4 cm.
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 106–07, no. 447c; pl. 361, no.447c.
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21. Designation: “At Kouyounjik”; Malan no. 166, page 49; dated at the lower left edge “Kouyounjik June 10th” [1850].
Dimensions: 18.1 × 26.4 cm.
Discussion: Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 283c) identifies the image as being from slab 11 of the decoration to Court XIX (U) of Sennacherib's in which Ashurbanipal's campaigns in Babylonia are depicted.
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 283c; pl. 203, no. 283c.
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22. Designation: “At Kouyunjik”; Malan no. 183, page 54, left; dated at the lower left in pencil “Kouyunjik June 10th” [1850].
Dimensions: 10 × 12.8 cm.
Description: A pencil drawing with black wash of a scene inside an excavation tunnel with no details or human figures.
Discussion: This would appear to be a working drawing of the excavations in Gallery XLIX (O) more fully depicted in Malan 107 (No. 28 below). The identification is made more probable by the appearance of Malan no.184 (No. 23 below), also from Gallery XLIX (O), on the same sheet of drawings.
Unpublished. Fig. 9.
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23. Designation: “At Kouyunjik”; Malan no. 184, page 54; dated at the lower left in pencil “Kouyunjik June 10th” [1850].
Dimensions: 12.9 × 8.8 cm.
Description: A pencil sketch of a slab depicting a lion demon facing right. The left hand is broken away and the whole slab broken at the knee. No inscription is indicated.
Discussion: The slab is depicted in Malan 107 (No. 28 below) where it is shown in a jumble of slabs in a tunnel. Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 119) identifies the scene as Gallery XLIX (O). The slab is now in the British Museum, BM ME 124826.
Publication. The slab is discussed by Green (Reference Green1986a: 198, no. 82, Tafel 19), but this drawing is hitherto unpublished.Footnote 7 Fig. 10.
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24. Designation: “Excavations at Kooyoonjik, Nineveh”; Malan no. 108, page 25; dated on the lower left in pencil “June 15th” [1850].
Dimensions: 22 × 29 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 121) and Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 279b) Entrance h into room XXIX (Z) of Sennacherib's palace. The slab depicting the horses and the river is now in the British Museum, BM ME 124825.
Publication: Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 121, pl. XVII; Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 279b; pl. 201, no. 279b.
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25. Designation: “At Kooyoonjik, Nineveh”; Malan no. 111, page 28; dated bottom left in pencil, “Kouyounjik June 15th” [1850].
Dimensions: 29.4 × 22 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 121) and Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 48, no. 8) identify the scene as the winged bull from the “façade figures on the right of Layard's Grand Entrance a” (ibid.). The figure decorated an entrance from forecourt HFootnote 8 to the throne room. An inaccurate version of the drawing was used by Layard (Reference Layard1853: 134). In his description of the area, Layard (ibid.: 135–36) suggests that the excavation took place in December 1850, whereas Malan's drawing strongly suggests a date five months earlier.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 135; Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 121, pl. XVIII; Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 48, no.8; pl. 25. 8b.
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26. “Fish-God Kooyoonjik”; Malan no. 113, page 30; dated “June 15th 1850” Dimensions: 22.4 × 29.7 cm.
Discussion: Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 106–07, no. 447b) identifies the scene as the slab at entrance i into room XXXIX (Y) at Sennacherib's palace.
In his publication of Malan's drawing Layard (Reference Layard1853: facing page 343) the image has been altered. Workmen are shown guiding a basket down on the rope through the circular hole; the workman walking away down the corridor has been omitted; as have the sparse details of the slabs on the left. In his discussion of the excavation Layard (Reference Layard1853: 343) states, “On the north side of the chamber were two doorways leading into separate apartments. Each entrance was formed by two colossal bas-reliefs of Dagon, or the fish-god. Unfortunately the upper part of all these figures had been destroyed, but as the lower half remained from above the waist we can have no difficulty in restoring the whole …”
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: facing page 343; Malan Reference Malan1897: facing page 160; Russell Reference Russell1991: 37, fig. 22; Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 106–07, no. 447b; pl. 361, no. 447b.
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27. Designation: “The archive chamber, Kooyoonjik”; Malan no. 112, page 28; dated bottom left in pencil “Kouyounjik June 17th” [1850].
Dimensions: 22.2 × 28.7 cm.
Discussion: Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 109, no. 463a) identifies the scene as either room XL or XLI of Sennacherib's palace in which part of the library of Ashurbanipal was found. No other description of the room survives.
A version of the drawing, acknowledged to Malan, was used by Layard (Reference Layard1853: facing page 345) and identified as the “archive chamber” (ibid.). Crucially, Layard had the drawing Malan had done of him sketching (Malan no. 186; No. 33 below) inserted into the “archive chamber” picture. The central area of the published picture has been tidied up and some of the details on the slabs are lost.
Layard stated (ibid.: 344–46) that the room was a depository for tablets which were found up to a foot or more deep on the floor.
Pedersén (Reference Pedersén1998: 161) summarises the archaeology of the “library”.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: facing page 345; Bleibtreu Reference Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner1998: 109, no. 463a; pl. 368, no. 463a.
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28. Designation: “Excavations at Kooyoonjik. Nineveh”; Malan no. 107, page 24; dated lower left in pencil “June 17th” [1850].
Dimensions: 21 × 28 cm.
Discussion: Bleibtreu (Reference Barnett, Bleibtreu and Turner1998: 119) identifies the scene as Gallery XLIX (O) which was long and probably open to the sky. The drawing depicts three slabs from the gallery—a line of courtiers (ibid.: 120, no. 533; pl. 415, no. 531b); a lion demon in striking pose (ibid.: 120, no. 531b; pl. 415, no. 531b) and a third slab whose decoration cannot be determined (ibid.: 120, no. 534; pl. 415, no. 531b).
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: facing page 104; Malan Reference Malan1897: facing page 116, 160;Footnote 9 Green Reference Green1986a: 198, pl. 19, no.82; Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 120, no. 531b; pl. 415, no. 531b.
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29. Designation: “View of the walls of Nineveh”; Malan no. 171, page 51; dated at the bottom left in pencil “June 19th” [1850].
Dimensions: 53 × 18 cm.
Discussion: Campbell Thompson (1938: 122) notes that the view is from near the south end of the city wall, with the Gate of Shamash to the left of centre and Mosul just visible over the ruins of the wall.
Publication: Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 122, pl. XX, lower.
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30. Designation: “Mr Layard at Kooyoonjik”; Malan no. 186, page 54, right; dated lower left “June 19th”.
Dimensions:18.4 × 12.9 cm.
Discussion: Gadd (Reference Gadd1938: 122) and Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 278b) identify the spot at which Layard is depicted as before slabs 15 and 16 of Court XIX (U) in Sennacherib's palace. The image was reversed and used in the publication of Malan No. 112 (No. 29) above (Layard Reference Layard1853: facing page 345).
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: facing page 345; Gadd Reference Gadd1938: 122, no. 184, pl. XIX; Barnett 1976: pl. 2; Reade 1983: 9, fig. 4; Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 278b; pl. 200, no. 278b.
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31. Designation: “Workmen—Kooyoonjik”: Malan no. 156, page 46: dated bottom center “Kouyounjik June 20th” [1850].
Dimensions: 13 × 9 cm.
Discussion: A section of this sketch (two men and the woman with baby) were used by Layard (Reference Layard1853: 411) and acknowledged as the work of Malan. Layard's caption (ibid.) is “A Nestorian family employed in the excavations at Kouyunjik”. The rest of the drawing consists of sketches of a donkey (?), heads and torsos of three men and a standing man.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 411.
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32. Designation: untitled; Malan no. 157, page 46; dated middle right “Kouyunjik June 20th” [1850].
Dimensions: 12.9 × 7 cm.
Description: Pencil sketch with some colour of three men in purple pantaloons and blue/black tops bending over as if working.
Unpublished. Fig. 11.
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33. Designation: “At Kooyoonjik, Nineveh”; Malan no. 109, page 26; dated lower right “June 20th” [1850].
Dimensions: 22 × 29 cm.
Discussion: The sketch was not used by Layard. Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 281a) identifies the scene as the entrance h into Court XIX (U) of Sennacherib's palace.
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 281a; pl. 202, no. 281a.
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34. Designation: “Removing a slab—Kooyoonjik”; Malan no. 158, page 46; dated middle right “Kouyounjik June 20th” [1850].
Dimensions: 12.9 × 11 cm.
Discussion: Layard (Reference Layard1853: 437) published a version of the sketch and acknowledged Malan as the artist. The caption to the published picture is “Arabs and Nestorians moving a slab at Kouyunjik” (ibid.). Layard described the removal of the slabs from Kouyunjik as “a task of considerable trouble, and demanding much time and labor” (ibid., 463).
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: 437.
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35. Designation: “Kouyunjik”; Malan no. 159 (left); dated lower left “June 20th” [1850].
Dimensions: 12.4 × 18 cm.
Discussion: Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 282c) identifies the scene as a detail from the upper register of slab 12 in Court XIX (U).
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, no. 282c; pl. 203, 282c left.
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36. Designation: “Kouyunjik”: Malan no. 159 (right): dated lower left “June 20th” [1850].
Dimensions: 12.4 × 18 cm.
Discussion: Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, 83, no. 282c) identifies the scene as a detail from slab 10 in Court XIX (U) of Sennacherib's palace.
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 82, 83, no. 282c; pl. 203.
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37. Designation: “At Koyounjik”; Malan no. 110, page 27; date lost.
Dimensions: 20.5 × 27.9 cm.
Discussion: Layard (Reference Layard1853: facing page 340) published an accurate copy of the sketch and acknowledged Malan as the artist. Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 125, no. 576b) identifies the scene as part of the sloping passage LI (T) of Sennacherib's palace with part of slab 29 and probably slabs 31–32 with a poor rendering of slab 13.
Publication: Layard Reference Layard1853: facing page 340; Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 125, no. 576b; pl. 449, no. 576b.
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38. Designation: “At Kooyoonjik”; Malan no. 145: undated.
Dimensions: 8 × 11.5 cm.
Discussion: Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1988: 124, no. 566c) identifies the scene as a detail from slab 11 from the sloping passage LI (T) of Sennacherib's palace. The slab is now in the British Museum, WA 124799a.
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 124, no. 566c; pl. 436, no. 566c.
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39. Designation: “Excavations at Nineveh”: unsigned and undated.
Dimensions: 37 × 26.6 cm.
Discussion: Though unsigned and undated Bleibtreu (Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 143, no. 781) attributes the drawing to Malan. The drawing is held in the British Museum (Or. Dr. IV, VII Miscellaneous).
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 143, no. 781; pl. 518, no. 781.
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40. Designation: “Excavations at Nineveh”: unsigned and undated.
Discussion: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: (143, no. 782) suggests that the location of this scene is the same as No 39. The drawing is held in the British Museum Or. Dr. IV, VII Miscellaneous.
Publication: Bleibtreu Reference Bleibtreu and Barnett1998: 143, no. 782; pl. 519.
An interior of the excavation tunnel at Gallery an excavation tunnel at Gallery XLIX (O), Nineveh (Malan no. 183, p. 54; Appendix A: no. 22)
A lion demon from Gallery XLIX (O) at Nineveh (Malan no. 184, p. 54; Appendix A: no. 23)
Workmen at Nineveh (Malan no. 157, p.19; Appendix A: no.32)
Appendix B: objects given to the British Museum by the Reverend S. C. MalanFootnote 10
The British Museum's Department of the Middle East holds two fragments of Assyrian reliefs given to the Museum by one of Malan's descendents, Dr. E.M. Malan, in 1975. One fragment is from Nineveh and the other from Nimrud. Both bear labels stating that they were acquired by S.C. MalanFootnote 11 and would appear to be souvenirs of his visits to Nineveh and Nimrud.
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B.1. BM ME 136714 / 1975,1207.1
A section (16.6 × 14.7 × 2.7 cm) of the right hand edge of a slab featuring a horse's head in an harness. The fragment is slightly burned and bears the marks of modern sawing to trim it. The objects bears a small label on the reverse stating that it was brought from Nineveh by S.C. Malan.
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B.2. BM ME 136715 / 1975,1207.2
A section (14 × 13.5 × 2.3 cm) of a slab featuring parts of the first three lines of a standard inscription of Aššurnaṣirpal II. On the reverse is a small label stating that it was brought from Nimrud by S.C. Malan.
