Alabaster bas-relief showing Ashurbanipal thrusting a spear onto a lion’s head. This is one of the very anxious moments which was carefully conveyed to us by the artist! The register is part of 3 relatively small-scale registers.
The king’s spare horse was attacked by a wounded lion that has been left for dead. The king himself is busy with another furiously attacking lion. The king’s attendants (not shown in this picture) lagged behind and galloped desperately to rescue their king (from the left side of the panel). The sculptor used empty spaces (before and behind the king) to dramatic effect, one of the features that sets Ashurbanipal’s hunt scenes apart from the general run of Assyrian sculpture.