Visiting the Museum of Fine Arts this past weekend was an incredible experience for me. Being face to face with ancient Assyrian reliefs that we had gone into detail about in class helped me apply everything we had learned to the reliefs in person. Seeing their detail and intricacy helped me to better understand the complexity and advanced nature of their civilization. Irene Winter was extremely helpful in my further understanding of the art as well. Her incite introduced me to new ways of thinking about each monument. Attention to small details, that often goes unnoticed in simply looking at pictures, plays a huge role in the interpretation of the art. For example, in looking at the Balawat bronzes from the period of Shalmeneser III, she pointed out small aspects of the relief that, if not recognized, change the story that is depicted. Specifically, in band X the gates there is a ceremonial scene being depicted where there is sacrifice being made into a body of water and there is a monument of the king that was built. The king and others approach the ceremony from the right. In studying the reliefs, I noticed that the Assyrians used a certain “curly” pattern to depict water, and multiple triangular shapes to depict mountain or some kind of terrain other than water. Without knowing the difference between the two, which seems minute in the understand of these reliefs, one could read this scene completely out of context. Another example on these same gates is the sunlike or flower like symbols that appear on the thin bands separating each register. They seem to be decorative and as a mere method of separation of each scene but they also represent the god Ishtar who the Assyrians believed accompanied them through their battles and journeys. Another aspect of the trip that interested me was the way in which Irene explained the King’s depiction of themselves in their reliefs. When I looked at the reliefs before hearing from Irene, I recognized the musculature of the important people, especially in their legs and calves. The artists contrasted their large muscles with the smoothness of their skirts and ornament on their tunics. This represented not only their physical strength but an inner strength of the state on the king. This is a form of the way in which they used ideologies to demonstrate the power of the state. It was not propaganda, rather they were propagating their power. The difference is that the public believed in this strength and power, making it an ideology and something that was true. The state was not forcing the public to believe in them, it was known and accepted the they were all-powerful. This fascinated me because I learned more about the complexity and advanced nature of the Assyrian culture. Irene Winter truly made my trip an experience I am very grateful and will never forget because of how much I learned in a short time. Now I have a better understand of the Assyrian culture, government, and relief carvings.