Applique with a Warrior God and a Demon
Unknown · Neo-Elamite period, 8th to mid-6th century BC
A warrior god holding a dagger confronts a demon with the talons of a bird of prey who brandishes a mace. The two figures fill a small limestone plaque, about fifteen centimetres square, framed by a border of gadroons, palmettes and flower buds. The plaque was made to be fixed to a wall or a piece of furniture as decoration, and part of it is missing.
Carved in the Neo-Elamite period, between the eighth and the middle of the sixth century BC, the relief shows the Elamite taste for scenes of divine combat, in which a god subdues a monster that stands for chaos or disease. Demons with bird's claws are familiar from Mesopotamian magic, where they could be either dangerous or protective. The delicate frame of plant motifs suggests the plaque came from a richly decorated interior. It was found at Susa by the French mission and entered the Louvre through the division of finds with Iran.
Did You Know? The demon's bird-claw feet are borrowed from Mesopotamian demonology, where clawed spirits could both cause and cure illness.
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