Plaque of Conjuration against Lamashtu
Unknown · Neo-Assyrian period, first half of the first millennium BC
The upper part of a small stone plaque, under nine centimetres wide, is carved on both sides and has a loop for hanging. On the front the top register shows divine symbols: seven globes in three rows, a star, a winged sun disc, a crescent moon and a horned crown. Below, a sick man wrapped in a fringed shawl lies on a bed, attended by two figures in shawls and headbands, one holding a kind of stake; a demon with a lion's head and bird's talons appears nearby, together with the she-demon Lamashtu. On the back seven demons with animal heads, fox, ram, antelope, bird of prey, ibex, snake and panther, stand in a row beside a magical text in Neo-Assyrian cuneiform.
Plaques like this were hung near the bed of a sick person to drive out Lamashtu, the demon who preyed on the weak, and the exorcists shown at the bedside are performing the rite the plaque itself embodies. The best known example of the type, in this same collection, shows Pazuzu holding the plaque from behind. This one entered the Louvre in 1893 and comes from Assyria; the manner of its acquisition is not recorded.
Did You Know? Seven demons with animal heads line up on the back, a rogues' gallery meant to be turned towards the wall while the sick man faced the healing scene.
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