King-Tree or Tree-King? On the Metaphorical Iconographic Interplay in Ancient Assyria

Representations of trees are very common in Assyrian art: while some plants can clearly be identified with those the Assyrians encountered while on military campaigns or those they carefully cultivated in their lush gardens, a special tree occurs on the Assyrian palace wall reliefs and is replicated on several objects (e.g., seals, buckets, jewelry, metal overlays, and on depictions of embroidery on clothes). Usually called Sacred Tree or Plant of Life, scholars have long debated (and still do) both the nature and meaning of this iconography. Using a contextual approach and referring to the categories of the thoughts of the French anthropologist Philippe Descola, I will try to distinguish the role(s) and meaning of the so-called Sacred Tree in Assyrian visual culture.