Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2014
The patterns used to decorate Neo-Assyrian fabrics are known mainly through their use in the arts. Stone bronze and ivory sculptures and wall paintings incorporate decorations, sometimes enhanced with a variety of colours. The patterns for which we have evidence varied through time and in response to the use the fabric served. The secondary nature of the evidence allows only inferences on the techniques used to create the decorative patterns, but not certain knowledge. At Nineveh the subtlest distinctions in fabric patterning on stone relief survive. At Nimrud the most complex symbolic motifs are used as fabric decorations. At Til Barsip the most varied and colourful patterns are seen. At Khorsabad stone reliefs with colour-enhance patterns survive. The consistency with which some decorations are used exclusively for the king's garment suggests that there may be a symbolic value for a few decorative patterns.