Leaping Lamassu!

Lamassu were half man half animal. They stood guard outside temples in ancient Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C. Lamassu are usually the king’s head with the body of an animal. The animal that the king picked usually had a significance. My brother, my sister and I did this project for Mesopotamia Month. We each picked an animal for the body. Jack said, “I chose a bull because it represents strength. I also chose it because the horns make it look ferocious. I would be scared of this guy. [the bull]” , Ava said, “I picked a female/male lion [head of a woman, body of a male lion] because  I was born in the astrological sign of the Leo.”, and myself, a peacock because my first initial is the letter P. Today, for those of you who live in New York, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can see a pair of Lamassu once owned by Ashurbanipal. We made the Lamassu out of clay. you need to first sketch a drawing of what you want to make. Next, you start to mold the main shapes starting with the torso. Then after you place the head firmly on, you carve the face and make some decorative features to embellish your Lamassu. Lastly, you pop your lamassu in the oven and let them bake. when they come out they’ll just like ours. I really enjoyed doing this project, as it is one of our last for this month, and also because they came out awesome! Special thanks to Mommy for buying the clay, taking photos and assisting us,thanks to Jack and Ava for making comments, and thanks to Daddy, who was supportive the whole time.