Assyrian Palmette with Birds

I have a thing for the “palmette”, a historic motif used by many ancient civilizations. In this Assyrian design it is flanked by what seem to be two birds deities or birds of prey (mine look a bit like tangled chickens, hahahaha). Palms were sacred trees for the Assyrians and the palmette was their main motif of ornamentation, along with the round daisy-shaped rosettes. Shaded and colored with Inktense and Pitt Artist Brush pens.

The original drawing appears in a 1930 book by Amor Fenn, later reproduced in 1993 by Dover Publications. You can find it here at Internet Archive.

I really love how the black and white line-art is contrasts with the colorful rosettes. Here’s a before and after shading and embellishing:

The picture measures 4x6 inches on hotpressed watercolor paper. Here are some close-ups:

Feel free to share or pin these images.

Remember that all images are Copyright Eni Oken.

 
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2024Eni Okencoloring, assyrian, palmette, bird, daisy, rosette