Editing Architecture of Mesopotamia (section)

===Decoration===
As time went on, however, later Assyrian architects began to shake themselves free of Babylonian influence, and to use stone as well as brick. The walls of Assyrian palaces were lined with sculptured and coloured slabs of stone, instead of being painted as in [[Chaldea]]. Three stages may be traced in the art of these ''bas-reliefs'': it is vigorous but simple under [[Ashurnasirpal II]], careful and realistic under [[Sargon II]], and refined but wanting in boldness under [[Ashurbanipal]].

In Babylonia, in place of the bas relief, there is greater use of three-dimensional figures in the round&nbsp;&ndash; the earliest examples being the statues from [[Girsu]], that are realistic if somewhat clumsy. The paucity of stone in Babylonia made every pebble precious, and led to a high perfection in the art of gem-cutting. Two seal-cylinders from the age of [[Sargon of Akkad]] are among the best examples of their kind. One of the first remarkable specimens of early [[metallurgy]] to be discovered by archaeologists is the silver vase of [[Entemena]]. At a later epoch, great excellence was attained in the manufacture of such jewellery as earrings and bracelets of gold. Copper, too, was worked with skill; indeed, it is possible that Babylonia was the original home of copper-working.

The people were famous at an early date for their embroideries and rugs. The forms of Assyrian pottery are graceful; the porcelain, like the glass discovered in the palaces of [[Nineveh]], was derived from Egyptian models. Transparent glass seems to have been first introduced in the reign of Sargon. Stone, clay and glass were used to make vases, and vases of hard stone have been dug up at Girsu similar to those of the early dynastic period of Egypt.
[[File:Symbolic_scene_-_king_Ashurnasirpal.jpg|center|thumb|600x600px|King [[Ashurbanipal|Ashurnasirpal's]] throneroom relief showing [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]] hovering above the tree of life.]]