Bucket and cone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bucket and cone refer to twin attributes that are frequently held in the hands of winged genies depicted in the art of Mesopotamia, and within the context of Ancient Mesopotamian religion. The iconography is particularly frequent in art from the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BCE), and especially Assyrian palace reliefs from this period. In some instances, only the bucket is held and the other hand is held up in what may be a blessing gesture. To a lesser degree such images were also depicted in images from the Neo-Sumerian Empire, Old Assyrian Empire, Babylonian Empire, and Middle Assyrian Empire.
These objects are often displayed in association with a stylised tree, before floral decorations, guardian figures, the king and / or his attendants and open doorways or portals.[1] The cone was apparently held up in the right hand, the bucket held hanging downwards in the left hand of the figure, which is almost always that of a winged genie or an animal-headed demon or mythical composite (similar to the demon antagonist Anzû, though not necessarily with the same malicious connotations); only very occasionally[citation needed] might these attributes be borne by a fully human figure.
