Lecture: From Ancient Capital to Terrorist Target—Recovering and Stabilizing the Past in Iraq with the Nimrud Rescue Project with Brian Michael Lione
The ancient city of Nimrud, also known as Kalhu or Biblical Calah, was once the lavish capital city of a Neo-Assyrian empire that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
Located just 30 kilometers south of Mosul, Nimrud suffered greatly from intentional destruction by ISIS. After the site’s liberation in late 2016, the government of Iraq requested the Smithsonian’s assistance in documenting and recovering the site. Missions to Iraq in 2017 and 2018 established a 30-member Iraqi ‘Nimrud Rescue Team,’ and developed their skills to document, recover, and protect the scattered fragments of stone sculpture and architecture that survived.
In this talk, Brian Michael Lione, of the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, will explore the history and importance of the city of Nimrud, discuss the establishment of the Nimrud Rescue Project, share some of the finds and successes at the site, and talk more about plans for its future.
Brian Michael Lione is the International Cultural Heritage Protection Program Manager at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI). Lione is the focal point for the Smithsonian’s ad hoc ‘Iraq Team,’ which includes partners from the Office of Global Affairs, the National Museum of Asian Art, and MCI’s Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI). Together, the Team implements several projects, including capacity-building efforts in the US and at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (IICAH) in Erbil, and on site, post-ISIS recovery efforts at the Mosul Cultural Museum and at the ancient archaeological city of Nimrud.
San Antonio Museum of Art (john_s_auditorium)
John L. Santikos Auditorium
Ticket Price: Free
Ticket Price Members: Free
The ancient city of Nimrud, also known as Kalhu or Biblical Calah, was once the lavish capital city of a Neo-Assyrian empire that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
Located just 30 kilometers south of Mosul, Nimrud suffered greatly from intentional destruction by ISIS. After the site’s liberation in late 2016, the government of Iraq requested the Smithsonian’s assistance in documenting and recovering the site. Missions to Iraq in 2017 and 2018 established a 30-member Iraqi ‘Nimrud Rescue Team,’ and developed their skills to document, recover, and protect the scattered fragments of stone sculpture and architecture that survived.
In this talk, Brian Michael Lione, of the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute, will explore the history and importance of the city of Nimrud, discuss the establishment of the Nimrud Rescue Project, share some of the finds and successes at the site, and talk more about plans for its future.
Brian Michael Lione is the International Cultural Heritage Protection Program Manager at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI). Lione is the focal point for the Smithsonian’s ad hoc ‘Iraq Team,’ which includes partners from the Office of Global Affairs, the National Museum of Asian Art, and MCI’s Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative (SCRI). Together, the Team implements several projects, including capacity-building efforts in the US and at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage (IICAH) in Erbil, and on site, post-ISIS recovery efforts at the Mosul Cultural Museum and at the ancient archaeological city of Nimrud.
Lectures and Artist Conversations are made possible by generous support from the Louis A. and Frances B. Wagner lecture fund.
Relief with the Head of a Winged Figure, Neo-Assyrian period, reign of Ashurnasirpal II, 883-859 BC, gypsum alabaster with traces of pigment, 26 ½ x 23 x 2 in., Lent by the Art Institute of Chicago, George F. Harding Collection.
Headshot courtesy Brian Michael Lione.
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