This is called a lamassu. Lamassus were massive winged bulls with human heads. They were often depicted in Assyrian art and myth. (Cuneiform was ancient writing, a sarcophagus is a type of coffin, a register is a horizontal band that tells a narrative story, and a ground plan is a map of where things are on the floor of a building.)

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The lamassu is a good example of a relief sculpture. This is a sculpture that projects out of a flat background. In this case, the figure projects out of the slab of alabaster. Relief sculptures give the illusion of a three-dimensional image. (A votive is an offering given in exchange for a vow or promise, apadanas and cellas are architectural features found in ancient Middle Eastern palaces and temples respectively, and congs are ancient Chinese tube-shaped objects with circular holes cut into square-like cross sections.)

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This piece is a work of Assyrian art. The Assyrian people were one of several cultures that lived in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East (the Sumerians, Babylonians and Chaldeans also did, but at different times and in different regions). This region is now modern-day Iran.

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The work of art shown here, known as the Last Judgment of Hu-nefer, depicts the scribe Hu-nefer going through the process of transitioning from life into the afterlife. Specifically, it is contained in a "Book of the Dead" that was intended as a guide for the dead individual to successfully make it through the steps that would ensure a progression through the underworld Duat to becoming an Akh, or blessed spirit.

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A Book of the Dead, in which this work known as The Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer was contained, was made specifically for the individual with whom it was entombed. In this case, the scribe Hu-Nefer would have made his personal copy before his death to make sure he was well prepared to pass through the afterlife. Although not a pharaoh or even a member of the royal family, Hu-Nefer still could only produce a personal Book of the Dead due to being an important and well-educated member of society.

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This lamassu was placed outside the citadel of Sargon II. It dates back to 720-750 B.C.E. in what is today Khorsabad. These lamassus were placed at the gates as guardians and also bore the weight of the gates' arches. (Shamash and Hammurabi were figures in Babylonian history and myth, Tutankhamen was an Egyptian pharaoh, and Nimrud was another city in Assyria.)

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This lamassu is now found at the Louvre in Paris, France. The lamassus are set up to be between an archway, as they would have been set up in King Sargon II's citadel. Some of the other museums mentioned also have Assyrian art on display, but not necessarily lamassus such as this one.

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In the Quran, images of all kinds are proscribed, as they are too close to idolatry and attempting to act like God. As such, many Islamic artists focused on geometric shapes and calligraphy in their art. Over time, Islamic art began to be highly ornate and developed around these non-representational images.

Jahangir is shown as dominant because of his position in the painting-- superior to the artist and rulers from Turkey and England. He passes the Koran to an important Muslim Holy Man, Shaikh Husain, who takes it with reverence. His position at the center of the sun and moon, ringed in a halo of light, and seated atop an hourglass, which symbolizes time, emphasize his eternal importance.

Arabesques, which combine plants and geometric patterns in graceful designs, are a primary feature of Islamic art. Depictions of animals or people are forbidden in sacred buildings. A "lunette" is a semicircle at the end of a cross in early Christian art.