''Bucket and Cone'' refer to twin attributes that are frequently held in the hands of

winged genie Winged genie is the conventional term for a recurring motif in the iconography of Assyrian sculpture. Winged genies are usually bearded male figures sporting birds' wings. The Genii are a reappearing trait in ancient Assyrian art, and are displa ...

s depicted in the

art of Mesopotamia The art of Mesopotamia has survived in the record from early hunter-gatherer societies (8th millennium BC) on to the Bronze Age cultures of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires. These empires were later replaced in the Iron Ag ...

and within the context of

Ancient Mesopotamian religion Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 6000 BC and 400 AD, after which they largely gave way to Syria ...

, particularly in art from the

Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...

(911–605 BCE) and especially

Assyrian palace reliefs Assyrian sculpture is the sculpture of the ancient Assyrian states, especially the Neo-Assyrian Empire of 911 to 612 BC, which was centered around the city of Assur in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) which at its height, ruled over all of Mesopotam ...

from this period - sometimes, however, only the bucket is held, and the other hand is held up in what may be a

blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will. Etymology and Germanic paganism The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...

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.

Context

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. 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 A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

(though not necessarily with the same negative connotations); only very occasionally might these attributes be borne by a fully human figure.

Identity

As to the identity of the twin objects, the "cone" is generally recognised as a

Turkish pine ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey. Turkish pine is also known by several other common names: Calabrian pine (from a naturali ...

cone (''Pinus brutia''), common in Assyria, although other common identifications suggest the male

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

of the

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Eas ...

(''Phoenix dactylifera''), or as a clay model imitating the form of one or the other. The bucket was presumably either of metal or

basketry Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

and is thought to have held either holy water or pollen, or perhaps both.

Uses

Although fully explanatory texts regarding these objects are exceedingly rare, it does seem highly likely that they were together employed in rituals of purification, as revealed by their

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

(Aka Assyrian, Babylonian) names: ''banduddû'' ("bucket") and ''mullilu'' ("purifier"). In this case the fir cone would be dipped in the bucket of water before being shaken in order to ritually purify a person or object. Alternatively the close association of the objects with depictions of stylised trees has led to the suggestion that it depicts fertilisation. In this case the pollen from the male flower of the date palm would be being shaken onto the tree.

References

{{reflist Assyrian art and architecture Ritual purification Sculpture of the Ancient Near East Religious iconography Visual motifs