Powerful, seems all too small a word to describe the awe that I felt when I first came across this sculpture in The Manx Museum, Douglas, Isle of Man. Any one photograph cannot begin to reflect the the aire of wonder that struck me as this image took my eyes in the darkened room in which it stood, bathed only sparingly by spotlighting that barely allowed the viewer full gaze. How grateful was I to have my camera on my shoulder and their consent to take these photographs. That was back in 1998, and I ACHE to return and wallow in the reverence I felt once more.

( click thumbnails above and see below for detail )

Quite what element of the Semiramis legend is portrayed here by Frank Mowbray Taubman seems to be a mystery.

Semiramis was a great queen of Assyria, who rules for 42 years. She is described as one of the most beautiful women of ancient times. She was the widow of King Ninus who founded the city of Ninveh on the plain of Euphrates (modern day Iraq) - mentioned in the Old Testament as a 'sinful' city. She was a great hunter and one of her few known images shows her spearing a leopard. The queen is said to have murdered her husband out of jealousy and it is possible that this figurine depicts some element of this part of her story - perhaps then it is not the queen herself depicted here, but the revenge she exacted on a female source of that jealousy,

The Isle of Man is a most beautiful place - and a trip to view this amazing work would be well worth while.