Austen Henry Layard

Austen Henry Layard was a multifaceted English figure, renowned for his contributions as an Assyriologist, diplomat, archaeologist, and politician. Born on March fifth, eighteen seventeen, in Paris to an English family, he spent much of his formative years in Italy. His adventurous spirit led him to become a prominent traveller and cuneiformist, making significant strides in the field of art history as a draughtsman and collector.

Layard is best remembered for his groundbreaking excavations at Nimrud and Nineveh, where he unearthed a substantial number of Assyrian palace reliefs. His most notable discovery came in eighteen fifty-one with the unearthing of the library of Ashurbanipal, a treasure trove of ancient texts. The majority of his remarkable finds now reside in the British Museum, showcasing the rich history of the Assyrian civilization.

In addition to his archaeological pursuits, Layard had a notable political career, beginning in eighteen fifty-two when he was elected as a Member of Parliament. Over the years, he held various junior ministerial roles until eighteen sixty-nine, when he was appointed ambassador to Madrid and later to Constantinople. During his diplomatic tenure, he resided in a palazzo in Venice, where he cultivated an impressive collection of paintings. Thanks to a legal loophole, he was able to bequeath a significant portion of this collection to the National Gallery and other British museums, known as the Layard Bequest.