A Copeland parian figure, 'Sennacherib', after Austin Hays, first published circa 1860, attired as the King of Assyria and High Priest of Nineveh, carrying the sacred bow of office, on a rectangular plinth titled ''Sennacherib BC 721'', impressed ''Copeland F81 by A Hays'', 34.5cm high (tip of hat restored), together with a smaller Copeland figure of Nimrod, 16cm high, and a Copeland parian figure of the Queen of Sardanapalus, 31cm high, (restored) (3) A similar figure is illustrated in The Parian Phenomenon, A Survey of Victorian Parian Porcelain Statuary & Busts, edited by Paul Atterbury, published by Richard Dennis, fig.568, pg.174, where it is described as one of a set of eight parian figures and ornaments modelled by Hays after Assyrian bas-reliefs in the British Museum. Sennacherib (705-681 BC) is depicted in the robes of the dual office of king and high priest of Ninevah. He carries in his hand the sacred bow of office, the gift of the goddess Ishtar to the kings of Assyria. Austin Hays (1869-1915) was a sculptor born in New York. He studied in Paris under J A Merci. He specialised in genre and historical figures. In Copeland (Robert) Parian, Copeland's Statuary Porcelain, Antique Collectors Club, a whole chapter is devoted to ''The reproductions from the Assyrian Sculptures''. This figure is illustrated on page 275, fig.17. The bow that Sennacherib carries in his left hand is sacred to his position, having been presented to the Kings of Assyria by Ishtar, the Assyro-Babylonian Goddess of both Love and War. She was known as ''Mistress of the Bow'', ''Archeress of the Gods'' and ''Lady of War and Battle''. Possession of the bow was believed to ensure victory. Sennacherib eventually met his death by being murdered by two of his sons while at his devotions. Hays derived the body of the figure from a sculptured wall-relief unearthed from Sennacherib's palace at Ninevah. Sadly, the head had suffered damage, possibly by mutilation, a defect which Hays overcame rather neatly by using a ''transplant'' of the headdress of Sennacherib's grandson, Sardanapalus (or Ashurbanipal), as shown in bas-reliefs discovered in his palace, also at Ninevah.