08 · Hybrid object · Assyrian Empire
Ivory in Nimrud A travelling style within an Assyrian palace
The ivories found at Nimrud combine Phoenician, Egyptian and Syrian motifs within an Assyrian palace.
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DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.
View full image: DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · EXISTING EDITORIAL RESOURCE · TRACEKEEPERS Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction for museographic context; it is not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.
View full image: Original documentary · Photograph of the original Original documentary · Photograph of the original Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Documentary photograph of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection. Web adaptation: size and format adjustment, without reconstructing parts or altering the photograph's content.
The inventory 62.269.3 and the Met file 325564 identify the described specimen; this photograph shows its conserved state, not an AI restoration.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Inventory: 62.269.3 · CC0 1.0 · Open Access
View full image: Documentary original · Another view of the original Documentary original · Another view of the original Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Documentary photograph of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection. Web adaptation: size and format adjustment, without reconstructing parts or altering the photograph's content.
The inventory 62.269.3 and the Met file 325564 identify the described specimen; this photograph shows its conserved state, not an AI restoration.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York · Inventory: 62.269.3 · CC0 1.0 · Open Access
History and context In the palaces and storerooms of Nimrud appeared ivory plaques with sphinxes, Egyptianising figures, flowers and volutes. The visual language combines Levantine, Egyptian and Syrian repertoires: an aesthetic designed to circulate between courts.
That they are today labelled as of «Phoenician style» does not mean we know the workshop or hand that carved them. They may have reached Assyria as tribute, booty, gift or merchandise; the object retains mobility, but not its passport.
The plaque was part of a piece of furniture and only regains its original scale when imagined combined with wood, other inlays and a palatial hall. Separated in the museum, it appears as an autonomous image that never was.
Its Egyptianising repertoire functioned in an Assyrian court because the forms could change of audience. That reception explains the object's mobility, although it does not decide whether it arrived as commission, tribute, gift or booty.
Evidence and interpretation Documented fact: Phoenician-style ivory plaques were found in Assyrian context at Nimrud and show a strong visual synthesis. Interpretation and caution: style, artisan origin and mechanism of arrival are not equivalent; tribute or booty are contextual hypotheses, not certainties for each piece.
Documented expansion: The Met catalogues an ivory plaque found at Nimrud with Egyptianising figures and places it within the production termed Phoenician of the 9th–8th centuries BCE.
Expanded interpretation and caution: Classifying the style does not identify a specific Levantine workshop nor the carver's biography; nor does it allow choosing for this piece between trade, tribute and looting.
Catalogue facts
Narrative date 9th–8th centuries BCE
Location Nimrud, modern Iraq; possible Levantine production
Material Carved ivory · pigment and metal in some sets
Context Luxury, appropriation and circulation under Assyrian rule
Curatorial reading The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Evidence Archaeological context, materiality and chronology.
Caution Do not convert stylistic diffusion or contact into political domination.
Documentary coverage 3 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop. Ivory12 Sculpture54 Animal imagery49 Human imagery73 Exchange and trade33
The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.
Earlier Later
≈40,000 years · Aurignacian
Lion-man Prehistory
Approximate catalogue age; editorial reference 2026 for ordering only, not calibrated dating.
Read the record ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian
Hohle Fels Prehistory
Approximate catalogue age; editorial reference 2026 for ordering only, not calibrated dating.
Read the record ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association
Brno II Articulated Figure Prehistory
≈28,000 cal BP converted with 1950 origin; date by funerary association. An approximate scale conversion for ordering; not a new radiocarbon calibration.
Read the record ≈28,000 years
Lespugue Prehistory
Approximate catalogue age; editorial reference 2026 for ordering only, not calibrated dating.
Read the record ≈23,000–21,000 years
Zaraysk Bison Prehistory
Approximate catalogue age; editorial reference 2026 for ordering only, not calibrated dating.
Read the record 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D
Gebel el-Arak knife Ancient Egypt
Approximate dating according to the record.
Read the record ca. 3300–3100 BCE
Naqada labels Ancient Egypt
Date range for the assemblage of labels and inscribed materials, not a single object.
Read the record c. 3100–2900 BCE
Ivory tablets Ancient Egypt
Date range for the assemblage of tablets and labels.
Read the record You are viewing 9th–8th centuries BCE
Ivory in Nimrud Phoenicians
Frame of a set of ivories, not a single carving.
Current record End of the 7th century–first half of the 6th century BCE
Ivory with names Phoenicians
The full 7th–6th centuries BCE provide broad limits for chronological ordering; the record specifies the late 7th century and the first half of the 6th.
Read the record Late 3rd–4th century CE
Articulated doll from Tarragona Etruscans and Rome
Used in the 3rd–4th centuries CE in its full extent as an external ordering framework; the entry specifies the late 3rd and 4th century.
Read the record 9 / 11 In the centre: Ivory in Nimrud
Also connected, without a comparable date (1) These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.
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Sculpture Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryLespugue · ≈28,000 years · PrehistoryZaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · PrehistoryShigir Idol · C. 10,000 BCE · approximation; debated dating · PrehistoryWarka Mask · End of the 4th millennium BCE · SumerGebel el-Arak knife · 3600–3200 BCE · Naqada II C–D · Ancient EgyptUruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · SumerNarmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient EgyptBefore Yayoi · Middle Jōmon, ca. 3000 BCE · Yayoi JapanUr-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · SumerThe goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · SumerStele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · SumerAkkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerBassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerNaram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · SumerBefore Pre-Inca Cultures · Kotosh-Mito Tradition, c. 2200–1500 BCE; the enclosure is usually situated around 1800 BCE. · Pre-Inca culturesQueen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · SumerBull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worldsWooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worldsHead 2 · c. 1200–900 BCE · Maya worldsThe voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · PhoeniciansBefore the Scythians and Sakas · Final Bronze–Initial Iron, ca. 1200–600 BCE · Scythians and SakaBlack Obelisk · 825 BCE · SumerIvory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians — You are viewingLas Limas · c. 1000–600 BCE · Maya worldsAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · PhoeniciansAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · IberiansLamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · SumerThe Lanzón · c. 900–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesStele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · SumerThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · IberiansThe Tello Obelisk · c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesAshurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · SumerHeads on the wall · c. 800–300 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesTwo voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and RomeGlazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid PersiaTwenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid PersiaSarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · IberiansThe Raimondi Stele · c. 400–200 BCE according to MNAAHP · Pre-Inca culturesTorreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and RomeThe date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worldsArticulated doll from Tarragona · Late 3rd–4th century CE · Etruscans and RomeSeven heads · c. 500–700 CE · Bantu-speaking worldsSeated figure · 13th century, date attributed by the museum · Mande WorldsGold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worldsZimbabwe birds · main period of Great Zimbabwe, c. 12th–15th centuries · Bantu-speaking worldsKongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worldsKuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worldsWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid PersiaLararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and RomeThe Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · ThraciansAnimal imagery Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryBefore the San · ≈25.500–23.500 BCE · San historiesBefore the name San · ≈25.500–23.500 BCE · San historiesAltamira · Assemblage ≈36,000–13,000 BP · bison ≈18,400–15,300 cal BP · PrehistoryLascaux · ≈23,500–21,000 cal BP · debated contextual estimate · PrehistoryZaraysk Bison · ≈23,000–21,000 years · PrehistoryRondelle de Mas-d'Azil · ≈18,000–16,000 years · PrehistoryLamp from La Mouthe · ≈20,500–13,000 years · Magdalenian framework · PrehistoryEngraved stone from Çakmaktepe · PPNA · site proposal: ≈9600–8800 BCE, provisional · PrehistoryCueva de las Manos · Sequence ≈9300–1300 BP · PrehistoryCylinder seal · c. 3500–3100 BCE · SumerQueen's Lyre · ca. 2600–2500 BCE · SumerThe goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · SumerIndus seals · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisationQueen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · SumerBull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worldsStag Vessel · 14th–13th centuries BCE · HittitesBefore the Scythians and Sakas · Final Bronze–Initial Iron, ca. 1200–600 BCE · Scythians and SakaIvory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians — You are viewingLamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · SumerThe Tello Obelisk · c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesAshurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · SumerBanquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe oldest knotted carpet · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and SakaThe silver amphora of Chertomlyk · 4th century BCE · Greek worldsThoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient EgyptPoroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · ThraciansBorovo · 4th century BC C.; 350–300 BCE in the ISAW catalog. · ThraciansLeipzig Fish Plate · Last third 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Greek worldsDove of the Amarejo · 3rd century BCE · IberiansChão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · IberiansFibula from Lancia · ≈300–100 BCE · IberiansHorse fibula · 2nd century BCE · disputed chronology · IberiansThe dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worldsKalathos of Alcorisa · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · IberiansEgyptian oil lamp with a fish, held in Laon · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Ancient EgyptLaon lamp with fish · 3rd–4th centuries CE · Etruscans and RomeGold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worldsZimbabwe birds · main period of Great Zimbabwe, c. 12th–15th centuries · Bantu-speaking worldsWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Human imagery Lion-man · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryHohle Fels · ≈40,000 years · Aurignacian · PrehistoryWillendorf · ≈29,500 years · PrehistoryBrno II Articulated Figure · ≈28,000 years cal BP · by funerary association · PrehistoryDolní Věstonice I · ≈29,000–27,000 years · PrehistoryLespugue · ≈28,000 years · PrehistoryKostenki I · ≈23,000–21,000 years · PrehistoryShigir Idol · C. 10,000 BCE · approximation; debated dating · PrehistoryNahal Hemar mask · Eighth millennium BCE · context dating, not direct dating of the stone · PrehistoryEl Miradero spatula-idols · ≈4000–3800 cal BCE · PrehistoryWarka Mask · End of the 4th millennium BCE · SumerCueva de las Manos · Sequence ≈9300–1300 BP · PrehistoryUruk Vase · ca. 3300–3000 BCE · SumerWorshiper of Tell Asmar · Towards 2900–2600 BCE · SumerStandard of Ur · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · SumerStatue of Ebih-Il · Towards 2400 BCE · SumerAkkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerBassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · SumerBefore Pre-Inca Cultures · Kotosh-Mito Tradition, c. 2200–1500 BCE; the enclosure is usually situated around 1800 BCE. · Pre-Inca culturesQueen of the Night · 19th–18th centuries BCE · SumerBull-leaping · c. 1600–1450 BCE · Greek worldsWooden faces · c. 1600–1000 BCE, in several phases · Maya worldsHead 2 · c. 1200–900 BCE · Maya worldsIvory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians — You are viewingLas Limas · c. 1000–600 BCE · Maya worldsAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · PhoeniciansAstarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · IberiansLamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · SumerThe Lanzón · c. 900–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesOffering 4 · c. 800–600 BCE · Maya worldsKushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and KushThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · IberiansHeads on the wall · c. 800–300 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesShabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient EgyptTwo voices in an urn · 530–520 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe god on the roof · Towards 510–500 BCE · Etruscans and RomeGlazed brick guards · 522–486 BCE · Achaemenid PersiaTwenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid PersiaBanquet under leopards · Around 480–470 BCE · Etruscans and RomeThe statue was the urn · First half of the 4th century BCE · IberiansA battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and SakaThe Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worldsThe Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worldsFaces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and SakaLady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · PhoeniciansPunic head pendant · Mid 4th–3rd centuries BCE · PhoeniciansLady of Ibiza · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · IberiansThe Raimondi Stele · c. 400–200 BCE according to MNAAHP · Pre-Inca culturesChão de Lamas pectoral · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · concealed in the early 1st century BCE · IberiansVas dels Guerrers · 3rd–early 2nd century BCE · IberiansWarriors' Vase · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · IberiansThe dismantled cauldron · 2nd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worldsThe walls of San Bartolo · c. 100 BCE · Maya worldsGladiators Cup of Chavagnes · 25–75 CE · Etruscans and RomeThracian Gladiator from Cádiz · 67–100 CE · Etruscans and RomeTorreáguila fountain spout · 101–125 CE · Etruscans and RomeArticulated doll from Tarragona · Late 3rd–4th century CE · Etruscans and RomeSeven heads · c. 500–700 CE · Bantu-speaking worldsSeated figure · 13th century, date attributed by the museum · Mande WorldsKongo crucifix · 16th–17th centuries · Bantu-speaking worldsKuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worldsWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid PersiaBhimbetka · Mesolithic–historical and medieval period · PrehistoryEland Cave · Regional tradition of ≈4,000 years · up to historical period · PrehistoryFour offerers · Iberian period · individual dating according to catalogue · IberiansGame Pass Shelter · Regional rock art chronology · panel not dated in isolation · San historiesLararium of Vilauba · Roman period · Etruscans and RomeLeang Karampuang · Minimum 51,200 years · dating published in 2024 · PrehistoryQuinkan Country · Regional art up to ≈27,000 BP · modern continuity · PrehistorySierra de San Francisco · Broad tradition with direct dates ≈5290–295 BP · PrehistoryTassili n’Ajjer · Corpus ≈6000 BCE–first centuries CE · PrehistoryThe Thracian Horseman · Roman era · diffusion especially in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE · ThraciansExchange and trade Weights · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisationBefore the Hittites · c. 19th century BCE · HittitesKerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and KushIvory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians — You are viewingMotagua jade · c. 900–600 BCE · Maya worldsThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · IberiansThe Gallery of the Conch Shells · Main use c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca culturesMazarrón 1 · Second half of the 7th century BCE · PhoeniciansMazarrón 2 · Second half of the 7th century BCE · PhoeniciansIvory with names · End of the 7th century–first half of the 6th century BCE · PhoeniciansThe inscription of Pistiros · 4th century BCE · ThraciansYan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Ancient ChinaLead tablet · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · IberiansA coin with the memory of a blade · 323–222 BCE · Gojoseon and early KoreaCeramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · IberiansRoman glass oinochoe · Late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE · Etruscans and RomeMoulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande WorldsMissing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worldsCatalan Atlas · after 1375 and before November 1380 · Mande WorldsKilwa coin · 1482–1493 · Bantu-speaking worldsWithout a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):
A closer look About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026 .
A tree between two pharaonic-looking figures The plaque 62.269.3 presents two figures on either side of a branched tree. Both wear a version of the Egyptian double crown with upright cobra, pleated skirt and ram-headed sceptre; the left-hand figure also holds a jar. Above them is a winged solar disk and a row of ten cobras crowned by disks. The Met does not identify what the other figure holds, a visible limit that should be maintained. The composition allows recognition of how regal and divine attributes were combined in just 12.4 centimetres of height, within a prestige furniture piece.
Where it is held Item or group in the record · Documented collection
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