Egyptian-style ivory Furniture Inlay,
Found in the Assyrian palace at Calakh in Iraq, Phoenician and Syrian, 8th century B.C.E.
"As the Assyrians extended their empire westward to the borders of Egypt, they developed a taste for objects decorated in the Egyptian style. Although hundred of Egyptian-style objects have been found in Assyrian palaces like that at Calakh (Nimrud), most were produced in Phoenician cities on the coast of Lebanon and Syria." (From the info card.)
This particular plaque is "cut to receive inlays, with a pair of sacred eyes and rearing cobras flanking a pillar ([Djed] symbol of eternity)"
Helen and Alice Colburn Fund: Purchased from the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 1965; MFA #65.919
