Furniture element made from a hippopotamus incisor. Culture: Assyrian. Dimensions: 6.38 in. (16.21 cm). Date: ca. 9th-8th century B.C..In addition to elephant tusks, hippopotamus teeth were also carved into small decorative objects and furniture inlays. This incisor, which was probably used as a furniture element, was found in a large storeroom at Fort Shalmaneser, a royal building at Nimrud that was probably used to store tribute and booty collected by the Assyrians while on military campaign. Hippopotamus ivory is whiter and more finely grained than elephant ivory. It is also harder and denser, making it more difficult to carve. Its smaller size means that there is a greater constraint on the objects into which it can be carved. The hippopotamus growth rings seen at the break in the upper tip of this incisor, called lamellae, are wavy and discontinuous and can be distinguished from the smooth growth rings of elephant tusks, making it easy to differentiate between the two types of iv