Ivory fragment ca. 9th-7th century B.C. Assyrian This plaque has a flat back and a raised surface, carved in relief with a central design resembling plaited hair or tufts of hair, bordered at each side with a plain strip and a fluted edge. It must have been part of another object such as a statue or piece of furniture, but was found as a fragment, making it difficult to reconstruct the original design. Carved ivory pieces such as this were widely used in the production of elite furniture during the early first millennium B.C. They were often inlaid into a wooden frame using joinery techniques and glue, and could be overlaid with gold foil or inlaid with colored glass or stone pieces to create a dazzling effect of gleaming surfaces and bright colors.Built by the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II, the palaces and storerooms of Nimrud housed thousands of pieces of carved ivory. Most of the ivories served as furniture inlays or small precious objects such as boxes. While some of them were car