Openwork plaque with a hybrid tree ca. 9th-8th century B.C. Assyrian Two sets of four curving, voluted branches grow upwards on this openwork plaque. This piece was found in a large storeroom at Fort Shalmaneser, a royal building at Nimrud that was probably used to store booty and tribute collected by the Assyrians while on military campaign. Bordered on the upper and lower edges by thin strips of ivory, each set of volutes emerges from a central stalk with down-turned volutes from which grow papyrus flowers. At the top, a six-petaled frond emerges from a chevron-patterned trunk. The details of each floral element are incised and the elegant forms are characteristic of Phoenician artistry. The absence of vertical frames suggests that plaques with this theme were probably placed side by side to form a continuous floral frieze. Two tenons preserved above the upper and below the lower edges suggest that this piece may have been fitted into a frame, likely as part of a piece of furniture.