Openwork plaque with a striding sphinx ca. 9th-8th century B.C. Assyrian Sphinxes, creatures that combine a lions body, often winged, with a human head, appear frequently on the ivory plaques from Nimrud. Because this sphinx combines Egyptian elements typically found on Phoenician style ivories, such as the wig and solar-disc headdress, with the arresting frontal gaze characteristic of North Syrian ivories, it has been classified as South Syrian, a style that occupies an intermediate position between the two. Considerable carving skill is evident in the elongated feline body and extended curving wings. The figure is carved in high relief in the openwork technique, in which the background is cut away, giving it nearly the depth of a sculpture in the round. The Egyptian style wig suggests a female face, while the body is male, creating an image of elegant androgyny.Built by the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II, the palaces and storerooms of Nimrud housed thousands of pieces of carved ivor