Plaque with tribute bearers ca. 9th-8th century B.C. Assyrian This strip of ivory was probably blackened through exposure to fire when the palace complexes at Nimrud were sacked during the final defeat of Assyria at the end of the seventh century B.C. It depicts four bearded figures in procession to the left, dressed in elaborate fringed garments and wearing rounded caps. They carry offerings held at chest height before them, presumably to the Assyrian king and court. The figure farthest to the left has been cut off and the offering is not preserved; behind him, a figure holds a tray with a pair of heavy earrings, similar to ones represented on Assyrian reliefs (see 33.16.2 in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum); behind him, another carries a tray with small round objects; the last figure raises a flared cup. Carved ivory pieces such as this were widely used in the production of elite furniture during the early first millennium B.C., and were often inlaid into a wooden frame usi