Palmette-shaped plaque

Unknown

ca. 9th–8th century BCE · Shell · Ancient Near Eastern Art

This plaque was found in Fort Shalmaneser, a royal building at Nimrud that was used to store booty and tribute collected by the Assyrians while on military campaign. Many thousands of pieces of carved ivory, probably used as furniture decoration or luxury objects, were excavated from storage rooms in the building. While not as common, carved shell and bone items were also stored at Fort Shalmaneser. This plaque was carved from a piece of shell in the shape of a palmette made up of multiple elements: several horizontal bands, from which sprout two sets of volutes, crowned by a fan-shaped palmette with two rows of differently-sized stylized fronds.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 9th–8th century BCE

Medium

Shell

Culture

Assyrian

Department

Ancient Near Eastern Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1962