Furniture element
Unknown Artist
ca. 18th century BCE
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
3.41 x 0.88 in. (8.66 x 2.24 cm)
Classification
Ivory/Bone-Sculpture
Culture & Period
Old Assyrian Trading Colony · Middle Bronze Age–Old Assyrian Trading Colony
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. George D. Pratt, in memory of George D. Pratt, 1936
Accession Number
36.70.10
Art Historical Context
This delicate ivory furniture element, dating to around the 18th century, hails from the Old Assyrian Trading Colony—a vibrant network of Mesopotamian merchant outposts in ancient Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). During the Middle Bronze Age, Assyrians established bustling trade hubs like Kanesh, exchanging textiles, tin, and luxury goods across vast distances. Small carvings like this one, measuring just 3.41 x 0.88 inches, were prized inlays or appliqués for elite furniture, showcasing the era's far-reaching commerce and appreciation for exotic materials. Crafted from elephant ivory—a rare imp...