The Assyrians of the early first millennium BC decorated their magnificent palaces with elaborate furniture embellished with ivory plaques carved with images echoing scenes on the monumental stone reliefs covering the walls. The Nimrud ivories in the Museums’ rare collection were excavated from crammed storerooms in Fort Shalmaneser, the palace of Shalmaneser III (r. 859–824 BC). Their intricate carvings represent a cross section of international motifs common at this time, such as this winged ram-headed sphinx, reflect the cultures of the Near East and Mediterranean basin. Although they were found in an Assyrian city, neither their design nor their craftsmanship is Assyrian; Assyrian-style ivory carving is not represented in this collection. The Museums’ holdings appear to have been created by Phoenician (from modern Lebanon) and Syrian artists carving in their local styles, which often borrowed from Egyptian art portraying iconic images.