Fragment of an Ivory Plaque with Alternating Papyrus Flowers
Unknown · Neo-Assyrian period, eighth century BC
A row of papyrus plants runs across a fragment of ivory seven centimetres high, the flowers alternately open and in bud. A brownish tint survives on the open corollas, on the stems of the buds and on parts of the frame, so the pattern was picked out in colour. The sides and the lower part are lost. Papyrus, the marsh plant of the Nile, was a favourite of Phoenician carvers, who turned it into an endless border, and the alternation of bud and flower gives the frieze its gentle rhythm.
The fragment was found three or four metres south of the traces of a bed in room fourteen of the Building of the Ivories at Arslan Tash, the Assyrian residence at ancient Hadatu in northern Syria, which suggests that it belonged to that bed's decoration. François Thureau-Dangin excavated the building in 1928 and the finds were divided; this piece came to the Louvre in the partage of 1929. A second, better preserved plaque of the same frieze is displayed beside it.
Did You Know? The excavators recorded this fragment lying a few metres from the outline of an ivory bed, whose frame had rotted away leaving only the decoration.
Unlock the Full Guide
Read every room and listen to every work in all museums with premium.