MEDIA INFORMATION

 
 
 
COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
MMA_.57.80.12
AMICA Library Year:
2002
Object Type:
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Description:

A group of ivories that once decorated ancient furniture was said to have been found at Arslan Tash (ancient Hadatu), a Neo-Assyrian military outpost on the Euphrates River. A large eighth-century B.C. building was subsequently excavated there. The ivories are similar to those found at Nimrud in the Assyrian heartland in northern Mesopotamia, some of which were brought there as tribute or booty.

This particular example is carved in Phoenician style, which borrows motifs from Egyptian art and often includes glass inlays like the one on the window here. The motif of a female face peering out of a window is a common one and often has a decorative balustrade or railing composed of Proto-Aeolic colonettes with volute capitals?a type known from monumental architecture in the Levant. The figure wears an Egyptian-style wig and an elaborate ornament with pendants in her hair above her forehead. An actual example of this type of jewelry, made of gold and inlaid with precious stones, was found buried with a royal female figure of the Assyrian court at Nimrud.

Creator Nationality:
Asian; Middle Eastern; Syrian
Creator Name-CRT:
Probably Arslan Tash, Syria
Title:
Plaque with "woman at the window" motif
View:
Principal view
Creation Date:
9th?8th century B.C.
Creation Start Date:
0
Creation End Date:
0
Materials and Techniques:
Ivory inlaid with glass
Style or Period:
Phoenician style
Style or Period:
Neo-Assyrian period
Creation Place:
Probably Arslan Tash, Syria
Dimensions:
H. 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm)
AMICA Contributor:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location:
New York, New York
ID Number:
57.80.12
Credit Line:
Fletcher Fund, 1957
Copyright:
Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.
Rights:
Related Image Identifier Link:
MMA_.h1_57.80.12.tif

Plaque with "woman at the window" motif

Plaque with "woman at the window" motif