The 1950s excavations at Nimrud and the Neo-Assyrian ivories

Record summary

Max Mallowan’s excavations at Nimrud, begun in 1949 and continuing through the 1950s and early 1960s, exposed Neo-Assyrian palaces, administrative spaces, tombs and extensive ivory objects. The finds are important for comparing imperial art, luxury exchange, workshop production and the movement of motifs across the Near East and Mediterranean. Dating and attribution of individual ivories can be complicated because objects were reused, stored or found outside their original production contexts. The corpus is archaeological evidence for cultural interaction, not proof of a single centralized artistic tradition.