At 'Fort Shalmaneser' in the citadel of Nimrud were found superb ivory carvings which were mostly used to decorate furniture and sacred objects. Made by Phoenician and Syrian craftsmen, most had reached the palace as booty or tribute from subject nations, although some may have been made in Assyria.
Many of the carvings used human or animal subjects and some particularly fine pieces were decorated with gold and lapis lazuli. This ivory head of a young woman was called by its excavators the 'Mona Lisa of the Well' and is a perfect example of the fine craftsmanship in ivory carvings of this era.
It is thought that she may represent Ishtar (known as Astarte to the Phoenicians), goddess of love, who is probably also depicted in other ivory carvings found at Nimrud, and elsewhere, of a lady looking from a window.
