Image Details
© Erich Lessing
The triumph of a king is celebrated on this incised ivory plaque. The king is seated on a sphinx throne, and nude Bedouin or Shasu prisoners, right, are offered to him. His priestess-queen serves the king from animal-headed vessels, while a musician plays the lyre and sings of his master’s victory. Found at Megiddo, the ivory is about ten inches long and dates to about 1180 B.C. The scene recalls the capture of Agag, the Amalekite king who was brought naked before King Saul (1 Samuel 15:33).