British Museum group of stone reliefs from the excavations of Max von Oppenheim at Tell Halaf that was purchased in 1920. More material followed from the excavations of Max Mallowan at Chagar Bazar and Tell Brak in 1935–1938 and from Woolley at Alalakh in the years just before and after the Second World War. Mallowan returned with his wife Agatha Christie to carry out further digs at Nimrud in the postwar period which secured many important artefacts for the museum. The collection of Palestinian material was strengthened by the work of Kathleen Kenyon at Jericho in the 1950s and the acquisition in
Pomegranate carved in the round (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Pomegranate carved in the round (Metropolitan Museum of Art) The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a ivory bead dated to the 8th century B.C. in its collection. The bead is shaped like a pomegranate, and is attributed to the Assyrian Empire. The ivory bead is shaped like a pomegranate, an object commonly depicted in Assyrian art. The reddish color of the bead was not intended; rather, the object is stained as a result of being buried in the ruins of Kalhu. A product of the trade routes of the Bronze Age Civilizations, the ivory used in the making of the