It may be of interest to you that archaeologists also discovered fragments of ivory inlay or panels, as shown here. Remember that 1 Kings 22:39 long ago mentioned that Ahab built a “house of ivory.” Perhaps this included furniture with carved ivory inlays, such as the splendid “couches of ivory” that the prophet Amos referred to a century later. (Amos 3:12, 15; 6:1, 4) Among the motifs on them were winged sphinxes and other symbols from Egyptian mythology.

Inset: Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums; photograph from Israel Museum, Jerusalem