Tracing the Source of the Elephant And Hippopotamus Ivory from ...

Much of the discussion about Palestinian workshops centers around the extent and
meaning of the Egyptianizing stylistic influences. Once believed to be Egyptian imports,
many scholars now agree that most of the Egyptianizing ivories in the Levant are of
Levantine manufacture (Lilyquist 1998: 29; Liebowitz 1987; Potts 1987), and of these
Liebowitz (1987: 3-4, 16-19) believes the majority are Palestinian and not Syrian. There
are differing opinions, however, on what exactly these Egyptianizing stylistic influences
mean. Potts (1987) claims that the Lion Box from Pella (from the first half of the Late
Bronze Age when the number of Palestinian ivories is markedly less) is evidence for a
strong Egyptian presence in Canaan. Lilyquist (1998) on the other hand regards linking
artistic style to political situations as injudicious. She asserts “the new ivories from Ebla
display as pure an Egyptian iconography as anything in Late Bronze Palestine... Does this
mean that Ebla was under Egyptian political control? In my view, no; almost all objects
from there... are Syro-Canaanite” (Lilyquist 1998: 28). Thus local Palestinian artisans
appropriated Egyptian motifs and styles, but these are often used without understanding
and formed part of a larger “quasi-international” style with influences from Assyria and
Cyprus as well (Lilyquist 1998: 29; Liebowitz 1987: 4; Potts 1987: 68-69). This
international style was perhaps more prevalent in the trade entrepôts of the Levant than
farther inland (after Potts 1987: 69). With all of this in mind, I shall now turn to the
evidence for ivory-working in Egypt.
Ivory Workshops in Egypt
Ivory carving was healthy during the early part of the 18 th Dynasty (around the
time that saw Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis importing tusks) but saw its apogee during the
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