Perception and Appreciation of the Materiality: Levantine Multi-Component Ivories

The study of the composite aspect of first millennium BC ivories has been approached using texts (for instance Assyrian sources) rather than through visual inspection. This is not least because in some cases the value of the material, as well as the fragility of the composite construction, has been responsible for the loss of materials such as wood, gold and glass. Multi-component artefacts, made using multiple materials and with the use of multiple techniques, would have created a form of "distributed cognition" involving coordination between individuals, artefacts, and the environment.