Earrings from Nimrud

Christie’s in New York is planning to auction next week a pair of earrings that could have been part of the treasures of Nimrud.

According to the auction house, the neo-Assyrian earrings are 9,000 to 10,000 years old and are expected to be sold for $65,000.

Iraqi officials say that the earrings were stolen from Iraq and taken from the country illegally. Iraqi authorities have asked the auction house to stop the sale of the earrings.

The ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud is known in the Bible as Calah and it was located near the present-day city of Mosul in Iraq.

The city of Nimrud is associated with the Nimrod of the Bible:

“Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first on earth to become a mighty warrior. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar. From that land he went into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city” (Genesis 10:8-12).

For a brief overview of the riches of Nimrud and its role in Assyrian history, click here.

UPDATE:

Chuck Jones from the University of Chicago has informed me that Christie’s has withdrawn the sales of the earrings from Nimrud.

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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