Fig. 1: Gypsum alabaster relief panels from the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), Iraq, ca. 883-859 BCE.

a Repair (MMA 32.143.6, final setting of dowelled and glued pieces before placement in steel frame). b assembly of the reliefs by Ottavina Corporation stonemasons (both photographs taken on 8/19/1957), and c example highlighting areas of repair on an assembled relief 31.72.1. with dimensions 235 × 156.2 × 5.4 cm, gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1931. The red-marked lines indicate breaks between repaired sections, while the holes were likely drilled for modern metal staples that have since been removed. Photographs courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.