The World - News from Aug. 30, 1988

An unusual ornament from King Solomon’s biblical temple--a thumb-sized ivory pomegranate inscribed in Hebrew--is on display in Jerusalem after the Israel Museum acquired it for $550,000. It was the first artifact to be attributed to Solomon’s temple, built 3,000 years ago on a site now in the heart of the walled Old City of Jerusalem. An anonymous donor bought it for the museum from an unknown seller after a mysterious nine-year odyssey from Jerusalem to France, Switzerland and possibly other countries. The tiny ornament--believed to have topped a scepter carried by a temple priest--was authenticated by two leading authorities on biblical art.