Amos 3:15

Winter and summer house were in some cases distinct buildings, but in others were parts of the same structure differently situated (Judges 3:20; Jeremiah 3:22). The houses of ivory remind us of Nero's 'Golden House' at Rome: 'The interior was decorated in the most lavish way, with gold, precious stones and ivory... The supper rooms had panelled ceilings, overlaid with ivory.' It was a valuable commodity. Sennacherib, on one of the inscriptions which have come down to us, states that Hezekiah gave him 'a couch of ivory, thrones of ivory, an elephant's tusk.'