seal; intaglio

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Object Type: seal; intaglio
Museum number: 1880.101
Description: Oval cornelian intaglio showing the head of a woman in profile; she holds a lotus flower in an upraised hand; inscribed.
Production date: 4thC-5thC
Findspot: Found/Acquired: Punjab (Pakistan)
Materials
Technique
Dimensions: Length: 0.75 inches
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments: The Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 6-12-1837 (Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, VI, 1837, pp.986-7) records that 'General Ventura ... submitted for inspection some ... Hindu antiques from the Panjab. ... Among the intaglios, in cornelian and garnet, a female head with an inscription Kesava dasasya'.
Bibliographic references: Wilson 1841 / Ariana Antiqua. A Descriptive Account of the Antiquities and Coins of Afghanistan (p.51, fig. 4, Antiquities pl. I.4); Callieri 1997 / Seals and Sealings from the North-west of the Indian Subcontinent and Afghanistan (3.8); Collon 1997a / 7000 Years of Seals (10/10)
Location: Not on display
Subjects
Acquisition name: From: Ventura, Jean-Baptiste; Transferred from: India Museum
Acquisition date: 1880
Acquisition notes: Included with Masson Collection in transfer from India Museum. Acquired by Ventura in the 1830s.
Department: Asia
Registration number: 1880.101
Additional IDs: Miscellaneous number: IM.Gems.2

Free entry