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papyrus-sealing
;
seal-impression
Object Type
papyrus-sealing
seal-impression
Museum number
1956,0519.2
Description
Clay sealing from a papyrus. The images are well preserved and show a strong portrait of a male ruler with fleshy jowls and a large hooked nose, a type associated with Ptolemies VIII and X. The second head shows a similar, although less exaggerated, portrait of a female ruler. There is a ghost of a third female head, which may have been where the seal slipped or may actually represent a third head, in which case the triad can be identified as Ptolemy VIII, Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III. The exaggerated portrait of the male is, however, closer to the images of Ptolemy X. On the back are impressions of horizontal lines, from where the sealing was originally attached to a papyrus document.
Cultures/periods
Ptolemaic
Production date
2ndC BC
Findspot
Found/Acquired:
Luxor (Thebes)
Materials
clay
Technique
impressed
Dimensions
Height:
1.90 centimetres
Height:
2.10 centimetres
Width:
2 centimetres
Bibliographic references
Walker & Higgs 2001 / Cleopatra of Egypt: from History to Myth
(62)
Terracotta / Catalogue of Terracottas in the British Museum
(3615)
Location
Not on display
Condition
The top section is cracked and there are further hairline cracks at the sides of the impression.
Subjects
king/queen
Associated names
Representation of:
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II
(?)
Representation of:
Cleopatra II
(?)
Representation of:
Cleopatra III
(?)
Representation of:
Ptolemy X Alexander I
(?)
Acquisition name
Donated by:
Mrs Essie Winifred Newberry
Acquisition date
1956
Department
Greek and Roman
Registration number
1956,0519.2
Conservation
Treatment
: 06 Sep 1999