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cylinder seal
Object Type
cylinder seal
Museum number
129549
Description
Pale grey chalcedony cylinder seal, a 'sacred' palmette tree, with a central stem and seven leaves rising from a pot, is flanked by human-headed, helmeted and bearded, winged monsters (birds?) with a scorpion's tail and two lion(?)-legs behind them is a horizontal fish in the lower field. The design is a wheel-cut, with details marked by short lines; there is no evidence for the use of a drill, even for the eyes.
Cultures/periods
Late Babylonian
(?)
Findspot
Found/Acquired:
Baghdad
Materials
chalcedony
Technique
wheel-cut
Dimensions
Diameter:
0.90 centimetres
Height:
1.50 centimetres
Curator's comments
According to catalogue "a related design, with a winged genie between two similar monsters, appears on a small unprovenanced chalcedony seal, which has been related by Wittmann to an equally small agate seal from Kish with a similar winged genie, also with wings of equal length in the Babylonian manner; the two seals have been dated by Wittmann to the late eighth or seventh century. In view of the popularity of the creature in Babylonian seals of the sixth and early fifth centuries a later date is also plausible".
Bibliographic references
Collon 2001a / Catalogue of the Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum: Cylinder Seals V: Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Periods
(195)
Carnegie H 1908 / Catalogue of the Collection of Antique Gems formed by James Ninth Earl of Southesk K.T
(Qc 12 or Qy 12: 11b)
Wittmann B 1992 / Babylonische Rollsiegel des 11.-7 Jahrhundrets v. Chr
(p.215, nos. 104-105)
(cf: design)
Porada E 1948a / Corpus of Near Eastern Studies in North American Collections I. The Pierpont Morgan Library Collection
(783-784)
(cf: design)
Location
Not on display
Subjects
mammal
mythical figure/creature
arachnid
bird
fish
arms/armour
vessel
tree/bush
Acquisition name
Purchased from:
Charles Alexander Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk
Funder name
With contribution from:
Art Fund
(as NACF)
Previous owner
Previous owner/ex-collection:
William Talbot Ready
Acquisition date
1945
Acquisition notes
Acquired by Southesk from W.T Ready and said to have been acquired in Baghdad.
Department
Middle East
BM/Big number
129549
Registration number
1945,1013.93
Additional IDs
Miscellaneous number:
Qy 12: 146
(? Southesk collection no.)
Miscellaneous number:
Qy 12:11b
(?Southesk collection no.)