Ancient Near East, Neo-Babylonian Period, ca. mid 1st millennium BCE. A stone cylinder seal bead, hand-carved from a black matte stone, probably chalcedony, with complex iconography. A pegasus, shown in profile with massive wing extended behind its back, stands behind a human figure with a raised mace or other weapon in one hand. This figure addresses a seated figure who raises one hand, and an altar is between them. Above their heads is a highly stylized winged disc, probably a symbol of the sun-god Samas (also known as Utu). The images depicted here were favored during this period, when many seal designs show worshippers with raised hands before an altar. Size: 0.45" W x 0.95" H (1.1 cm x 2.4 cm); 2.75" H (7 cm) on included custom stand.
Cylinder seals played a major role in the daily life of the Ancient Near East. Known as kishib in Sumerian and kunukku in Akkadian, royals, government officials, scribes, and slaves used them to transact business and send correspondence. They were worn around the neck or wrist and served as a signature and a guarantee, rolled into the moist clay of accounting and governance documents. They also link our modern world to the past - thousands of years ago, people were concerned with security and authenticity for the documents that they used to conduct business. Cylinder seals were a technological solution to a pressing problem, and their scenes are often complex to prevent forgery and identify individuals.
See a similar example at the Smithsonian's Ancient Near East Seal Collection (F1993.18.31).
Provenance: private Zaveloff collection, Lakewood, New Jersey, USA, acquired from Venus Gallery, Israel, in 2002
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#155592
Condition
Small chips and scratches on surface but the motifs are well preserved. Accompanied by a modern clay rollout.