Worshiper led by minor goddess toward enthroned god

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between 2112 and 2004 B.C.
drab jasper
32 x 20 (19) mm
Morgan Seal 277
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"The type of scene most frequently found on cylinders of the Third Dynasty of Ur shows a minor goddess leading a worshiper by the hand toward an enthroned deity (277-287), who is more often female than male. Usually the throne resembles a shrine. This scheme is derived from such Akkad seals as 190, with the difference that now the enthroned deities are rarely identified by the objects they hold or by other distinctive features of their appearance. A crescent is usually placed in the sky before the enthroned deity; often a bird or some other animal appears near the knees of the figure."--Porada, CANES, p. 35

Summary: 

Worshiper led by minor goddess toward enthroned god; before latter, star disk in crescent, staff, vase -- Terminal: inscription in panel over kneeling bull.

Period: 
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