Ewe and ram flanking plant

Download image: 
between 3400 B.C. and 3000 B.C.
green serpentine
16 x 13 mm
Morgan Seal 5
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"The theme of 5 is related to that of 2 by the fact that a ram and ewe, probably representative of a larger herd, are pictured with a symbol. This symbol, interpreted by Andrae as a gatepost with streamers, has been identified as the symbol of the mother goddess, since it can be shown to have developed into the name sign of Inanna, a deity who appears as a mother goddess in religious texts of later periods." Porada, CANES, p. 3
Cylinder partially perforated.

Summary: 

Ewe and ram flanking plant -- Terminal: post with streamer.

Place: 
Southern Mesopotamia.
Period: 
Classification: 
Department: