between 2000 B.C. and 1800 B.C.
hematite ;
Morgan Seal 299
Description
1 cylinder seal : hematite ; 14 x 8 mm
Provenance
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes
Cylinder damaged.
"Seals 296-305 depict worship of a figure rendered like the deified kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur, with the difference that the figure is now often seated on a temple throne, earlier reserved for gods of the pantheon. Consequently the figure may here represent not a deified king but a major deity ... Among small objects in the field, the combination of vessel and ball staff appears most frequently. These two objects are usually placed in a juxtaposition suggesting some relation between them (299, 302, 304, 308-310). Their association in this manner persists up to the end of the First Dynasty of Babylon."--Porada, CANES, p. 37-38
"Seals 296-305 depict worship of a figure rendered like the deified kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur, with the difference that the figure is now often seated on a temple throne, earlier reserved for gods of the pantheon. Consequently the figure may here represent not a deified king but a major deity ... Among small objects in the field, the combination of vessel and ball staff appears most frequently. These two objects are usually placed in a juxtaposition suggesting some relation between them (299, 302, 304, 308-310). Their association in this manner persists up to the end of the First Dynasty of Babylon."--Porada, CANES, p. 37-38
Summary
Nude male figure and worshiper facing enthroned deified king or god holding cup -- In field: ball staff; crescent and vessel (before seated figure) -- Terminal: inscription.
Catalog link
Classification
Place
Southern Mesopotamia.
Department