Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Mythological scene with feline, boat propelled by human prow and by deity seated in its waist

between 2500 B.C. and 2350 B.C.
pinkish marble ;
Morgan Seal 126
Description
1 cylinder seal : pinkish marble ; 22 x 16 mm
Provenance
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes
"The principal mythological subject in the Second and Third Early Dynastic periods is a god steering a boat that moves of its own accord (126-129). This is Frankfort's interpretation of the boat, which has a human prow manipulating a punting pole." Porada, CANES, p. 18-19
Summary
Feline, with plow and cup above it, walking before boat propelled by human prow and by deity seated in its waist -- Crescent above feline-headed stern of boat, small bird-man with stick behind.
Classification
Place
Southern Mesopotamia.
Department