between 2000 B.C. and 1800 B.C.
green felsite ;
Morgan Seal 296
Description
1 cylinder seal : green felsite ; 25 x 15 mm
Provenance
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes
"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 ... [S]tandards and small, probably apotropaic objects were increasingly used by the seal cutters of this time. Seal 296, for example, shows a lion-club standard."--Porada, CANES, p. 37-38
Summary
Two worshipers before enthroned deified king or god holding cup -- In field: crescent; curved weapon(?) -- Terminal: lion-club standard.
Catalog link
Classification
Place
Southern Mesopotamia.
Department