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.

Female sphinx attacked by archer

ca. 800 B.C.
black serpentine ;
Morgan Seal 612
Description
1 cylinder seal : black serpentine ; 33 x 14 mm
Provenance
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes
"Seals 612-619, all of medium size, are examples of the most common rendering of hero and victim. They can be dated about 800 B.C., because of their close resemblance in subject and rendering to Berlin 639-644, which were so dated by Moortgat on the basis of relevant archaeological evidence from Ashur. Seals 620-626, on the other hand, which present a heterogeneous group of contest scenes, probably vary considerably in date."--Porada, CANES, p. 73
Cylinder damaged.
Summary
Female sphinx attacked by archer on one knee, plant between them -- In sky, crescent, star, small cross(?).
Classification
Place
Southern Mesopotamia.
Department