Sacred tree flanked by two worshipers

between 800 B.C. and 600 B.C.
black serpentine
19.5 x 9 mm
Morgan Seal 645
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"In contrast to 640 and 641, in which the two figures of the king or two genii flank the tree in kneeling posture, the motifs of 642-645 depict the usual type of Assyrian worshiper, who stands upright. It seems unlikely that 642 and 643, in each of which there is a palmette executed as carefully as in 640, are earlier than 644 and 645, which present a more cursory rendering of the tree."--Porada, CANES, p. 76

Summary: 

Tree flanked by two worshipers, each grasping one of two streams falling from winged sun disk above tree -- Seven globes in sky -- Terminal: star over tasseled spade.

Place: 
Southern Mesopotamia.
Classification: 
Department: