between 900 B.C. and 875 B.C.
black serpentine ;
Morgan Seal 650
Description
1 cylinder seal : black serpentine ; 45 x 17.5 mm
Provenance
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes
"Seal 650 bears two motifs, a contest scene and, in addition, the theme of a worshiper under a sun disk with streams. This combination of a contest scene with a ritual theme is unusual. The large size of the seal suggests a dating in the early ninth century B.C."--Porada, CANES, p. 77
Summary
Winged sun disk with streams that enclose worshiper who faces spade on stand with rhomb above -- Sphinx in grasp of genius with scimitar, antelope plunging forward between them -- Star and crescent in sky.
Catalog link
Classification
Place
Southern Mesopotamia.
Department